WHERE HAVE THE TEACHING IDEALS GONE?

“Arrogance is a creature. It does not have senses.

It has only a sharp tongue and a pointing finger.”

Toba Beta

 

This morning, Rameeta*, who lives in New Delhi, called me up. “Gerry Sir, where have the teaching ideals gone?” she sounded quite upset.

“What happened, Rameeta,” I prodded.

“My daughter had enrolled to learn Kuchipudi dance under a well-known classical dance-teacher. Just eight sessions… Two of them got cancelled… When I checked with the teacher, if there would be compensatory sessions for the lost ones, she turned wild and gave me a mouthful… Even though, she was unreasonably arrogant and mean, I kept my calm for my daughter’s sake… But, I have been disturbed ever since… Thought I would share with you, just to feel a bit lighter.”

Rameeta was my committed, hard-working and zestful student more than twenty-five years ago. She hailed from a very humble household; and despite the financial constraints, she and her brother both completed their Chartered Accountancy. Rameeta settled in New Delhi after her marriage to a businessman. After five years of working in a company, Rameeta chose to spend time with her two children… and teach students at home. As a teacher she was the happiest…  I remember she telling me, as to how hard it was for her, during the Pandemic, to even discuss fees with some parents… The experience had made her humbler and gentler… More grateful.

So, when this well-known dance exponent pounced on Rameeta, on simply checking if her daughter’s two lost sessions would be compensated,  she felt shocked and terrible… She wondered: “Where have the teaching ideals gone?”

It was easy for me to empathize with Rameeta. I went on a monologue: “Teachers are not alone in this, Rameeta… Every professional is… Every human being is… From Doctors, Lawyers, Architects to their peons… From Politicians, Priests, Policemen to a local grocery-shop salesman… There is this professional arrogance everywhere. I have been on both the sides of this furnace – I have shown arrogance, and been shown arrogance.” I added: “Don’t read too much into it, dear Rameeta. Just like all other ideals, teaching ideals, too, have not gone anywhere… The ‘ideal thing’ in life is to see how human we are, how fallible… how insecure. When we are able to do that, we get sufficient strength to realign ourselves to our ideals… So, ideals are very much there… Only we need to come home!”

 

 

I had been to Mangalore, my hometown, to see my mother who had to undergo a hip surgery. After a stay of eight days, I was returning yesterday. While waiting for the flight, I used the washroom at the Mangalore Airport… A gentle house-keeping staff,  who was stationed at the exist, volunteered to show me where the tissue-paper roll was around the wash-basin area… He was such a gentle middle-aged man, I felt happy for him. While crossing his path, I quietly place a hundred-rupee note in his hand, which, brought a smile on his face. “Thank you Sir,” he said sincerely.

Here at Mumbai airport, I had booked a prepaid taxi. The lady at the counter, after checking all my bags, charged me Rs. 600. Outside the airport, the middle-aged taxi driver placed my two handbags on the rear seat, a backpack and one small carton on the back seat. I was the only passenger. This man sounded very grumpy, for whatever reason… “You need to pay Rs. 25 extra for this carton box,” he said quite bluntly.

“Why should I? Have I not prepaid for all the bags I am carrying?” I reacted, knowing that I was right and he was wrong.

He began to argue… and, just as I was getting into the trap of arguments, the sky turned too cloudy, dark and it started to lash out, the rains and the strong winds, both… It was a relentless downpour, nothing was visible from the two side-windows… Some two kilometers before my destination, the taxi stopped… There was a puncture, right in the middle of the road… Somehow, he managed to bring the taxi to the roadside… The man looked confused, I looked confused… We had no umbrellas to get off the taxi… No way I could take another taxi… No way he could get off and fix the stepney tire… It was pouring crazily… Finally, he managed to borrow a stranger’s umbrella… and got into action… From my seat, I held the umbrella for him… It was very difficult for him to do his job in that torrential rain… After thirty minutes or so, the man could restart his taxi… By now, he and I both were quiet… When we reached my destination, he quickly got all the bags into my building lobby-area… Just as he was moving back, I quietly tucked a hundred-rupee note in his hand… and gently pressed his hand…

Our arrogance had been washed away in that torrential rain… The strong winds had blown away the urge in us to prove ourselves right… The surge of gratitude had submerged the urge to fight… that I was right… We were right… that we were wronged!

“It is the certainty, that they possess the truth, that makes men cruel.” Anatole France’s words began to ring in my mind, as I was coming to my home… I could grasp the meaning of ‘Coming Home’!

“Where have the teaching ideals gone?” Rameeta had asked me, this morning.

 

*Name changed

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Source internet

Video: Willie Nelson