I still remember him, though his face is not clear
For he only brought me to the world of
Alphabets, numbers and wonderful stories
Parents were renowned teachers, but failed to
Teach me, at least to count from one to ten
Father predicted, my IQ is sub-zero
Teaching me is mere wastage of time
My grandma took me to his house, with a patio
In front, thatched with coconut leaves,
For she could not stand my pathetic infancy
He welcomed us with immense grace
And patiently planted those seedlings of life into
My deserted mind, bruised with lots of pinches and slaps
He taught me the alphabets of my mother-tongue
He taught me to count from one to thousand
Father, with bachelor’s degree in education,
Failed to teach me count from one to ten
But my teacher succeeded in his venture with
Colourful results, even-though he was just matriculate
He used teach me an hour everyday
And grandma waited beside with great merriment
Sometimes his lungs chocked with the attack of Asthma
His sound was feeble, still he didn’t leave me
One day, we were on the way to his house
Through the green paddy fields,
Someone came opposite told,
Please don’t take him there, for his teacher is no more…
One, with lot of love, immense patience
And adequate knowledge can easily open
The inner eye of any child
But, God, why don’t you teach
This simple fact to those millions of parents?
5/6/08