It is not always that a journalist gets an opportunity to be
a lecturer too, though part-time. When it
happens, what will be the experiences of such a person? In the current posting in the series
“RECOLLECTIONS Sweet and Sour” I touch upon my dual-role stint and the strange
moments I went through.
THE GRACE OF GRATITUDE
(By Subbaram Danda)
It was evening. After my duty was over in the Express, I was standing at the Arts
College bus stop on Mount Road to go home.
Buying a car was still in the realm of my dreams. Buses on various routes arrived but not the
one I wanted. I turned somewhat
impatient.
At this juncture a
large imported white car passed by, slowed down and turned into the Woods Road
adjacent to the bus stop. They were the
days when Ambassadors and Fiats ruled the roost. So, an imported car easily caught the
attention of everybody.
A minute later a
smart-looking girl in her late teens walked towards me, halted and said, “Good
evening, Sir. Where are you going? I can
drop you. My car has just been parked on
the side road.”
I was perplexed. I was not sure who she was.
She continued, “Sir, I
am Manju, your student at the Kothari Academy for Women. Please don’t hesitate. Come with me, Sir.”
True, I was taking
journalism classes at the Academy in Kilpauk but I could not figure out who the
girl was. The class had as many as 50 students.
As if to convince me
further that she was indeed my student, she went on, “Sir, in your class day
before yesterday, when you took up “Feature Writing” you also dwelt on
“Effective English.” You made us easily
remember the spelling and meaning of the similar-sounding words ‘apprise’ and
‘appraise’ and also ‘stationary’ and ‘stationery.’ The tips and examples you gave we cannot
forget.”
She was correct. However, I was still in a dilemma whether I
should accept her offer or not.
Fortunately, as if to
save me from embarrassment, my bus came.
Thanking her profusely for the offer and excusing myself, I rushed
towards the bus.
Later I learnt that
Manju was indeed a keen student of mine and she was the only daughter of the
Managing Director of a major corporate entity in the city. It was heartening that she had no airs or
pretentions about her background.
The bus stop incident
was a moving experience for me. On
reflection today, I feel there are youngsters genuinely interested in learning
things and for this they want capable teachers.
If one is able to meet their expectations, their joy knows no
bounds. For this they will ever remain
grateful to their teacher. They would
like to do at least something in return, when they get an opportunity – a true
“Gurudakshina.”
I cannot forget the
touch of true grace in Manju’s grateful action.
My foray into teaching,
besides my regular journalistic career, was accidental. At a press conference I had met a dashing
public relations professional, Bharatan, who ran an organization to conduct a
course in Public Relations, Journalism and Advertising, all rolled into one, as
an extra-curricular activity in city colleges and some other institutions. He took a fancy for me and inducted me into
teaching. I took care of journalism part
of the curriculum.
During my stint at
Stella Maris College in the city I had a strange experience. The strength of the class was about 50, as I
reckoned on my first day. In a week’s
time it grew to about 70. And shortly thereafter
it swelled further. I was perplexed.
I asked Bharatan about
the ever increasing size of the class.
With a strange smile on his face, he said, “Our official strength
remains the same – 50. The other
students are from another stream, a full-fledged journalism course, conducted
by another professional. They heard
about your ways of teaching and wanted to attend. I allowed them in without charging.”
He gave a big pat on my
back and I felt I was on top of the world.
(RECOLLECTIONS will continue)
March 01. 2018
