Me and the legacy of 5th September

As I sit through the night at the Bangalore airport, I thought about writing a blog on one of those days which has always been very important during our school and college, the Teacher’s Day. It was today.

It is celebrated on 5th September, the birthday of the second President of India, also an academic philosopher, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Teacher’s Day reminds me of some of the most influential people that I am lucky to know. I also recall those events and celebrations that we used to have in the School and College.

One of the best memories of Teacher’s Day for me was when I took a Class 10 Mathematics lecture during the last year in school. I also won an award that day. It was called “Best Future Teacher” award. I was lucky enough (and a bit embarrassed) to have Mr. Salim Khan (whom I was enacting that day) attend that lecture too.

After finishing my school, the next 5th September was the beginning of engineering, the first day in the college. Teachers in colleges are way different from teachers in the schools. A lot more professional in their attitude and always reminding you about how you are not in school anymore. This is the real world! I must admit, I learnt a lot more from my classmates than teachers in Engineering. I am sure many other engineers do too 😉

After engineering, I entered into the world of MBA, a place where everything should be called with a sophisticated name accompanied with ‘arduous’ adjectives. See what I did there with arduous 😁. The first teacher’s day during my MBA, I was actually on stage enacting the Chief Mentor Mr. Sandeep Manudhane. It was a comedy skit that a bunch of us planned. Infact not just me, the others you see in the pic below played different faculty members from our B-School’s top team. That was undoubtedly the best Teacher’s Day for me.

One more teacher, without mentioning whom, this blog will stay incomplete is Mr. Ritesh Mishra. Our IT and Systems professor during MBA. One of the most dynamic and professional people that I know of. He has played a very important role in shaping my career even after the college specifically in the field of Project Management.

Lastly, I must mention, every teacher has years of learning and experience to offer in the classroom. They are all equal contributors to our success. I spent my 5th September this year sitting in the office cubicle without any Teacher’s Day celebrations. I wondered if a mere ‘Happy Teacher’s Day’ message does justice to their contributions in our lives.