The Silent Guardians!

All throughout our time here, in the world of the mortals, we experience a lot of things. Love, hate, happiness, sorrow, trust, betrayal and many many more. But have we ever wondered why? Why do these things happen to us? Why do we feel happy? Why do we cry? Why do we trust some one more than we trust ourselves only to get betrayed! (In most of the cases) It is being taught that everything happens for a reason, and perhaps we all know at some point of our lives as to what those reasons were. For me, everything that happens teaches us something. Lessons, the most important ornaments of life. There are lessons that we learn, and the people who impart them upon us.

A few years back, when life was not the only teacher that we had, as is the case now, we had a better world. Those 14 years of innocence that we had, and those people who brought us back on track whenever we strayed away from the innocence. And this one here is a dedication to all of them. To my teachers. 

I remember the time when I first entered that temple, with tears in my eyes and a lady was there to welcome me with open arms, to wipe my tears, to make me join my hands and close my eyes, to arrange the bag and the water bottle, to hold my hand and make me write the first alphabet, to make sure that I finished my lunch box, and finally to make sure that I reached the school bus at the time of dispersal. I had my second mother there and her name was Daisy. I don't know where you are right now, but Mam, if you come across this piece of work, please remember me as the guy who will always be grateful for whatever you have done for me. Perhaps someday our paths will coincide, and if you are able to remember me, we will revisit those times!

I also remember the time when I was about to leave the temple, yet again with tears, but this time not in the eyes, but buried deep down inside somewhere in my heart, and this time as well, there was a lady to bid me farewell. The woman, who for the past two years, had taught me everything that I needed to step out successfully from this cozy comfortable zone into the real dark world. I had found a mother again, and her name was Theresa.

Mam, I remember an incident which makes me feel humiliated even now when I think about it. I had developed a really bad habit of getting late to the class, and as it was your duty you kept on reminding me to be on time. But I didn't learn,and as a consequence to bring me back to the path of discipline you had to take a strict method. You scolded me once, and I, out of pure rage and un-necessary irritation replied back. That was one of the biggest mistakes that I had done all throughout my school life. I still remember my words and kills me at times, "My home is not at a stone's throw. How do you expect me to be on time?". And what followed after that was the most insulting 15 minutes of my day. You scolded me really bad. And i was quiet, not knowing what to say. I knew that I had done a mistake. I felt really bad. Disgusted. I was unable to have an eye contact with you throughout the entire first period. Time passed, things were forgotten, I had apologized later but I wasn't sure whether you forgave me or not. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that I was wrong, I shouldn't have done that, I should have listened and not retaliated. I am sorry. I regret that mistake even till this date. I hope you forgive me.

Anyways, between those two women, who were there at the inception and conclusion of my journey, there were many other ladies and gentlemen who paved the way from the kindergarten's innocence to 12th Standard's maturity. Some of them have been described below. Now, we had our own ways of remembering you. Our own memories that made you people special. So please accept the respect and the fun-part associated with it. For we used to remember you in our own little ways.

This man here, was all about style. And mind you, he had it in everything he did. Be it teaching or walking.  Though we people had tried our best to imitate every single act of his persona, yet there is just one you. 

1. To the way your removed your specks while reading something kept very close, 

2. To the way you asked questions at the beginning of every class,

3. To that-- "You idiots, you know nothing",

4. To the way you rolled the fingers of your hands while asking the much familiar 'what ', 

5. To that strand of white hair which still remained at the back of your head after those continuous attempts at dying and last but not the least, 

6. To those two top buttons of your shirt (except the collar button) which were there just for namesake!

Anyways, despite all the styling and profiling you still remain an integral part of all our lives. Though the reasons for each of us might be different. For me you are and will always be the reason why I get excited whenever I find some bold and small alphabets mixed with numbers as subscripts and preceded by 'plus' or '--->' signs!  

Happy Teacher's Day!

To the woman, who taught us everything about life for the time she was with us, which we now realize as the absolute verities of life. 

1. To that never-seen-before style of attendance, 

2.To those 'love one another' and other pieces of wisdom after the attendance, 

3. To that 'I am nothing, be humble' which holds true in the long run, 

4. To that unique way of showing respect after accidentally stepping on someone's feet, 

5. To those live drama shows which you portrayed suddenly out of nowhere after reading the witches' prophecies,

6. To that grammar and pronunciation advice after every line that we mis-spelt (carol-singing participants would know it)

7. To that evergreen smile with all those projected teeth,

8. To our guardian, the second parent, to the 'Amma'

Thank you!  Happy Teacher's day

This man. Well, his love for the black-board seemed to be as deep as his love for his own students. The cleanliness specialist! If the cleaning was good, then what came after that was even better. If he liked the board to be clear, that was only because his concepts were crystal clear. 

1.To the man who drew perfect straight lines at one go, 

2. To the man who saw everything that was going on in the class even while delivering , ( you cannot just talk and get away with it)

3. To the man who was the reason why we had nightmares before and after the Physics paper,

4. To the man who would give you the most structured and well ordered notes along with examples, (they proved out to be our lifeline during the board examinations)

5. And lastly, the man who always walked with the wind and never against it!

Dear Sir, if we learnt how to approach a problem even after not understanding the questions completely, it was because of you and those conceptual questions that you gave us! Thank you! We owe you a lot.

To the man, who gave us one of the best 45 minutes that we could possibly have had during the entire school hours.

1. I mean, if there is a pending lab record, we had the computer period.

2. Pending notes? Computer period!

3. Still Hungry after the recess? Computer period!

4. Want to have a games period for free? Yes, computer period!

Anyways, that was the fun part. Now let me tell you what was even better. This man was one of the most student friendly teachers that you will ever come across. Go to him with a doubt and he would tell you everything right from the zero level. Even if it's one of the lamest of questions that you've asked, he would answer it with equally good patience and perseverance. Yes, programming is a typical art. Not all logical programs execute successfully on the system. We had our problems with them. But the effort that we put in was really commendable. And that is what matters, and what makes me bow down to you!

Thank you Sir! 

"I am the Sun, this is the earth." Whenever I am reminded of this person, these are the lines that come to my mind. The perfect jolly person. The man who taught us to be happy no matter what happens. And that is what most of us fail to do throughout our lives. 

1. To those fun-filled Geography classes,

2. To the way you threw that piece of chalk, whenever I slept, (even after the fun, I slept once)

3. To those lame jokes, which astonishingly made us burst out in laughter,

4. To those hard pinches, and those continuous chops by the wooden scale,

5. To that attitude of being friends with every single guy/girl that you met. (The best part)

You gave us some of the best memories of our entire school life! Thank you!!

Though the only times that I got an opportunity to interact with you was during the Games period and during those height and weight measurements, yet you played a part in our lives unmatched by any other human being. 

1. To one of the most humble persons that I've ever come across.

2. To those one-liners that you gave after the prayer was said,

3. To that line which you always mentioned, "Dear God, Help the poor and the needy", (Now that we're grown ups, we realize their pain and agony)

4. To those coaching lessons during the inter-school tournaments,

5. To those new-field memories, the times you played with us!

6. The best one-- Our in charge for the 'Games period'. Those 45-all-play-and-no-work minutes!

Thank you! :)

Well, it won't be an understatement if I mention him as the single most influential teacher that all of us had throughout our entire school life. This man was a perfect mixture of class and discipline. Those who have graduated in Computer Science and Engineering would know this man's worth more than anyone else. If we can build up a logic-based algorithm to any of the complex problems handed over to us, it is because of those invaluable 45 minutes of practice that you used to give us. We missed you Sir, during our penultimate and the final year at school. Lucky were our seniors who had you with them for three straight years.

If any high school student asks me which book to refer, I would proudly say, "Programming in Java, by A. Vasantharaj."

Thank you Sir :)

Finally, the person behind all of this. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had any of those times which we cherish throughout our lives. The mentor, the guardian, the father. The man who along with Father John, build up and nurtured the institution which gave us the best 14 years of our lives. A man holding such an esteemed and responsible position yet so humble. Even now, the heart yearns to cry out 'Good morning Father' in the assembly only if there's one! Thank you so much. Apart from being and doing whatever you did for us, thank you for those 'sweets' that we used to receive on those special occasions. Yes. They were special. Every college student would realize it now. Thank you for those annual functions that we had, for that epic silver jubilee celebration and of course for that speech at the inception of every academic session--" Don't forget to remember the goals which we've set for ourselves..... " That used to be a pretty long one, but now we realize it's worth!

That pretty much sums it up. I didn't have the photographs of all of you but nevertheless here are a few lines remembering a few others who made this journey even more worthwhile---

1. Sir Anuj's 'Make prayer', and that 'Dear Parent' remark.

2. Miss. Meera's lessons on types of sentences and of course her long hairs.

3. Miss. Prabha's 'Mathematical Jokes'.

4. Miss. Nirmala's Sanskrit lessons blended with morals.

5. Miss. Vinita's-- "Within one slap you will be alright." (Just listening to this, we used to be alright throughout the class)

6. Sir Rajesh's "Take surprise test tomorrow"

7. Sir Ved's "Isn't it" and ofcourse his mountainous height.

8. Sir Akhil Ishwar's 'Saprasang bhaavarth'

9. Miss Noveena's 'Julius Caesar'

10. Sister's "Idiot fellow" (the best of all)

And many more who were there and their contributions are equally respected! In a nutshell, thank you for everything. Thank you for making us who we are today!