Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Stand up on the bench
The favourite punishment of our teachers. I remember one day when every one of us stood on the bench because none knew the "Subject" for 'Thank you'.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Memories of teachers - from students' reminisences in letters
Viswanath Sharma: Class of 1973. New Zealand: from a letter dated 29 August to the forum:
It is the people, they say, that makes the place, and I too wish to share some of my recollections of people who have influenced me, and have made my growing years memorable.
One of my favourite teachers was Sri Madhukar Konamthambige (Hindi), despite the fact that I was arguably the worst student in the class when it came to understanding the nuances of Hindi literature. As Pijush notes, he was much more than a teacher; he was a "marg -darshak", and taught me what he believed was important in life. A widely read but simple man, he believed that true happiness came by keeping life simple - a lesson that resonated with me as a child, but one I sometimes forget in adulthood. I met him once in Goa, after I had finished my university education, and we had a quiet chat about old times. I would love to contact him, if anyone can provide his contact details, I would be much obliged.
Sri Kompella Someswara Sarma (English) , taught me simplicity but of a different sort : that the beauty of the English language lies in the simplicity of its form. "Try writing an essay" he once instructed "without using a single adjective. A noun should be able to stand on its own, it does not need an adjective for a crutch!" Many of today's journalists and writers, who confuse long words for literature, and cliches for classiness, would have benefited from his advice. And of course I agree with what many have written about Sri Mandeswara Rao - a very dignified man who had the unusual ability of being able to teach Maths as well as Literary criticism with equal ease. And I am grateful for all my science and maths teachers, for teaching me to think logically and who fed my questioning mind.
It is the people, they say, that makes the place, and I too wish to share some of my recollections of people who have influenced me, and have made my growing years memorable.
One of my favourite teachers was Sri Madhukar Konamthambige (Hindi), despite the fact that I was arguably the worst student in the class when it came to understanding the nuances of Hindi literature. As Pijush notes, he was much more than a teacher; he was a "marg -darshak", and taught me what he believed was important in life. A widely read but simple man, he believed that true happiness came by keeping life simple - a lesson that resonated with me as a child, but one I sometimes forget in adulthood. I met him once in Goa, after I had finished my university education, and we had a quiet chat about old times. I would love to contact him, if anyone can provide his contact details, I would be much obliged.
Sri Kompella Someswara Sarma (English) , taught me simplicity but of a different sort : that the beauty of the English language lies in the simplicity of its form. "Try writing an essay" he once instructed "without using a single adjective. A noun should be able to stand on its own, it does not need an adjective for a crutch!" Many of today's journalists and writers, who confuse long words for literature, and cliches for classiness, would have benefited from his advice. And of course I agree with what many have written about Sri Mandeswara Rao - a very dignified man who had the unusual ability of being able to teach Maths as well as Literary criticism with equal ease. And I am grateful for all my science and maths teachers, for teaching me to think logically and who fed my questioning mind.
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