The 5th day of September is called ‘Teacher’s Day’ since 1962 ,when on his birthday, the then President Sri S Radhakrishnan advised visiting students to celebrate the day to honour and respect the ‘teachers’. This has resonated in our country which has a great heritage of revering the ‘Guru’ as first source of learning & knowledge that we acquire. Many of us not only remember our school teachers’ names but wisdom they imparted & valuable lessons we learnt that left indelible impressions even after a span of decades. In course of time some became teachers, professors, mentors and training professionals.
If one were to pose the question ‘Who was your best teacher’ to ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin, he’d easily name RVAchrekar Sir, his famed Coach but ask ‘what was your best innings ever’, he’d be hard put to answer. Maybe it was the skill, power, maturity he gained with time while facing the best bowlers and often getting out early to some were lessons on technique & temperament which he mastered in his great journey of 100 centuries !
That’s why we often hear, ‘Experience is the best teacher, but that’s only true if you reflect on it and extract its lessons’. If I were asked the question at the age of twenty, my favourite teachers were parents first, then school teachers, professors and clever friends. Another decade later, they would be my versatile spouse and her parents whom I got to know better. In four decades of service, achievements and setbacks apart, it was gradual coming to terms with realities of life, being patient & persevering & learning the ropes from seniors and co-workers. Best lessons were learnt in edgy moments of crises and also from experience of others.‘To do or not to do’ as a ‘Banker Hamlet’ would ponder…
I must acknowledge that two sons later became my best ‘IT’ trainers. When I wanted to start a blog I’d no clue, so it was set up by the elder one. A slow 40 + computer learner, I struggled initially and my younger son had strict rules for regular ‘hands on’ sessions. For a special occasion I’d visualized a video presentation – pics, commentary and songs but was helplessly incompetent. IT Whiz-kid nephew then came to my rescue in style !
Yes, it’s never to late to learn – in fact with age comes maturity and rationality and a quest to learn more (82 yr old Big B quizzes KBC contestants to know about their lives !) and our old friends by inspiring deeds motivate us to the bigger goals. My ‘good news’ story is about a retired friend, who’s devotion to nursing and caring for his 92 year old father (a widower) is so exemplary & it reminds me of my Dad’s devotion for his Dad ! I have always felt that the best teacher doesn’t talk, tell or teach. He just does things & inspires.
Working on Living 