A few days back I got reacquainted with a person from my past. This person had his accountancy coaching class in the ground floor of my building premises, whereas we lived on the first floor. At that time, I too was in the final year of my graduation course.
Many of my friends were his students. The starting of this class changed the atmosphere of the building. Young boys, who otherwise loitered around the streets, now hovered in our premises to eye the girls who came there to study. Gossipy aunties who previously had only neighbours and relatives to talk about, now had more “juice” to make their afternoons interesting by ridiculing the dressing sense of some “modern” girls and by making their own “couples” pair. The lone general store in the premises started doing roaring business…..in short a lot of changes took place.
As I was not part of the class, but was in the same degree course, I ran into some stumbling blocks during exam time. With no one to run to for help (we didn’t own a telephone in those days!), I went, albeit very hesitatingly, to Sir to ask for help, completely prepared to be turned down as I was not his student. Imagine my surprise, when he not only welcomed me, but explained the content in such an easy manner that I was left wondering what was so difficult in the first place? His generosity, his ability to make the student comfortable and his ease of teaching left a lasting impression on me.
I now started observing his dedication and passion for his work more closely. Through some of his students, I came to know that he suffered from allergy to chalk dust and had some other breathing ailment too. Yet, I never saw him using that as an excuse to shirk away from work. No one was turned away from asking doubts and difficulties….in fact many of his students lived in our building itself and took all kinds of liberties with his time, but I do not recollect anyone mentioning that he/she had been turned away.
Soon I got married and shifted away from my home in Chembur. Marital bliss and then the trapeze artist act of balancing home and office, followed by the birth of my son turned life into one whirlwind. Then my family sold off that home to settle in Pune. Chembur home soon became a memory buried in the recesses of the mind. But through some or the other source, Sir came to be mentioned. Be it the starting of “Dawn Club”, the printing of his “Dawn” booklets or my brother’s involvement in Sir’s activities, he was somehow connected to me.
After a few years of corporate life, I decided to quit and be with my son to enjoy his growing years. To occupy myself constructively during the long afternoons, I started teaching. I have experienced firsthand how easy it is to get irritated by repeated queries, how easy it is to lose patience with slow learners and how frustrating it becomes when you are in the throes of teaching passionately and the student is looking at you with a blank expression! At such times, I remembered how Sir’s kindness and patience….and then would count to the proverbial 10, exhaling out all those negative feelings.
Now, through FB, I got in touch with him and believe it or not, he happened to read my blog, where my last post was in Jan 2009! I had forgotten its existence! Through his persuasive skills (believe me, even online he has the power of persuasion!) he has compelled me to write again. And…. It feels magical. Thank you dear Gerry Sir, whom the world knows as the famous Gerald D’Cunha. Yeh post aapke naam!
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