Jobless, but this job best

Rupali Wadhwa 

Reading provokes thoughts and ideas, which some times are potent enough to change the course of your life and give it a positive spin. 

Sitting idle at home one day, I grabbed an anthology of poems by John Milton and began to go through it. The book contained one of my favourite poems, On His Blindness. Even a hurried reading of the small poem infused a new passion in my ennui-afflicted life. The concluding two lines, ‘They also serve who stand and wait’ resurrected me like the mythical Phoenix, rising from the ashes. I could also make a small, but significant contribution to society with my intent to serve, I thought. But I was completely at a loss how could I add meaning to my bland and meaningless life. So what if I did not have any job right now; I was a trained teacher. 

The idea began to take shape in the womb of my mind, though it was still in its embryonic stage. Deep in cogitation, I stood on the terrace of my house the same evening. All of a sudden, I happened to notice a group of urchins playing in our street. Yes! My half-baked idea started to come together and I could hardly wait to execute it. 

The subsequent night I kept tossing and turning in my bed, waiting for the sun to skid out of the blanket of darkness. As the day broke, with bated breath, I reached a nearby slum-dwelling. The sight was somewhat similar to last evening, as many semi-clad, shabbily looking kids were loitering aimlessly. With my steely resolve, I put forth my plan in front of the parents of those children and proposed to teach them every day from morning to noon. The broad smiles on the faces of the parents indicated their approval. Much to my delight, one of the parents living in pucca makaan offered to vacate some place where I could set up my classroom. The infrastructure was now ready for my community school and no government affiliation was needed to go ahead. The next day, before I reached the venue, a class of more than 20 students was waiting for their first experience in formal teaching. The excited faces of the innocent children ignited my sprits all the more. A hibernating teacher was back in form. 

Almost six months have rolled by. My students are learning a great deal of new things. Delightfully, their number has doubled, and so has my enthusiasm. Although I do not receive any remuneration for it, a profound sense of inner satisfaction is ample compensation and a rich remuneration for me. We can all contribute to society in our own little ways, if there is will.