In this world filled with greed and filth it is always difficult to find someone who is selfless, always ready to help others . A teacher who works for his students and staff with the motive of bringing about positive vibes shines and fills the school with heavenly perfume. Compare a person who lives solely for himself against a person who aligns his life with absolute truth and empathy. One who lives for his ego makes the person a "zero" moving in a hollow meaningless circle with no apparent destination.

A person who lives for others has a purpose and stands tall among the crowd of zeros. During my academic monitoring I came across a teacher who selflessly stands tall , aligns with the truth . I am very lucky to work with the one who considers his job of teaching as sacred as a religious book and as important as oxygen for living. What he does differently is worth noting.
In the morning when he reaches the school premises and moves around swiftly from one corner to the other scanning the whole lawn . Then he along with some students starts cleaning, picking up paper pieces and putting all in the dustbin. While watching I heard him asking the others " this lawn is like our park at home, like a lawn of masque, let us beautify it together ".
He opens up his diary in the morning , prepared at home for the morning assembly lecture . His lecture in the morning assembly is worth listening to. It brings moral uprightness. He checks hair cuts, nails , and uniforms. Sometimes I find him rolling up his sleeves and washing the students.
The lesson plan diary of this teacher is worth observing. While turning over the pages I found something to be copied by the others. In the front pages of this diary I found the timetable, responsibilities, students profile and parent contacts. Weak students and their weaknesses mentioned on separate pages.
When the bell rang ...thun ..thun....thun.... I watched the teacher ask one of his colleagues," is your health ok now?, you had abdominal pain yesterday, I will take your classes today".
I kept on following this legend and heard him singing with himself,
"Let me hold the door for you ,
I may have never walked in your shoes,
But I can see your soles are worn ,
Your strength is torn
Under the weight of a story ,
I have never lived before ,
Let me hold the door for you ,
After all you have walked through ,
It is the least I can do.
With a smile on his face he greeted the students in the class. Before starting his lecture he brought a few students to the front . Cracked some jokes...smiles all around...asked them to repeat what was learnt yesterday. The students spoke without fear . Clapps all around. The atmosphere was very lively. I still remember the bright eyes of students in the class and the class room's sweet fragrance of learning. There was nothing like fear and boredom . The students were very agile. After finishing class he asked a student to meet him in the corridor. I kept watching, the teacher opened up his bag and pulled some note books and pens out . He gave the notebooks and pens to the student, perhaps a needy one. A beautifully carved human being and a true representative of God. The more he worked the more agile he looked.
He , in his vacant period, started studying in the lawn. I sat nearby and started interacting with this great man. I jokingly asked him "You don't seem to be tired ". He replied that he enjoys his work and takes it as a command of God . He quoted the Mehjoor's poem :
Arise o Gardener ! Create the glory of a new spring !
Make flowers bloom and bulbuls sing , create such haunts !
Bid adieu to your dulcet strains
To rouse his habitat of flowers
Create a storm let thunder rumble
Let there be an earthquake !
He continued, " I always try to instill curiosity for learning among the students. I think the most important crux of education is to teach students joyfully. I try to own the school where I work. I own these poor children. The decline in enrolment is the decline of passion . Create the sense of belonging and nurture the garden.
It reminded me of Dr Ali Shariati's definition of intellectual . According to him
"An intellectual is one who is conscious of his own humanistic status in a specific social and historical time and place. His self awareness lays upon him the burden of responsibility. He responsibly , self consciously leads his people in scientific, social and revolutionary action. An intellectual act with a prophetic-like mission to diagnose societal backwardness and points towards true progress".
I left the school with a beautiful lesson learnt. Enjoy your work and own the school for better and effective results.

Email:-------------------------------muntashirkifayat@gmail.com