The Name Carved In My Heart

When he came from abroad every year, to live one month's vacation, he would be focusing on general knowledge and other educative materials that could be helpful for us. Back then, what could we surmise of the importance of such a mentor in life? Yeah! there were teachers throughout primary schools and colleges but he was an epitome of what we would say about mentorship, relentless guidance in any subject needed. From history to geometry, we never got disappointed by him while casting out problems to him. His teaching methods incorporated both theoretical understanding and practical implementation. He was our first introduction to a broader horizon of global theories. It was scintillating and ludicrous to find piles of English magazines in his briefcase instead of cosmetics or prize bonds. There were magazines or newsletters containing the latest launching of satellites or spacecraft by NASA or about the groundbreaking research findings regarding black holes. I remember, when we were given the English pages for learning about black holes, we both siblings got bewildered looking at them. It was hard for us to grasp the importance of learning about global incidents or universal theories ahead of time, yet he persistently kept us updated. This person with the illuminating power of teaching and rendering cognizance is my father, my mentor.

While I revere my teachers, the presence of his spirit within me is vivid and clear. It is necessary to point out, how he was the teacher of many other children apart from us. While serving for a petroleum company in Kuwait, he never sat back with electrical manoeuvres only but tried to render purely ethical and subject knowledge to the children of other colleagues. When he used to sit as a teacher for his colleague's kids, he used get transformed into a mightier being. Teaching Arabic for religious purposes or giving cue cards to stand out for the best public speech, all of these were all assets that we received from him. He acted like a magician while asserting the geometrical formulas or untangling the structure of active and passive voice to the students who were the backbenchers or the students with zero motivation. My mentor settled for the students with fewer credentials in terms of money and talent. He wanted to help the ones who thought life is a totally unfair thing for them. 

After returning to Bangladesh, the small living room of ours used to be filled with the questions and absurd comments of my schoolmates whom maybe I couldn't recognize well. They were more friendly with my father than with me and my brother. We couldn't socialize well with our native culture till then. In between geometrical lessons, our local magician mentor would give a pragmatic explanation about life sciences or social culture. His students enjoyed listening to his explanation of social science practices that would hint at relationship building. He would be so glamorous while giving examples of Marxism and social constrictions. While he taught them every lesson they wanted or helped them with any subject they wanted, he earned a meagre amount. To teach, to handle his students with both academic subjects and real-life lessons, he exhausted away his time with heartful pleasure. 

Above all, the grave lessons I acquired from him was practical advice related to work, study, family, and relationship. While crossing busy roads, every time he used to ask me, "What is more important for you? Time or your life?" I was convinced about the phrase Health is wealth. When there was turmoil in the family that used to affect my professional life, he explained the ways of prioritizing work during office hours. In my profession of teaching, it was a meditation to focus completely on lesson delivery. Sometimes he would suggest switching off the mobile during crucial viva sessions if needed. These lessons were gold precious for me in my conjugal life later on when it was hard rock managing home services and the duties as a teacher. I adore my mentor for his phenomenal gesture as a teacher to my classmates and others.