Aparna’s Weekend Musings on Life – Series 14 – Teachers Day Tribute

A family is every child’s first teachers in the form of parents and grandparents. Grandparents are a family’s strongest foundation. They are the founders of legacy and keepers of family traditions that linger on as cherished memories. Lucky are those who grow up with their grandparents around and even luckier are those like me who were brought up by my grandparents and chithappas.

I am thankful for all the teachers in every standard who had helped me throughout my school life, those lecturers, trainers, coaches, leads, managers in my corporate life who had guided me. And obviously I am forever indebted to my grandparents and chithappas for bringing us up after my dad’s death and instilling in us the cornerstones of my value system in life. I had realized their worth and felt more than ever after their deaths in the last few months. The void in my heart is a constant reminder of the multiple losses of the pillars of my life.

My Learnings from Each of My Family Member:

Muthu Paati:

Pillar of Strength: She was always the strength and pillar of the whole family. She showed great mental strength, courage and boldness after my father’s death. She guided all of us throughout the entire journey despite her own pain. She turns her pains, frustration and helplessness to anger to fuel her energy till her 80s.

Strong willed: She doesn’t take no for an answer. Once her mind is made, no matter what there is no going back. She was a rigid follower of traditions and stuck to her customs & rules.

Celebrate People: She had this nature of celebrating people. She celebrated the arrival of our family friends / relatives / neighbours to our place by making their favourite dishes, savouries and sweets. She always find time and strength to make some eatables for any relative or friend who is travelling abroad or pregnant or had come for occasions. She remembers every person’s favourite dishes and made it for them whenever they visited. She nevers visited anybody’s home empty handed and always made something for them.

Generous and caring: She was generous and cared for all. She put in lot of efforts to cook and make eatables in huge quantities and found lot of joy in sharing to everyone. Whatever the financial situation was at home she gave generous gifts for the functions and weddings she attended.

Integrity and Self Respect: She used to tell us many moral value stories when we were young and later on narrated anecdotes from her life. She had always insisted us to be Honest and never give up on Self Respect.

Sankaran Thaatha:

Thaatha was a simple person. My learnings from Thaatha are:

Be Like A Lotus Leaf Untouched By Water: He always believed and insisted us to be affectionate with everyone but don’t be too attached to anyone.

Resilience: He used to say whatever happens in life we must be like the water repellent leaf and not be like a blotting paper and absorb all the emotions. Though he worried a lot he had this strength to look at how to move on to the next step.

Honesty and Hardwork: He always believed in being honest and truthful to all especially when it comes to money. He said never borrow money or lend money. He believed in working hard in the early years of life.

Sacrifice for Family: He worked hard in his youth to help his father to educate siblings and settle down. He worked hard to give good education for his children as well as helped his siblings during their childbirth, tough financial situations, still borns and many other situations. Just after his retirement my Dad – his eldest son passed away and he started taking care of us to support our education and life. He never did anything for himself, not travelled much and dedicated all his life for his family.

Meticulously Recorded Expenses: He had this habit of writing expenses in a calendar sheet first and then write it in a notebook and tally it. I have vivid memories of noting my travel expenses everyday to him and he would cross verify with the balance amount in my purse. Even if 1 rupee didn’t tally he would worry, recheck the expenses with the cash and then confront me with questions of whether I received proper balance from bus conductor.

Suresh Chithappa: A wonderful human being

Punctual: He was always punctual and stuck to his schedule right from coffee time till dinner time.

Organized: He was organized in his thoughts and actions. He used to tell me that even in pitch darkness without electricity he can identify where is which item or document in his cupboard.

Track Your Own Progress: He taught me a valuable lesson early in my life. He never bothered and asked me which rank I came in school or college but he was worried if I am progressed between the first term to the second term or between first semester and the second. He had told me to multiply my efforts to see an improvement in my results.

Investment for Future: He insisted us to save for the future. He was a person of practical knowledge and had guided me till his death.

Mahesh Chithappa:

Mahesh chithappa had a charisma around him. He had an attractive smile with a twinkle in his eyes and the sound of his laughter is enough to change the atmosphere of the house. He used to spend his time with us maximum during his visit to Chennai by talking, playing cards, scrabbles.

Perfection in work: He took great pride in his work. He used to explain to me about the research he is working on, his book and history. He used to joke about his handwriting and the similarity of his and my handwritings. He was a deep thinker and was a perfectionist in everything he did whether it was cleaning or writing. One of his friend quoted that He would agonize over every word he wrote.

Friendly and Loving nature: He was friendly and affectionate with everyone. People always have fond memories of him. He treated people with respect and was affectionate with all.

Curiosity and Willingness to Ask Questions:

He had taught me right from my young age to be curious and be willing to ask questions. He used to say there is no shame in not knowing everything but there is shame if you don’t ask when you don’t understand.

Love for Learning:

Whenever he visited to Chennai in my school or college days he would ask me about my subjects and my favourite topics. He used to create a love for learning a particular topic of his interest.

My Support system: He was one of the strong pillar of my strength. I always admired his depth of knowledge, his thought process and the his style of speaking.

I am thankful to all the lessons I learnt in life but the biggest lessons were taught by Grief.

Happy Teachers Day!!

Regards,

Aparna Subramanian