The ideal teacher

BY MADAN Lall Manchanda

THIS is the story of a teacher, Ghanshyam Das, whose missionary zeal had made his school a distinguished institution for academic excellence in Punjab (now in Pakistan) long before partition.

The school used to bag good position in university examinations almost every year. However, admissions in this institution were not restricted to the students belonging to wealthy and influential families. Also, one had hardly seen the old teacher using cane.

It was one man's show to manage the institution of such a rare distinction, and impart instructions in all prescribed subjects from post-primary stage to matriculation.

This singular achievement was entirely due to the commitment of this man called 'master saheb', who nurtured excellence in his private institution through sheer hard work. Always on his toes, one would never find him sitting on his chair in the classroom.

The novelty of his approach lied not only in associating students in the teaching process, but also repeatedly stressing on getting rid of one's weaknesses. No wonder a strange rapport was created between the teacher and students, making the latter better prepared for examinations.

The teacher practised what he preached. He led a simple and frugal life - a kurta of white khadi and a dhoti was all that he wore in summer, with an additional chadar in winter.

His necessities were few and, therefore, the fees he charged were quite minimal. In fact, he did not charge anything on the students coming from poor families.

Those were the days of Mahatma Gandhi's clash with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for supremacy in the Congress. This sent the latter on a whirlwind tour of the country to feel the pulse of the people, and establish his party, the Forward Bloc. A rousing reception awaited Netaji in our town as well.

Master saheb was requested by the secretary of the reception committee to close the school for a day to enable the students participate in the reception of their beloved leader. But Ghanshyam Das vehemently opposed the idea. "The prime duty of the students is to study, not to participate in a ceremony," the teacher said.

When Netaji reached the town, he was received with usual fanfare. He briskly visited the place where a Red Shirt volunteer, bearing the national flag, spearheading an earlier Congress procession, had been done to death.

After paying homage to the martyr, Netaji was required to rush to the next destination on his itinerary, when a casual mention was made about master saheb.

Netaji was so touched by what he heard about the teacher that, despite his tight schedule, he paid a visit to the school.

Subsequently, on the eve of partition, it was yet another feather in the cap of master saheb when he, a devout Hindu, was requested by the members of other community not to migrate to India.

Unmindful of the honour given to him by the most illustrious son of India, or the respect shown to him by Muslims, the old teacher continued to serve society in his own humble way.

Towards the end of his life, he would make rustic boys in a remote Indian village gather round him to make them read the morning newspaper. Courtesy-Pioneer. India