Sakàl Times spoke to well known teachers to find out how these academicians remember the teachers who taught them

Dr S B Mujumdar

Founder President, Symbiosis

The teacher who I looked up to when I was in primary school in Gadhinglaj, Kolhapur, was Mr Mulla who was a strict disciplinarian. One day he slapped me at school and I went crying home to my father. My father asked me on which cheek I had been slapped and he then slapped me on the other cheek. That was when I learned the lesson that one must never complain against his or her teacher.

In those days teachers had a very simple lifestyle perhaps because they were not paid very well but they took pride in they being teachers. They also enjoyed great respect in society then but now things are different. I remember the way Prof V V Apte who taught me botany when I was pursuing post graduation at Fergusson College conducted his classes. He never carried any notes and always delivered his lectures extempore. He said - “never show your back to the students. Prepare for your classes so well that there should not be any need to refer to any notes”. This teaching helped me a lot during public speaking as talking in public is the same as teaching in a class. I have never carried any notes when I speak in public.

The professor who was my idol and the one who had a lasting impression on me was Prof S A Parandikar who taught me at Rajaram College at Kolhapur. It was he who developed my liking in botany and it was from him that I learned that the main job of the teacher is to create interest in the subjects being taught. The way he entered class, his style of teaching, his confidence all shaped me and helped me when I started teaching at Fergusson college. During our botanical excursions we had opportunities to interact closely with him and I was truly influenced by his lifestyle and personality.

Dr V M Bachal

Former Principal of Fergusson College

For me the most effective teacher, administrator and guru who I can never forget is Prof Kogekar who taught me economics and political science between 1950 -56, right up to my MA.

There are also many others who belong to that generation of teachers who were academically sound like Prof Dhananjayrao Gadgil and Prof D G Karve. They spoke a characteristic English and every subject has its own language.

We got spotless teaching at that time and our teachers were well read and came well prepared for the lectures. As students then it was not easy to attend lectures. I once got 66 percent in an exam of a subject taught by Prof Kogekar. I can never forget that since getting such marks from Prof Kogekar was quite a feat. The teachers also did not allow you to escape for even five minutes and we would never know how the time passed in our classes. They taught with such sincerity that it was as if we students were under a hypnotic spell. A lot of thought went behind every sentence that they uttered. In 1958 I started teaching at Fergusson College. Being a young teacher some of the best days of my life as I was the colleague of people I greatly respected.

We had the best of teachers and I have kept my files from those days and that is my treasure. What we sensed about those days was that teaching and studentship was a mission but I feel even today there are dedicated teachers and students. However were products of the Radhakrishna days and we walked with giants of the field of education.

Prof M N Navale

Founder President and Chief Managing Trustee

Sinhgad Technical Education Society

There are three teachers who in different phases of my academic career, shaped my life. My primary education was done in a village in Solapur. In sixth and seventh standard I had a teacher Mr Sarvodaya. He always got the students together to help them improve their performance. In the village, where there are no facilities, he took all efforts to bring us at par with students in the cities. This helped me gain confidence and perform well enough to be able take admission in the Sangli High School. My admission got delayed by couple of months, but my science and maths teachers, and later the headmaster B B Ghugare, all helped me in coping with the missed portion.

He used to always guide us on importance of excelling in science and maths for pursuing engineering. I got convinced that I had to perform well in maths and science. So this guidance helped me get National Merit Scholarship on basis of my percentage. This scholarship gave me the financial support for my college and engineering education. I got admission at Walchand College of Engineering. My scholarship helped making my stay in college comfortable. During my engineering days, there was one teacher, Professor Barve, who was our hostel chief rector and lecturer of civil engineering. He made a lot of impact on me.

Padma Bhushan PR Dubhashi

Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Pune Kendra, and Former Vice Chancellor of Goa University

I was very fortunate to get teachers who taught us how to become good human beings. When I was doing my matriculation from Modern High School, there was a Sanskrit teacher popularly known as ‘Dixit Sir’. Known for his dedication for teaching and love for his students, he keenly followed the progress of each of us. I still remember how, along with his regular classes, he used to take a special class on every Sunday. He used to review his lessons on that day and explain in details once again if the students had failed to grasp any chapter. And those two hours were really stimulating for each one of us.

I stood first in the erstwhile Bombay Province and Dixit Sir and one Kashikar Sir, who taught us Sanskrit till seventh standard, were proud of my achievement. These two teachers played a pivotal role in shaping my life in my formative years.

Dubashi also remembers another teacher quite fondly - Tatke Sir – whose energy and enthusiasm was remarkable. He was an excellent teacher of geometry and geography. His classes were very popular.  My school days were the best part of my life. My teachers helped me to develop a perspective which helped me to shape my higher education, character as well as future.