Things I learned from The Crazy Old Man

I have begun this series “Things I learned from…” because I believe that people make me happy, learning from people constantly is what I wish to do to stay happy always. Who better to begin with than The Crazy Old Man!

To pen down things learned from him might end up becoming my first book so I have put it out in this post in a nutshell. And, I am sure it won’t end here, there is more I’ll learn from him over the years we both shall live.

‘What will the world lose if you die today?’ is what being the head of the BMM department then, he wrote on the board on his first lecture with us in First year class. From that day to this, I strive to answer this question daily. It reminds me to make myself worthy of the things I wish to achieve.

Months after knowing him he took us to our first Industrial Visit. That visit and the experience of the travel with him lead to the birth of this blog. From then I have tried my best to keep writing, blogging and expressing through words. Today I can think of investing money in my blog to promote it. From an under-confident writer hesitating to have her first blog to this day- wouldn’t be possible without that little push!

I had a thing for traveling; he watered this seed in me. Today I know that I am a river person, that travelling is my way of healing. Travelling can mean anything to anyone but thanks to him I know what it means to me.

‘Read, there is no escape.’ As much as I wished to write and travel, there was zero enthusiasm to read. But he made me realize that to be the writer I wish to be, reading is essential. I still don’t read enough but I’m surely working on it!

Be it during the IVs, the nature club camps or any other situation, he has always put others before himself. I wonder how he does that. This is something I’m trying to practice in reality still.

I have never seen an introvert manage so many people at once with ease be it a varied crowd of 40 people at nature club camps or 70-80 young students of a class. How? I am yet to figure this one out and learn this skill. I think its people’s skills which even an introvert can master, I’m not sure though, as it is almost magical!

One of the biggest things learned from him is being a person of action more than words. He always said he didn’t like us as a class, but his actions said otherwise, he strived to get the best for our class till the last minute. I have somehow managed to be the same. I can’t come and tell you how you mean to me but I’ll try to imbibe all the learning taken from you and practice things you always wished your students should.

I wish I could go on and on, but hey, life is like that, you can’t keep doing things you love forever. There has to be coma, a full stop, a change of sentence, a change of chapter.

Things I learned from you Sir, is a book I hold close to my heart and read through every time in need and I’m sure of adding many more pages to it!