5th September, Teacher’s Day
A day to pay reverence to all our teachers and live this beautiful bond. The meaning of a teacher has changed over the years. As a child, I still recollect how we during our years in school, we used to prepare for several programs for this event and that joy of seeing our teachers so cheerful state was incredible. My life has been shaped by many teachers if we go by the conventional term, ‘teacher’, be it at the school level or during college years.
But as we gain maturity, our thought process shifts to the underlying meaning and we see that teacher is anyone who guides us on our path and provides us with the lesson. This essence of the teacher is the real one as then, we can relate that our lives, mothers, or any person who could be the source of enlightenment, serving the real purpose of teacher i.e. showing the light of wisdom.
Today, I take this opportunity to pour out my gesture of gratitude to my late maternal grandmother, my mother, Dr Ganapathy (Cardiac Surgeon, who I met in 2000), and Mr Anil Dhir (a recent addition to my life as a mentor).
Raised in a family which was a matriarchal setup and seeing the two Joan of Arc’s (i.e. my nanima and mumma) managing the huge agricultural land, legal proceedings, and depicting the legacy of valour against life odds gifted me with resilience. Living in a society that eulogizes the patriarchal tyranny, seeing how both my mothers navigated the hooliganism, legal battles and illnesses was inspiring.
They both stood tall and emerged as warriors in every situation. I am blessed to be raised by them as no predicament in life can break me apart. The year 2016 was the time when in November, my Nanima breathed her last and while performing her final rites, I pledged to stay strong. So whenever I crumble, I just remind myself of that day and collect my broken pieces to mend them in a beautiful vase.
Words feel short to express my heartfelt accolades and thanksgiving to my nanima. Nanima, wherever you are, this is for you and bless my path so that I keep walking the life path without any fear.
Next, I would quote, my mumma who always kindled the faith of the sanguine approach in me and stood beside me in every decision of my life. She’s not merely a motherly figure, but we are buddies who have arguments, agreements, and open discussions on any issue. Ma, I adore you for such openness and letting me feel the freshness of life. You and nanima let me experience the nomadic in me and I could travel places.
And this exposure as a solo traveller has given me countless experiences of what life is away from the safe cocoon of home. Moving away from my immediate family, I would say with conviction that I was blessed enough to have received the affection from Dr Ganapathy Subramaniam who I met when I was eleven years old. He has been a mentor and has guided my life journey. Uncle, your words of encouragement have always ignited my pace of academic work, and besides this, you’ve always cared for me a lot.
There have been times when I didn’t wish mumma to be bothered and you restored the positive balance in me. And now talking of the recent addition in my mentors, I feel grateful to God for sending Mr Anil Dhir who showed the ray of hope when I was in a mess of research analysis work. Mr Anil, in a short span of time, you have patiently heard my woes and as a true buddy vowed to stand next to me.
This piece of writing is just a small token of acknowledgement to all these unconventional teachers who taught me life lessons. No words can fit in the right way to convey what you all mean to me. I just want to say that I love you all.