Happy Teachers’ Day, Parents!

September Five. It’s your day Teachers!

If you are an Indian, you would be certainly well versed with the significance of the fifth day of September. It’s Teachers’ Day. This is the day when we get ourselves to thank the teachers who have helped in shaping our lives as they are now and continue to offer their guidance whenever we need them. For me, Teacher’s Day was always about the teachers in school, performances and gifts for them and a few return gifts at times. The realisation that not only the teachers in school but the many others who are or have been very important parts of my life dawned only when I learnt the other perspective of this meaningful day. In this series, I am going to pen down the different teachers in my life so far and what their contributions towards my life have been till date.

The most important role models should and could be parents and teachers. But that said, once you’re a teenager you’ve probably gotten as much of an example from your parents as you’re going to. ~ Andrew Shue

Isn’t it so true? You know that your parents are the most important people right from the moment you are born. Your every need is taken care by them, they know exactly what you need or want at a specific time and most importantly, they are the only teachers in your life who are given the responsibility of teaching everything starting from the basics without an end of that tutorial.

They are your role models that you want to grow up like.  For me, becoming a doctor or an engineer was never in the hindsight. I simply wanted to work like my father did. Going to office regularly, following a discipline of getting ready on time, driving up to office, attending meetings, and coming back home to be welcomed by the family members, I only wanted this. I was not bothered about the qualifications you need to become a working member in the family but the only attraction was the respect that he earned from each and every person we knew. In case of my mother, what I have always learned is the way you manage a family of people with different personalities. If there’s a grandma who has a routine of waking up at 4am and sleeping off at 8pm every day, my mom never failed to attend to her needs; if there are children who study late or have people working late night shifts at office, they do not need to worry about things like food not there. For me, my mom is the only person who teaches and preaches without a set tutorial and teachings are about each and every thing that you can imagine exists in this world. And then, there’s the sister. Didi is the person who emerged to be a combination of Baba and Ma. If she inspired and taught about the life that exists outside our home, she also has been instrumental about imbibing the confidence in me that I can manage both house and office easily. I only need myself to face troubles and solve them. And oh yes, to celebrate every happy moment in your life with a smile and your favourite food.

Yes, parents and family members are there for you always, but the concentration of teaching the lessons of life seemed to be more and started vigorously in my teenage years. It was and is as if I need guidance at every step. They became more protective about me and everything I wanted to do. Be it studies, friends and hanging out with them and also about work. Phew!

No wonder that this is also true when it comes to the parents!

We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up. ~ Phyllis Diller

Well, it’s not all bad because you have someone to fall back one when your decisions are proved wrong.

Baba, Ma and Didi, Happy Teacher’s Day! Surprisingly you didn’t need a job at a school but got a student to teach throughout life. Hopefully, the returns from my side are better than the salary that you expected!