I AM SIXTEEN, GOING ON SEVENTEEN

 



“The key to retirement is to find joy in the little things.”

Susan Miller

 

Many a time, I use this line: “Teachers do not retire.”

That’s, probably, to remind myself that, one day, I may stop teaching students and earn money; but, I will, always, continue to ‘teach’, contribute, empower, inspire etc., etc.… and, yes, all free of charge!

Thus, once a teacher, always a teacher…

But, then, is it not true for all of us, irrespective of the role we play in life?

As humans, we seldom retire…

We stay tuned to life… receiving from it, and passing on to others… But, what we receive from life shall, always, outweigh what we ever pass on…

Frankly, I do not like the word ‘Retirement’… As the saying goes, we may retire from our ‘Job’, but never from ‘life’…

In fact, a new life beacons us when we step out from our paying jobs… There is so much out there to savour… so many little things, which we never had time – or never bothered – to stop and smell… appreciate… value… and celebrate…

A new life begins now, when you retire… So, embrace it.






When I had started teaching, for a short while, in Atomic Energy Junior College (AEJC), sometime in 1980-81, I was 22-something, and I was new in this big city, excessively raw and nervous. I had hair on my head like Puttaparthi’s Sai Baba, or some would tease me calling, ‘Larry Gomes’ after the West Indian cricketer… Whatever it was, I was simply not going about as a conventional teacher.

They were my formative years as a teacher… I was getting shaped, tamed and tempered… More by my own young students around, rather than the colleagues and authorities. I had decided, early on, to carve my own path and not to spend years teaching (and politicking!!!) in an institution. So, I had no plans to ‘retire one day’ from an organization…

In AEJC, I would come closer to several students from the Science stream, as well. One of them was Yojana Singh. She was zestful, full of life as a Junior-College student… She loved to talk, and, yes, loved to lead. I, always, loved this side of this young girl – and knew she would go places. As years rolled by, she joined BARC – the same place her Dad had spent years serving as a Scientist – and lead several projects in the organization… We lost contact, and got connected through FB, several years later. The first thing Yojana did, when she got connected, was this: “Give me your number; I want to talk to you.”

And, she did, that late evening… Nothing had changed with Dr. Yajana Singh…

Nothing has changed, even today, as Yojana is ‘formally retiring’ from BARC… She remains the same – a childlike soul…




                                   (Dr. Yojana, at the centre, in red, with her vibrant family)

 


“Dear Yojana, enjoy your retirement life… See more stars, smell more flowers, play more with your grandkids… Yes, play and pray more… Lots of love.”

That’s how I wished someone I had seen – more than four decades ago - who went around singing – “I am sixteen, going on seventeen”. And, today, I see her retiring from her ‘workplace’, singing the same song - “I am sixteen, going on seventeen” …






GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay:  1. pasja 1000 

                       2. MonikaDesigns 

                       3. Dr. Yojana and family.


Video: The Sound of Music/Movie Clips


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...