Its almost three
months since the 120 students of Government Brennen College of Teacher
Education, Thalassery elected its
College Union. Following the two months
vacation (April-May) and the available
dates for an eminent
guest, it had been possible to conduct
the inauguration of the College Union
and the Fine Arts
Day celebration only on 25 June 2015.
The occasion was
quite special for all the students of
the college and ofcourse some of the teachers too… for, the main speaker
invited, turned out to be the
highly distinguished Malayalam novelist, Sri. M.Mukundan who recently served as Chairman of the Sahitya Academy and was honoured by the government of France
with Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
medal for contribution to Malayalam
Literature in Kerala State, particularly
Mahe which was once a French colony. For me it was a moment of
honour too because I was directed to offer felicitation for the function. Incidentally, in my entire teaching career, I had never ever
shared the stage with a distinguished author!
The College Union
inaugurations which I have hitherto
attended after becoming a teacher educator
had guests– some of them writers,
whose choice of
theme during the delivery of their address leaves
a deep impression on the minds
of the listeners. If my memory
is correct, not one speaker ever came ill-prepared for
addressing students in the teacher training colleges I have served, simply because they know that in the days to come, a large chunk of
the audience would be becoming
full-fledged teachers assigned
the job of moulding young minds. I have also noticed that
invariably the intended message of most speakers would dwell on the expected role of teachers in society.
Sri. Mukundan began his speech by referring
to his habit of attending
functions where he is invited to speak without carrying a prepared speech…confessing that
such a strategy
helps him choose a topic
depending on the mood, the likes and interest of the audience which he is able
to see only when he mounts the stage on
the day of the function. It may be noted that on the day he addressed the
students of the college, 80% of the packed auditorium comprised women teacher trainees.
Sri. Mukundan commenced by recalling a teacher of his who
had deeply influenced him and with whom he used to discuss literature and philosophy.
He also said that the greatest tribute which he could offer his teacher was
to create such a character in one of his
own novels. But in the novel, the ‘teacher’ dies and
though the real life teacher had
seen the manuscript of the novel and had appreciated Sri. Mukundan for a well
written novel, the teacher expired
before the novel was published. This
evoked a queer feeling in the
author for having had the ability to
foresee the death of a person
whom he revered in one of his own
novels!
But Sri. Mukundan affirmed
that the best teacher whom he had ever
come across happens to be a person who
will never die….in fact, that person
has lived only in his
novel and was his own creation. Then followed a brief narration about the ‘teacher’ in
carefully calibrated sentences…
The character is a
world renowned Professor in an University. The
teacher had huge fans in the campus comprising students both boys and girls and of course the teaching staff too who
used to regularly spend
hours engaging in discussions.
The Professor, a bachelor who had
devoted his entire life to acquisition of knowledge was completely
unaware of the way
society perceived him though he knew for certain that many
admired him for his abilities.
During one regular interaction, he evoked a profound interest in a girl student who soon became turbo-charged with admiration for the Professor and gets a bit
too close with the Professor. On one such meeting, the Professor, oversteps his
boundaries and has a sexual encounter with the student. Even as the Professor engaged in
this act which in the eyes
of the general public is despicable, he took for granted that
he has not committed anything wrong
simply because the girl in question happened to be a willing partner and he had never ever forced
the girl into have sex with him.
To the Professor’s
utter shock and dismay, the girl in question went public about the ‘deed’ plummeting
the Professor’s reputation to
the depths of dishonour. When the
news rapidly spread, the
higher-ups in the University considered ways of covering up the matter, lest it brings shame
on the faculty as a whole. So the Vice
Chancellor of the University called the ‘erring’ Professor to his chamber and offered his willingness to save
the Professor on condition that in a Press Conference, the Professor should denounce
the whole ‘episode’ stating the girl had
concocted everything with the malicious intent of slandering the reputation of
the Professor and the University. But neither the Vice Chancellor, nor those
who are keen on positions and power in the University have any inkling as to why the ‘erring’ Professor refused to
accept their ‘offer of help’…
Well… the Professor
outright refused to lie and insisted
that he doesn’t think that he has done anything wrong and affirmed that the ‘event’ took place through the complete consent of the ‘girl’. Sri
Mukundan’s novel ends by describing
what the Professor did… Following the meeting with the Vice Chancellor
of the University, the Professor walks out of the University campus never to
set foot there to serve as a teacher.
Instead the Professor walks to an institution which cares for street
dogs, takes up a job as a keeper of
kennels… and continued living… nursing them!
Following the
narration of the plot of his own creation, the esteemed writer, immediately
reminded the audience that its only a story… a story which will never get
accepted if it happens in real life in Kerala and for that matter…in India
too where teachers are seen next to God… ones who can never
err!
Before winding up his
speech, Sri. Mukundan recalled an
anecdote... He was once invited to address a gathering at an University in
France. While being escorted to the room
where he was to deliver his address, he
walked past a corridor where a girl student was seated smoking a cigarette.
Even as he was escorted, the
Professor who was escorting, borrowed the same cigarette which the student
was smoking, took a couple of puffs and returned it to the
student and the latter resumed smoking…
Next Sri. Mukundan asked the
gathering…Can this happen in India?...He reiterated…
the teacher-student relationship in our country has a sense of sacredness…
