Close to my retirement as I reflect over my teaching career stretching beyond three and a half decades, I feel proud of spending fruitful years in a job that I loved. Teaching has not just been a profession but a passion for me. I must say that it has been a rewarding and fulfilling experience.
Etched in my memory is the day when I entered the portals of MCMDAV College, Chandigarh as a lecturer in 1980. I can never ever forget the warm welcome received from the senior most faculty member, Mrs Usha Verma who hugged me as her ‘grand student’. All the affection was showered upon me because I happened to be a student of her favourite student. Certainly, there is a profound student-teacher bond. Today, where ever I go- a social gathering, a market or any other place, I come across one or the other student. It feels so great from within when the students meet me with all the warmth and affection. Far away in Australia, I was pleasantly surprised when a girl came up to me and introduced herself as my student. Indeed, teaching is a rewarding profession in terms of the love and reverence a teacher can get from the students.
I was barely 23 years old when I began my teaching career at MCM. It is here that I spent major part of my life, grew up from being a young girl into a middle aged woman and now slipping into the category of senior citizen. Needless to say, MCM has been a second home to me and my colleagues my extended family. No celebration has been complete without their participation and the staff room itself has been the venue of many our parties.
I owe a lot to the institution which has given me an identity of my own. It is here that I have evolved as a person. In the early years of my career, I had the privilege of working under stalwarts like Mrs. Roy and Mrs. Mahajan whose dynamism and values I always cherish and tend to imbibe. I have learnt a lot from my seniors who guided me not just on college matters but also gave tips on household management which came handy to me at a time when I was naive. I found my best friends in this college who have stood by me in thick and thin. These are not just my colleagues who have helped me to grow as a person but I owe a lot to my students who have been my biggest inspiration, my motivational force.
I have been sincere to my job, tried to do justice with my work and performed to the best of my ability. I feel blessed to have been adequately rewarded. In teaching you don’t have to look for appreciation elsewhere. Outside endorsement is immaterial since the pleasure of teaching is a reward in itself. If you are able to capture the interest of the students, satisfaction is guaranteed. The result of a good lecture delivered is instantaneous, can be seen on the faces of the students, the reverence that you see in their eyes is price-less.
In the end, I must say that it has been my pleasure to be in a profession which I always loved. After all, life is all about enjoying what you do and doing what you enjoy.
Published in the college magazine Mehr Jyoti 2017
Yes Rama we have been adequately rewarded by our students.
When I read great compliments from the old students on my Facebook even after retirement, it gives me great pleasure and satisfaction
Yes Alka ,teaching is indeed a fulfilling n rewarding profession in terms of love n adoration from d students .