Teachers Who Give Up Everything - Teacher's Day 2024

Teachers teach. They also:

Inspire

Mould

Instill values

Share their wisdom

Make us better human beings!

We have heard it all before. 

But do teachers give up their most prized possession for their pupils?

This is the story of one such teacher, my athletics coach at BITS Pilani.

The year 1968. One month before the National Games of India at Madras. I was selected to represent Rajasthan in my age group.

Our Director of Physical Education at BITS,  Capt Richpal Singh Shekhawat who was my coach, came down with pleurisy a kind of severe lung infection with fluids inside the lungs. He was advised bed rest and not allowed to come to the sports ground. What about my coaching in the crucial month before the Nationals?

My coach found a solution. 

He got his nicely manicured lawn with the home garden dug up and levelled. He created a run up and a landing pit for me to practice broad jump in front of him in his yard every day. Despite his severe illness, he continued to coach and prepare me for the Nationals.

With his selfless dedication, he motivated me to give off my best. I won the Gold medal in Broad Jump at the National Games of India. It was followed by many more golds at national level in successive years, thanks to him. I was also selected for the Asian Games Probables Camp for the Teheran Games 1974. By then I had already been commissioned into Indian Navy. That's another story for some other day.

How many will dig up a flourishing lawn and garden in their house to create a long jump pit for their trainee? Those who have seen the faculty bungalows in Pilani Campus, will understand it better. Is it a big deal to willingly destroy your lawn and garden? Ask all home gardeners. They won't even part with a potted plant leave aside destroying a manicured lawn. They are so possessive of their plants and the garden. My athletics coach did not hesitate even for a minute and gave up his prized possession for his trainee. A possession having more worth than any materialistic asset. He was a living example of 'Teachers who give up everything!'

On this Teacher's Day, I bow my head in gratitude to Capt RS Shekhawat also known as Guruji by all of us at BITS Pilani. Am sharing a picture of him receiving the Champion Athlete trophy from the then Prime Minister Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru. Guruji passed away few years ago in Jaipur. But his values live on in our hearts and minds.

Thank you Guruji for making me what I am today.

Teacher's Day

Teacher's Day is celebrated in all schools and colleges in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr S Radhakrishnan former President of India and a great teacher and scholar. It is also a day for teachers like me for introspection and reflection. Sharing below some of the earlier stories posted by Ghumakkad on Teacher's Day.

Teachers Other Than Teachers - Can Nature, trees, birds, pets, sickness, bereavement also be our teachers? What do we learn from them? Sample it below.

Teacher	Learnings
Nature	Patience, Steadfastness, Managing Change, Team work
Children	Inquisitiveness, Energy and enthusiasm, Love, Trust, Honesty
Parents	Discipline, Love, Compassion, Care, Respect
Friends	Relationships, Team work, Emotional Stability, Trust
Pets	Loyalty, Trust, Love
Births	Joy, Happiness
Sickness	Patience, Emotional strength, Financial planning, Gratitude
Bereavement	Fortitude, Emotional strength
Successes	Happiness, Fulfilment
Failures	Emotional balance and strength
Covid Pandemic	Patience, Self-discipline, Concern for others
Adventure Sports	Spirit of adventure, Risk taking, Self-confidence, Physical and emotional strength
Painting, Music, Dance, Writing	Introspection, Creativity, Self-confidence, Visualisation
Team Sports	Team work, Conflict resolution, Discipline, Physical and emotional strength

Do Teachers Get Bored? - far from it! There is always action all around. Click the link to browse an outdoor activity with MBA students and lessons from a forest!

Covid Couldn't Deter The Teachers - how teachers in a B-school fought the Covid pandemic

A Teacher Keeps Learning - that is the best part! A teacher learns more from the students.

Who Inspires A Teacher - Teachers plant seeds of knowledge

Learning From Students - who keep the teachers on their toes! Specially if you are teaching post grad students.

Harsh@IBS - Journey of a different kind. Browse this story for multiple activities which Ghumakkad did along with his students and faculty colleagues at IBS Hyderabad.

This Teacher's Day, Ghumakkad thanks all his former teachers, students and former students for enriching his life. Picture below shows the confident and beaming faces of the PGDM cohort of 2026 at VVISM Hyderabad. They are the future of India!

Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers, parents, students out there!

Thanks for browsing

  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 5th Sep 2024/ Secunderabad

#teachersday #teacher #learner #students #nature #learningneverends #joyoflearning #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #teachersotherthanteachers #learning #teaching #gratitude