Teachers...

In this journey of life ,we  meet teachers of all kinds ...some  academic ,but most non academic….

There are many teachers whom I loved ….many I remember fondly….some of them were excellent teachers ,others loved students unconditionally…..

But looking back I think , while most of the teachers were good & dedicated , they never went beyond their textbooks & exams. I am sure they did their best under the circumstances ,considering limited school hours ,portion completion and unavoidable mark race .

I am grateful to all the teachers that have  taught me over the years but regrettably none tried to instill love for their subject in the students….

Mr.Bhumkar was different. He was not a part of our school faculty , we went to him for tuitions / extra classes. But what kind of tuitions ? I don't remember him taking any monetary compensation . It was probably the sheer love of teaching that was his motivation….

I went there for sole purpose of improving my marathi grammar & composition. But we got one subject free on marathi.. history. Frankly none of us needed to be taught history...it was an easy subject. But those history classes were unforgettable….

We were never taught from any textbook. He would open the book , read the first para and then go on from there….directly into the world of Shivaji , mughals , the British ,the world wars….

He loved history , was very well read and it showed... 

There were no question answers  , no paper solving ,no tests ..in fact he never covered any portion for 10th standards boards...

I went there for not more than 6 months. But those six months shaped my life. It was love for reading -history & literature -that I saw in his eyes and imbibed. He gave direction to my reading ….by suggesting what books to read , how to read them , how to write about them. I started reading non fiction for the first time in my life ….

He also knew and loved urdu & urdu poetry ...it is my greatest regret that I did not learn urdu from him….

After the school ,I became a  science student and forgot all about the pleasure of books….. I came back to reading only when I started working…

Today , when I look back , I can see his influence on my life and I will be forever grateful for him….