Lesson for life

I remembered the school well and noticed every little change that had visited it: the dance and music hall were now classrooms as was the staff room. Nice as it was, it wasn’t what I had come back for. The trip back was to meet a teacher who had taught me 18 years ago. I knew my chances of tracking her down were slaim — 18 years is a long time and she must, surely, have moved on.

It actually came as a surprise to me that I still remembered well every detail about her. I am awfully bad with names, but her name I remembered. The smile on her face, the way she had decorated the classroom — she had happened to be our class teacher— to welcome us as Class V students…every detail remained with me. The starched, pink sari that she wore Gujarati style, the clack-clack of her heels on the wooden floorboards and the bangles that jingled every time she wrote on the blackboard. Even her yellow T-shirt and blue jeans that she wore on informal occasions.

She was the only teacher who never screamed or shouted at the students — making friends with us from day one. She was our English teacher and it remained my favourite subject. I sat right next to her in the class photograph that I still have with me and I remember, distinctly, how she had turned around to see me and comment, “Oh, the naughtiest bunny!”

I also distinctly remember how she once explained to my mother how difficult it was for her to defend me to the other teachers who found me extremely naughty. Well many would agree with this conclusion even today. I haven’t changed all that much but somewhere I felt that this teacher, at least, would have no cause for complaint about the way I finally turned out!

Somewhere deep down, I always wanted to be like her but never told her so. If I ever get a chance to meet her again, I would like to tell her something that I never had a chance to tell her before. That she inspired me, that she had played a major role in making me what I am, that she was one teacher who stood apart from the rest — and I have come across scores of teachers at every level in a number of cities.

She taught me a lesson for life.