to be or NOT to be

                                               

What kind of a teacher inspires you? Responsibility and commitment towards the syllabus apart, for me it is someone who speaks outside of the syllabus and teaches you something for life. And usually,  I have felt that your language teachers have the freedom of talking outside of the syllabus. Their subject offers that freedom. Again, it’s a choice. Some choose it some don’t. No offence to those who teach other subjects, it’s not your fault, your syllabus is tightly packed and when commitment matters, there is seldom time for out of syllabus talks. You might have already figured out, the person I’m going to talk about is my English teacher. She taught me for just one semester during the second year of my undergraduate.

We were back to college after summer break. It was her first day of college. She introduced herself and began talking about different means of going through a text. Though the lecture seemed a little awkward, she gave an explanation for this in one of her classes later. She said it was her first class and did not know what to talk about, so she chose a random topic to be discussed. She was so nervous that she wrote down things on the board, which was unlikely of her.

She was very friendly. We called her Yasmin Ma’am. Her name was Mary Yasmin Thattil. From which I figured out that she was a Malayali and a Christian('Mary'definitely means that right??).‘Thattil’ should be one of the most easy to pronounce family names in Kerala, considering the difficulty rating of these being higher than the binomial nomenclature in plants. So there was an instant connection felt as we shared the same roots in terms of our native. She was a non- residing Keralite, born and brought up in Calcutta. She shared with us the story of her life, once we became acquainted.

Her story is not tragic. It is about how each of our journey is planned. She believed in destiny. She always said if it weren’t for Chennai, she would not have met the person she fell in love with (tall, dark and handsome, she had mentioned before) and eventually married. Before coming to Chennai, she had two years of her college life in Calcutta, studying something which she did not like, dropping it and then joining college in Vellore for B.A English. She said if it was not for the teachers there and the decisions she took, she would not have been joining Madras University for her masters, followed by her doctoral studies due to which she stood in front of us.

She told she worked hard; her teachers were brilliant that she did not want to miss anything that they said. So she devised her own codes to write down whatever they said in class so that she wouldn’t miss a point. I imbibed that quality of hers after which my notes were of great demand among my friends.

The next thing I admire her for, is when she said about how she felt about not having a girl child. She wanted a baby girl so that she could rear her into a strong, courageous woman who has an opinion of her own and could bring changes to the society. But her dreams were in vain; she was gifted with a baby boy. She was not sad as she had plan B in her mind. She considered that the baby boy was her opportunity. It was her chance to grow him into a man who would respect women and treat them well. It was her chance to create a respectful life for another girl as well. Her theory was approved with the unending applause from the class.

Ma’am, I still remember you. You proved a point when you said that a woman working or not  working is her choice,based on the circumstances she is in. There is nothing demeaning in being a stay at home mom taking care of your home and bringing up good individuals. You proved your point when, you had to resign your job you earned, to take care of your mother in law. I remember your round glasses, your red bindhi and your smile.

Life is a matter of choices and decisions we take in a journey that is already planned. We meet many on our journey that we are exploring. She was one among the few who I still remember for having a take on everything in life and sharing it the most casual and breezy way possible.