Skip to main content

My Mom, My Teacher

By RK Rishikesh Sinha, New Delhi

Today is Mother’s Day. With weeks of ‘continuously’ (don’t read ‘continually’, I mean it) working on a professional project (today happens to be the day of submission) my state is such that my brain has stopped working, my body has stopped taking up instructions from the central nervous system -- I am sitting and pushing myself (as if today is an Endurance Test Day) only to add a stuff here.

Thanks to Prabal Atreya’s article on his mother, Ritwick Sinha’s poem, which has rejuvenated me, inspired me to sit and write ‘something’ about my mom. (I will not write more, reason – an article is nothing to describe about my mom’s sacrifice and labour).

What Prabal and Ritwick’s words have done for me in giving me the boost, at this condition, I promise, million dollars wouldn’t have pushed me as much!

My mom has always cherished a dream that her son should study in an English medium central school. That is the reason that I being born in a village didn’t attend school there though students of my age had started attending school. I didn’t go to nearby school.

My school was my mom, my teacher was my mom. She used to teach me subjects like English and Mathematics at home. I still remember the rhymes of English (Baba Black Sheep, Jack and Jill) and the abacus lessons in Mathematics that she taught me. My mom didn’t know Hindi; she assured that I should also learn Hindi, she sent me to learn the subject from Bina Di of Baromoni.

However, after much struggle and persuasion on her part, I with the court’s directive was directly admitted to Class II in the Kendriya Vidyalaya Panchgram, Assam. Such was her teaching that I was in much better position than my friends who had come passing pre-school and Class I. I remember she didn’t sleep whole night on the first day of my school journey.

Her struggle didn’t end with me. Likewise she tried hard single-handedly, fighting with the bureaucracy and red-tapesism, to get my two brothers admitted in the KVs.

If I ever fulfilled her dream in my long academic career starting with her lessons, it was after 8 years, when I came second in Class IX, KV Srinagar, when she saw me taking my report card from my school Principal in the full glare of students and parents. She cried seeing me handshaking with my Principal.

Today, my mom didn’t know the project on which I have been working for long; I have copyedited a Computer Science dictionary, I am the person who has taken the final call – what is correct and what is not, and what should be published and what not; within months the book will be published, and it will be in the public domain—in the libraries.

Mom, your lessons are still relevant

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

(Thanks again Prabal and Ritwick giving me the push, I am going to sleep like a log:)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Sadhu Thakur

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata Sri Sri Bhubaneshwar Thakur, the great saint of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Community was born on 26th October, 1871, in a remote village of Cachar district called Baropua in the state of Assam. He was born to a Xatriya Manipuri family. His father Sri Sanatan Pandit was a Sanskrit teacher and mother Srimati Malati Devi, a house wife. Sadhu Baba from his childhood was indifferent to all worldly happenings. He was engrossed in chanting the name of Lord Krishna. Along with other students of his age, Sadhu Baba started taking lessons of grammar and other spiritual literature from his father. At a very young age he lost his mother but he was brought up with utmost love and care by his step mother. At the age of eighteen, Sadhu baba lost his father, so, to continue his spiritual education under the guidance of Rajpandit Mineshwas Swarbabhwam Bhattacherjee, he went to Tripura. But within one year he made up his mind to visit all the holy places and as such he took permis

Assam Search Engine: Bisarok

Exclusive search engine on Assam Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN Jun 16, 2012, 01.46PM IST NEW DELHI: Assam got its own search engine ' Bisarok '. The search engine has been launched to get results exclusively on queries and information related to Assam. 'Bisarok', means 'to search' in Assamese language, has been launched and has been linked to various websites of the Government of Assam and departments, educational institutions and media. The search engine is likely to give a new online experience related to searches on Assam. Built on Google custom search engine, the search engine would be collating and building a database of web properties exclusively of the state in the North East region. 'Bisarok' has been developed by RK Rishikesh Sinha, who had earlier created a similar custom search engine ('Bisarei') on Bishnupriya Manipuri. According to Sinha, apart from Google there was no link to get results particularly on Assam. Any web entity related

A short history of the Bishnupriya Manipuri and their religio-cultural consciousness

Undoubtedly, the accurate period of the emergence or the development of religious consciousness of the Bishnupriya Manipuri is difficult to ascertain, but it is an old one that is undoubted, writes Rini Sinha , Guwahati . Religious beliefs are found virtually in every human society. Religious beliefs usually relates to the existence and worship of a deity or deities and divine involvement in the universe and human life. Religious knowledge according to religious practitioners may be gained from religious leaders, sacred texts or personal revelation. The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultural communities. The accurate period of emergence or development of religious consciousness of the Bishnupriya Manipuries is difficult to ascertain, but it is an old one that is undoubted. However, on the basis of the views of different scholars, pre-historic and historical remain whatsoever is available and from the logic of personal observations, we may put forward some view