Gurur Brahma.....

A sleepless, early summer night triggered a few fond thoughts. "The greatest teacher is one who makes you want to learn", so says a plank placed near the Principal's office in TKM College of Engineering. Who are those great teachers that made me want to learn? My earliest recollection is of Ms Catherine who tutored me at home from 2nd standard to 4th standard. Before that, I honestly do not think that I brought studies home. Thanks a ton to her for creating an urge in me to read, study, come first in the class and even made me try my hand at public speaking. That I ended up with my foot in the mouth during elocution was my fault.
Zoom to the tenth standard and there was Mr. I. T. Chacko, who taught Mathematics. I haven't had a better teacher of maths ever before and ever since. He had this uncanny knack of making the lessons equally interesting to the best students and to those had a phobia for maths.
Pre-Degree education in Kerala in late eighties was a race from one Tuition centre to another with cursory attendance at the College to barely meet the mandated requirements. The two shining stars of private tuition in Alleppey were Gopi Sir for Chemistry and Kallelil Sir for Physics. The two were poles apart in style but right on target in substance. Gopi Sir has a finely groomed personality; well dressed and smart looks; always punctual. He comes fully prepared and gives a well scripted performance. Kallelil Sir was the exact opposite: looking sleepy, unkempt hair, preferred extempore performances to prepared lessons. While both the tuitions served the basic purpose of scoring good marks, they also served to create a huge interest in the subjects.
In the next four years in the Engineering College, I had the good fortune of being a student of many a great teacher: some admired for their teaching skills, some for their love to students and some for both. Gopakumar sir (aka Gopettan), Ms Geetha Abraham (aka Geethu) were well known for their affectionate nature; while George Varghese Sir (GV), Roshan Kumar Sir etc were respected for their knowledge and sincerety. But the super-teachers were Dr Ziaudeen and Dr Vijayan Asari who really knew their jobs and also took good care of us. Ziaudeen Sir taught us Electronic Circuits, some of the classes are unforgettable even today. (I am lying here partly, the experience was unforgettable, but I cannot remember the role of the emitter bypass capacitor in the Common Emitter amplifier. :-) ) . Vijayan sir taught us Computer Organization, Microprocessor and DSP and guided the projects of almost every student in class. It was our good fortune that both these teachers were fresh from their PhD courses when they started teaching us. They could take on any work load for they believed that they were not paid for teaching 1 hr a day and smoking/drinking tea for the rest of the day.
Are there such good teachers out there for the next generation?