The Chemistry Teacher

Dr Subhash was my Chemistry Teacher in 12th standard at Government Shamsher Senior Secondary School, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh. He was a PhD. in Organometallics, a very interesting field of chemistry. A thorough gentleman, on the very first day of his in our school, he familiarized himself with the students of the class in a highly interactive and interesting pattern. He kept asking us about our interests, likes and dislikes, our dreams and aspirations and other necessary things. Here I must say that it was not a casual conversation. He sincerely wanted to know where our inclinations actually lie and how we think about our lives. This thing is definitely necessary for a teacher to guide his students in a proper way.

There were some students who were not able to understand the subject chemistry properly. He used to work extra hard on those students. To them, he always used to say, "Whatever is there in books, it is just the reflection of what is happening in real life. How different chemicals are used for different purposes, how different chemicals behave differently when exposed to the atmosphere, how some of the chemicals are harmful to human beings and how many other chemicals are the lifeline of the human body; is a pure miracle. Chemistry is the lifeline of human existence." How true he was when he used to say so. Actually, chemistry is a highly interesting subject with a huge career scope in future. Dr Subhash used to clarify the doubts of students very thoroughly and in this process, he was sometimes so engrossed that he often forgot to eat or drink something to get relaxed. A highly dedicated teacher, his sole focus was on making his students masters of chemistry.

His contribution to my life is unforgettable. I was not bad at chemistry, but still, I was unaware of the proper way of learning this subject. Dr Subhash, knowing this difficulty of mine, taught me the subject very sincerely. The best part was whenever he gave me any chemical equation to solve, he never instantly gave the next question till I solve the one in hand. He used to say, "If you cannot solve one chemical equation that I have given you, definitely you will not be able to solve the other one." He always motivated us to appear in our class tests with the same sincerity with which we appear for our final examination. During the lab experiment, the lab was full of a large number of students performing different experiments, as the strength of my class was really huge. But the dedication of Dr Subhash toward his students was so much that he individually used to observe the performance of each student, further guiding every single student to do the experiment well. What a thorough teacher, really an inspiration.

I still remember that day. It was my final examination for the 12th standard. There was a different invigilator on duty, and Dr Subhash was not necessary to be there. It was his holiday as the examination arrangements were taken care of by external teachers, which often happens in board examinations. I and my friends finished our paper on time and as we were about to reach the school gate, we saw Dr Subhash standing at the gate. It looked like he was waiting for someone. We approached him, touched his feet and asked, "Sir, is there anything important that today you are here?".Very politely he said, "Actually I was waiting for you people only. I wanted to know whether you found the paper difficult or easy. How was your examination?" 

What a teacher! For the first time in my life, I was watching a teacher who was as worried about the examination as the students were. Seeing such behaviour of his, our respect for him in our hearts grew many folds. I and my friends promised that day that whatsoever may happen, never in our life, we are going to disappoint our teachers in any way. 

And this is not the end of the story. After completing our 12th stander, there were some students in my class who were looking for their future in chemistry. They approached Dr Subhash and asked for further guidance on the exact cause. Dr Subhash was once again ready to sharpen the skills of those students. He organized extra tuition classes for such students who were considering chemistry as a career choice. Very thoroughly he explained all the practical aspects of chemistry and their role in the modern job environment. He also told about many great universities and colleges where students can complete their research work in chemistry. After learning enough, one day those students came to his home and offered him money as a tuition fee. Dr Subhash refused to take money. Very frankly he said, "Don't give me this. Give me your mark sheet with an 80 plus percentage in chemistry. If you can do it, I will be more satisfied."

Actually, a teacher in the true sense judges his personal success by the performance of his students. Hats off to such great teachers and their sincere contribution to education.