SOME UNKNOWN TEACHERS

 SOME UNKNOWN TEACHERS

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

05/IX/2022

 

            Let me begin by folding my hands to all my ‘teachers’ who touched my life and moulded me into what I am today. A big thank you to each one of them. So far for the teachers who were responsible for my formal education. My parents included.

 

            I also wanted to thank all those who taught me indirectly too. They rarely spoke to you authoritatively but they gave you a lesson on the quiet, your own children included.

 

            My teachers were my jawans under me. The first thing they taught me was ‘unflinching obedience’. One command and they would just obey. One order they could die for you. They would come to ‘attention’ on your word of command. On the command of ‘Hilo Mat’ no one moved even if a fly sat tickling his nose. That obedience could never be duplicated by anyone else.

 

            ‘Punctuality’ was taught by my driver. He was never late. A time was given to him to reach my house; he would be there fifteen minutes ‘before time’. How could he be late? If you scolded him for being too early, next time he would halt his jeep round the corner and wait and still reach six minutes before the stipulated time, as you insisted not to make him wait for more than five minutes. My salute to all those who drove me around. Can we learn a lesson here?

 

            My teacher was my company ‘Barber.’ He would be shitting in his pants as he would be cutting the hair of his boss. Scared to death, but he would not let his hands shake. If one had stable hands like him in such pressure, no way could your weapon waver. I bow to them.

 

            The best teachers were the cooks. Those days the fauji rations were ‘some’ rations. They could cook a banquet out of a vegetable, which would have travelled weeks, on all possible modes of transport including the last leg on a porter or a pony or even being air dropped. Those guys were masters of their trade.

 

I wish I could get up at three in the morning, cook breakfast and have the packed lunch ready before we left for the Road Opening Party and be so happy to receive the company in the evening with a hot cup of chai and a garma garam dinner to follow, days on end.

 

Without them troops could not function. The ‘dependability’ as a quality had to be learnt from them. The stove might fail, but the meal would always be served hot, irrespective of the heat, chill, rain, hail, snow, or sandstorm. A salute to those tireless men too.

 

Now that I have hung my boots, even the cobbler on the street has been a teacher. If you took a pair of shoes for repairs, he would nurse them, clean them, polish them, shine them with such dedication and then hand them over with a tip or two on how to maintain them.

 

            One also needs to learn from the modern “Masters in WhatsApp Studies” people. A recent forward on Cirrus Mistry’s death has gone viral. God bless his soul. He was in a Merc with tons of air bags and safety measures but still died in the car crash. The reason was he was not wearing a seat belt. How tragic and how cruel the hands of death can be is understood from this example.

 

            All those ‘preachers’ not practicers,’ who have understood the necessity of wearing seatbelts while sitting in the rear seats are sending pictures of the accident along with advantages of wearing one. Discussions are on in various groups on the subject. However, most of them are forwarding this while driving, that too on the wrong side, while taking a shortcut and having four people including aging parents sitting in the back seat.

 

            I do not want to thank such ‘virtual teachers'. My jawans were warriors but God save us from these WhatsApp warriors who throw empty packets of chips out of their car windows and lie to you with a straight face that they never ate chips their whole life.

 

            Teachers in school today have a tough life. Parents have stopped teaching children at home, that is why. Probably they are too busy to teach their offsprings about how to conduct themselves in society. They pay the school, so they want to extract the last penny out of them. They want their children to do well, with no effort from their side.

 

            I quote, “We expect teachers to reach unattainable goals with inadequate resources. The miracle is this that they do,” was said by an unknown author and it is absolutely true. Let us thank them once again. How do they do it? I wonder!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS