Proud moments
Youth looks at the world with
enthusiasm and every day, each moment is new and alive for the young. Walking
the path of life with a partner or a full boisterous gang or going it alone –
does it matter when you are young? But, you cross the mid life mark; there lurk
all of life’s irritations, problems to attack you! Post retirement period for
some people is not necessarily a peaceful time. Financial worries nag some of
them and yet another group may be faced with creaky and worn out limbs and
joints. But the grand daddy of all these problems is loneliness and the feeling
of being left out.
I am glad to be associated with
colleagues who are sensitive to this issue and what more- have the drive and
initiative to give a form and shape to their thoughts!
So, here we are – a bunch of DAV teachers
(mostly out of service due to retirement) who have come together to form our
association, to share our thoughts and feelings and to be there for our old
colleagues in times of need. It gives me immense joy to see that some of our
students want to lend a helping hand. As
one of the colleagues pointed out, our association may be the first of its kind
in this part of the country.
Why do I say so? When our neighbor
came to know of this, he appreciated it and he immediately brought out a Mumbai-
based magazine-‘Harmony-the magazine for silver citizens’. Its January, 2011
issue carried an article, ‘Guru Dakshina’. It is surprisingly about a similar
action (of caring for the senior teachers) but from the other end-students.
The alumni of kolkata’s South
Point joined hands to establish a ‘not-for-profit-association called ASPEXS (Association
of South Point Ex-students) in 1995.
“We learnt how to walk
holding their hands, now let us give them ours”, says a practising
charted accountant and a student of 1981 batch.
True to the reputation of the school,
many former students are successful in life at present as doctors, lawyers or
teachers. Despite their demanding lives, they feel they should pay their debts
to ‘those who made them see magic in mathematics, lyrics in literature
and heroic characters in history’
CARE wing- a branch of the ASPEXS
has also come into existence ‘to provide emotional support and
companionship to teachers in the age group of 60-85; to make them feel part of
a large and extended family’
Some of the ex students have
observed that ‘prolonged interactions have resulted in strong bonds of
trust and dependence’. It was so moving when I read that the teachers,
like parents, eagerly await the visit of their students turned children.
I feel (I think that applies to
all my fellow teachers) that the most joyful and exquisite moment in our lives
is when one of our students/children remember and seek us out after a long
time. In a way, we are blessed to be amidst young people and to be constantly
sharpening our wits and it keeps us alert and young mentally.
An external trigger pushed me
into the profession, no doubt, but I’ve found my calling in the constant
interaction with the young minds. I cannot visualize myself in any other
professional garb. Thank you, my children, particularly boys (?!!) for giving
me a fresh lease of life!
(The link for the magazine is:
mag@harmonyindia.org)
