EVERYONE IS A TEACHER.

I have been to so many Schools that I need to actually count them. I started with St. Joseph's Convent in Cuttack, moved to St. Anne's High School in Secunderabad. Then went to Bishop Westcott's in Namkum near Ranchi, then joined Army Public School in Ramgarh, and finally went to Mount Carmel Convent in Hazaribagh. It has been from East to South and East again. I met many teachers, and learnt a lot of different things from everyone.

I EVEN MET CEASER IN ROME

Besides School teachers there were many other teachers I learnt from as time went by. 

Kabirdas has been one of my teachers. Please read what he has said about the importance of teachers almost  six hundred years ago

गुरु गोबिन्द दोउ खडे काके लागूँ पाँय बलिहारी गुरु आपने गोबिन्द दियो बताय

Guru gobind dou khade, kaake lagoon paay Balihari guru aapne gobind diyo batay

Guru and God both are here to whom should I first bow All glory be unto the guru path to God who did bestow

Kabir lived from (1440 – 1518 CE) near Varanasi and was a weaver. Using today's language I can say his poetry was very "user friendly". It was very meaningful and taught simple homilies. 

I am also a fan of Amir Khusrow (1253–1325 CE). He was born in Patiyali near Etah and died in Delhi. He was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, and wrote poetry in Persian and also in Khadi Boli which was the colloquial language. He composed a lot of pahelis too. I quote one:-

Raajaa pyaasaa kyon? gadahaa udaasaa kyon? Answer: lotaa na thaa. Why was the King thirsty? Why was the donkey sad? Because of the absence of lotaa  Lotaa means (1) a vessel to drink water from.                           (2) roll in the mud. Amongst English poets I like Shelley, Wordsworth and Tennyson. "We are Seven" by Wordsworth and "The Lady of Shallot" by Tennyson had left visual images of the place in my mind and I still recall both these poems without an effort. Ozymandius by Shelley makes me realize that time takes its toll. These poems have thoughts which help in formulating a philosophy of life, is that why I recall them effortlessly? CHILDREN READING

Teachers are not only those who teach us in School, college or University. One can even learn from chance readings, poetry written at odd places like behind the trucks and auto rickshaws in India, and even from epitaphs.  One interesting reading from a truck is,

“अमीरों की ज़िन्दगी, बिस्कुट और केक पर,

ड्राईवर की ज़िन्दगी, क्लच और ब्रेक पर.”   All the people whom we meet in our life can become a teacher if we are willing to learn. One needs to keep an open mind and acknowledge that life is an entire process of learning, improving and making ourselves better. As we grow up we normally start believing that we know everything and there is no one who can teach us anything more. It is a very big myth which stunts our growth. The world is so big and the mysteries of life are so many that no one can actually learn everything. LEARNING FROM GOSSIP Just watching, observing and imbibing things and conversations as they happen can be a major learning experience. This reminds me of the poem, "On his Blindness" where Milton says, "They also serve who stand and stare". I say just watch and learn, do not remain untouched by what you see. One can make every moment a learning moment, and every person a teacher. Wouldn't life become better for everyone if only we tried to learn and become better?