Tisemlo K
TEACHER’S DAY has always been special to me but it is that one day back in the 90s which inspired me to write these few words. It was a cloudy morning and we reached school fearful of the impending rain. Thankfully there was to be no showers as the skies cleared up and we stood in line ready to march away to our destination. Back then, the local ground was the confluence where students from all schools would gather to honour our teachers.
In line we stood and began our adventure of the march. But behind me stood a nasty surprise. It was Lion, our class bully, holding a placard bigger than his gigantic head. I turned left and right but there was no teacher to protect me. I even tried to look behind but his shoulders and chest seemed to cover the whole road. There I cursed my luck, and my class teacher for not arranging the line according to our height. Suddenly, I was jerked to my consciousness by his booming voice shouting ‘Long live’, and as if on cue I responded ‘Teachers’ in as big a voice as my chords would permit. There began a partnership that began with conventional slogans to the more hilarious ones ‘Long leaf-Banana leaf’ or ‘No Teachers- No congress’. As we laughed our way to the ground, I realised that he did not pull my ear or drop something in my shirt even once. He didn’t even step on my shoe for that matter. Maybe he got caught in the moment, but I’d like to believe that he did it out of love and respect for our Teachers. Eventually, I got bigger and stronger to deal with this Lion and some Hyenas that followed him.
My episode with the Lion had ended and I moved on proud in the knowledge that there are not many Lions who can ever bully me again. But when I joined school as a teacher in 2013, it was like going back to my early childhood yet again. The new Lion was the Department of School Education (Dose). First, he denied me my appointment order for a year, then he sent me to a remote area without salary for months. Today, this Lion is yet to pay me my salary from May to August 2014. He has denied a decent Birthday gift to my daughter, he has denied my wife her monthly ration of creams and shampoos. And to be honest, this Lion has forced my family to a diet only Menaka Gandhi could appreciate.
But I will celebrate this Teachers’ Day like I did back then. I will celebrate the lives of all the Teachers who made me who I am today. I will also celebrate the love and affection which my students give me. For Love is that one thing which couldn’t be bought with money. Dear Salary Starved Appointees (SSA Teachers), let us celebrate in the knowledge that we can overcome this Lion, like the lions of the past. If we continue to give our best God will take care of the rest.
Happy Teachers Day!
