This teachers day two significant names comes to my mind - Natesh and Mehta Sir. It was men like Mehta Sir who shaped many a young minds in a nondescript suburb outside of Mumbai.
Mehta sir was a strict disciplinarian and we had reasons to believe it having been at the receiving end of his fury more than once myself! Me and many of my school friends have been trashed with a ruler till one let out loud moans, been slapped on the back with a heavy hand, asked to kneel down on the gravel filled, dirty play ground, made to run around the school campus etc. Behind that strict disciplinarian was a man who wanted to see us do well and succeed in life.
Most of Mehta sir’s students were either from poor or lower middle class families and he knew well that his students were the only hope for many of their poor working class parents. Mehta sir knew that the only way out of the daily rut for many of these parents was through the achievements of his students. He went about doing his job without bothering about the remuneration – I am pretty sure it was quite paltry those days and of course nothing compared to what he delivered.
Mehta sir was an epitome of courage and motivation, How else could one explain our school football team taking on the mighty, well equipped team from other schools nearly barefoot? How else could one explain the kabaddi matches that our team played with boys(?) twice our size? How else could one explain the enthusiasm to run along the race track and cheer the participating girls from our school with loud slogans of “Dhaav Usha Dhaav” [Run, Usha Run!].
Mehta Sir, I am proud of you and We want to make sure we give back a part of what we got from you, We are all trying to do our bit in a small way and will try our best in the future as well. Keep inspiring and motivating us from wherever you are.
Another day, I am going to write about Natesh sir, who truly inspired many young people to more importantly understand their dreams and later follow them, successfully!
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