Teacher’s Day

September 5, 1988 is the day when second Indian President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born. Being a great teacher himself, Teacher’s Day is aptly celebrated on his birthday.

We humans are as good as monkeys. We observe and repeat other’s actions. So, it is necessary that others do good things to shape us as good humans with humanity.

By teachers, I do not only cover those who work as teachers and academicians in schools, colleges and other academic institutions, but also every single person whom I’ve come across in life and learnt a lot.

First Teacher:

• My first teacher is my mother. She was the one who taught me to read and write.
• She is the one who always reads out stories and subjects for me before I go to sleep.
• She is the person who encouraged me to read a lot and never stopped me from studying. Without her support I would not be the person I am, with 3 diplomas, 3 UGs and 3 PGs.
• She made sure I learnt my mother tongue – Tamil as well as English and Hindi.
• Being a PG in Economics herself, I would say she is equal to 100 B.Ed qualified teachers. Still nobody could explain the concepts better than her especially for kids. Even today, she tries and helps the neighborhood kids in their subjects.

Father:

• Though Dad did not interfere in my life too much, encouraging me and my mom to take our own decisions, he was very instrumental indirectly in the freedom I enjoy today. If I can make decisions boldly, he is the reason behind it.
• Though not a great academician, he is great with politics, history (my weakest) and current affairs.
• Being a great storyteller, he inspired me with his creative stories. No wonder, my creativity is driven by genes. He used to tell historical stories, which helped me get good marks in history, though I hated to memorize years and dates, till now!
• Though he did not get involved in decision making, he never stopped me from doing anything in life. This invisible backing made me more responsible and confident over years.
• He taught me about timeliness, being punctual and being loyal and honest in whatever we do. I still remember him forgetting to pay the shopkeeper (who happens to be his good friend and our neighbor) and he walked back to pay it immediately after reaching home. Though he had the option to pay it out later, this was a great example set to me.
• He always took me to book shops and libraries (Connemara library in the Chennai museum campus) to encourage my reading habits, in which now am a life-time member.

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