They Taught Us More Than Lessons

Why do you remember an MBA Prof?

Academic brilliance!

Sure! But do you remember all brilliant Profs?

No. 

Then whom do you remember even after few years and why?

Perhaps, those Profs who listened to us.

All Profs have two ears. What's so special about listening?

I mean we remember those who were empathetic to us.

You mean they tolerated indiscipline in the class?

No, far from it. In fact we remember a Prof who was very strict and would admonish us for disturbing the class and would not tolerate any indiscipline.

But as adults, you don't like to be ticked off.

Yes, that's the point. This teacher would later counsel us and fathom the cause of our immature behaviour.

What about teachers who put up boards for 'visiting' hours? They tried to inculcate time management habit in you.

We hated such Profs. On the other hand, we remember the Prof who had an open-door policy for students.

But a Prof also needs privacy for research and self-study.

Agreed. But we feel students' accessibility should be a higher priority for any Prof.

Any other characteristic of a Prof which you remember?

Oh yes! We paid extra attention to a Prof who narrated real-life stories rather than the boring slides. We also felt valued when a Prof called us by name and helped us improve our self-confidence and the overall personality. A Prof  who taught us more than lessons!

The above conversation is not AI-generated. It is based on the interaction with the students over the years.

Whether you are a teacher or a student past or present, ask yourself where do you fit in? And you will find realism in above conversation. Of course there are many other reasons why we remember a teacher. But we wanted to keep our story short.

Happy Teacher's Day 2026 to all my teachers, students, colleagues, parents, family and friends. Ghumakkad-the-teacher is grateful to each one of you for enriching his life.

Sharing below few pictures and links to our earlier stories 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?

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!

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

A teacher is like an explorer, out in the open!

If the story has triggered some nostalgia about your former teacher, do share. Because 'They Taught Us More Than Lessons'.

Postscript 6th September 2026.

A regular reader, fellow BITSian and an IT-pro all her life wrote the following poem yesterday. Sharing with her permission:

Great composition, straight from the heart. Am sure many readers will relate to it.

Thanks much Radhika.

End of Postscript------ 

Thanks for browsing.

Stay connected and do leave a comment to encourage us.

   --- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 5th Sep 2026/Secunderabad

#TeachersDay2026 #gratitude #impactinglives #MBA #touchinglives #discipline #empathy #student #opendoor #accesstoteachers #approachability #highereducation #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #shapingyoungminds #futureofIndia

Celebrating 50 Years of Work Life

What better way to celebrate 50 years of one's work life than to be with 150 young minds!

Thanking God for His blessings today and everyday. 18th October 1972, when I was commissioned into Indian Navy, little did I know what was in store for me. A twenty-year-old grad fresh out of engineering college, set sail from the sands of Pilani in Rajasthan to the greener coastline at Cochin (now Kochi) in Kerala. Days, months and years rolled by. 

How was the journey? All I would say it has been fifty fulfilling years. Full of excitement, adventure, thrill, ups and many downs too! But that is what life is all about. Just keep moving on. Am reminded of Robert Frost's words, "In three words I can sum up everything that I have learned about life. It goes on."

Sharing few pictures of 'Shaping the Young Minds' interaction first at BITS Pilani Goa campus and later at VVISM Hyderabad this week as part of the commencement of BS (Computer Science) and Integrated BBA/MBA programs. Thank you VVISM, IBS and CSIM (all at Hyderabad), BITS Pilani, IIM Indore and GIM Goa for keeping my life's batteries charged all these years! Special thanks to all my students and former students for making me feel young!

Sharing some real life experiences with future Computer Scientists and Management professionals was great fun. Learning-by-doing has been Ghumakkad's endeavour in his classes. We close with Swami Vivekanand's words spoken more than 100 years ago. "One ounce of practice is worth a thousand pounds of theory".

The readers may browse the following stories related to both the topics learning-by-doing and power of volunteering:

Proof of the Pudding - Stories of Ghumakkad's students who became entrepreneurs

Startup Ideas - By the students of Startup Management course

Taming the Second Wave of Corona with Volunteering

Volunteering at Fourteen and Learning Leadership

Thanks for browsing. Do drop a line with your feedback.

Stay in touch.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/18th October, 2022

#50yearsofworklife #navyveteran #joyofateacher #learningtogether #indiannavy #bashonregardless #keepmoving #swamivivekanand #robertfrost #learningbydoing #teacherlearner #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #volunteering #bitspilani #ibshyderabad #csimhyderabad #iimindore #gimgoa