The guru was revered once...

Miraj Chauhan       

EKLAVYA, without even giving it a second thought, gave his right thumb to Dronacharya as Gurudakshina and became the epitome of discipleship. This tale from the Mahabharata is fascinating, but does not hold any ground in today’s social fabric. Times have changed, and so have we. There is a sea change in the student-teacher relationship. Since time immemorial, the learned have been lighting the way, and with utmost reverence, the disciples used to follow the guru. And that is probably the reason why schools are termed as the sanctum sanctorum of education that brings meaning to life.

But to much dismay, this practice is diminishing. Being a teacher, I myself have experienced this deadly transition. Thinking about my school days, my heart puffs with elation as I broke new grounds under the aegis of some remarkable teachers. My parents and grandparents had always sermonised on the significance of a guru in one’s life, and it was deeply engraved in my heart and soul. The amount of respect teachers garnered cast a spell over me and the obsession of becoming a teacher swept my mind. 

I spent many sleepless nights to realise my dream, and eventually did it a decade ago. With rosy aspirations and enthusiasm, I put my soul in shaping and polishing uncut diamonds in my care. 

It was not too long that I realised the changing nature of the teacher-taught relationship. Unlike the bygone era, I would rarely find students touching their teachers’ feet, and even if they did, it was a mere formality. The other day, I was heading toward my class and overheard a conversation of a group of boys at the water-cooler. They were chuckling, and one of them smugly announced, ‘Aaj Mangal ki tuition nahi hai’ (Mangal’s class is off for today). They conspired to keep it a secret from their parents, so they could sneak out of their homes on the pretext of the evening class. It came as a thunderclap to my ears. I had a restless night, tossing, turning and wondering what we have come to. Where has all the respect gone? How could students talk of their teachers in a derogatory manner? I could never even think of calling my teachers by their names, as I deemed it sinful. 

But today’s students pay no heed to it. It may be an impact of the Internet revolution that has opened the portals of infinite learning for students, but we must not sideline the importance of oars in a boat. You cannot be at the mercy of the waves all the time, oars are important to reach the destination. Information is of no use unless you know how to best use it and teachers are the ones who take this onus of guiding the students on their robust shoulders. We need to understand the gravity of the issue and address it immediately before it gets too late and we are deprived of the earnest guidance by our torchbearers — our gurus.