A day hence, the children of my school celebrated an
impromptu Teachers day for me. They just wanted to put up a show and I didn’t
have the heart to say no. I was fighting the mother of all colds and a throat
that was croaking away just likes the village pond frogs. I sounded a cross
between a foghorn and a ‘paatta dhol!
Well to say the least, the children surprised with the
meaningful short play done, enacted by the children of the smaller classes
where they highlighted that timely and correct intervention and discipline by
the parents shaped and guided the children and they didn’t succumb to the
biggest vice of all, drugs. We all have become so nonchalant and complacent in
our outlook towards drugs and its tentacles that have invisibly spread that
till it doesn’t home we are not bothered. There was a lot of shaking off the
rug, dusting it but it’s been put back in places, the tall claims of three
months and the eradication by the present government have all settled down
comfortably just like my lazy dog, Sultan.
The children all dressed up in their best and then
danced to a popular Punjabi song and came up with handmade cards, and a paper
rose. One of them had bought me a simple blue bracelet, a pair of hair clips
and an old fashioned cut a birthday card greeting and then mounted on a
cardboard and presented. A brother –
sister duo presented me with a set of pens and another gave me a small
vaporizer set. These are precious, and make me go all fuzzy and warm in the heart;
these kids come from extremely poor back grounds, have no money to spare and
must have saved up. The cards, and the simple rhymes written extolling the
teacher touched me!
The icing on the cake was literally a chocolate cake
from the best bakery and this meant they had all planned this in advance.
Every child has a potential to do more, we just need
to give him or her the right environment. I have no formal teaching, I am no teacher,
just someone who helps them and guides them to push their limits and makes them
understand that gender bias is in the mind of narrow people. They understand
the difference and keep on striving to do best. They also respect all religions
and do not take advantage of the fact that they are given preference by the
government just to sway them to vote for one political party.
I feel each one of us can be a teacher; we can all
teach, impart and spread what we know to make Punjab better. Why do we have a
defeatist attitude and say oh nothing can be done, we are this, and we are
spiraling downward, when we accept defeat how do we expect to rise from the
ashes?
Be like Fawkes the phoenix; this is thanks to the
Harry Potter series written by an indomitable women JK Rowling, who never gave up,
faced adversity, bankruptcy and ruin and still came to the be the strongest woman
ever.
How come we have forgotten our chutzpah and only revel
in by gone era, and the heroes of yesteryear? Why not make history for the
coming generations, as one day you all will look into the mirror and see if you
can face it. Start small, start but please start, the love and affection and
the results all come back manifold. And, its not too late, if you’re reading
this I know you can do it.
As one of favorite quote, “ It is our choices, Harry
that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’
So make a choice, spread education, be the crux of a
developed society and see the inner glow and satisfaction !
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