What students can make you do even by not saying anything …
I see sparks plays in the background, a soft hum that is literal
and melodious. The kids and their souls are beautiful. Just yesterday, as I
enquired from a student of mine, as to why he got up at 3 am, to cook noodles
for our class potluck, he gave away, ever so spontaneously, that he had to cook
biryani for his girlfriend’s potluck and then he blushed and felt shy! The
expression was so adorable! What a wonderful boyfriend, isn’t he?
Then I teased this one lovely
student of mine, who looks at me with hearts in her eyes. “Madam, I wanted to
ask you something!” she uttered in the class. Off I went mimicking her and she laughed,
giggled at the same time, being unable to ask me in the same tone. She even
asked me one day, when I would be going back to India, so she could follow me.
It took me a while to digest the fact that she really wanted to ‘follow’ me!
The kind of love that students
can offer, I’m learning, is perhaps all that is a reflection of the love and
care that we teachers have for them. It’s not the first time for me, to form a
bond with students, that is so strong, in a span of two or three months. To my
surprise, everywhere I go, or have been, as a guest lecturer in the past,
students, inevitably end up falling in love with me. As I write this, it is
more of a self- observation than a narcissistic disclosure.
The other day, as I sat in the
auditorium judging a research symposium, a part of me looked at myself in awe, for,
there I was pointing aspects which students missed in their research, left, right
and centre. The neuron in my brain fired to the extent, that I ended up
intimidating the students who were presenting . Then came the compassionate and
the kind voice within me, which spoke on the mike, letting them know, that there
courageous enough to present and the symposium is an opportunity for them to
learn and grow, than to be scared about. It definitely calmed them.
A friend of mine, to the left,
asked me if I had supervised any of the students. I, very cooly answered “ I
haven’t”. Just then, my Deputy Dean, whom I was assisting, for the event,
answered “ But you will!” . That led to a gulp down the throat. Thoughts such
as “How can I supervise a student for RESEARCH? I’m so bad at statistics!”, “Seriously,
me supervise, a student? Just yesterday I was at JMC, being supervised, when
did I grow so much to supervise others?”
Today, as I write these words
down, a little smile, comes by, it’s a circle of life, after all, all comes
back. My heart may feel young, I myself just feel like a college student around
these kids ( they are all in their 20’s, but I end up calling them kids, don’t know
why) yet the experience has definitely matured the wine in me!
That’s all folks from the diary
today!
Love
Aakriti
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