Student fondly remembers teacher

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From kindergarten schools to research laboratories, teachers play an irreplaceable role in the life of any student.

For most of us, some teachers remain a lifelong inspiration and continue to live in our hearts long after their demise.

But only legendary teachers can find a place beyond the hearts of students and enter their homes and offices long after they are gone. Late G.R. Damodaran aka GRD, the first principal of PSG College of Technology here, is one such teacher. Even so many years after his death, students adorn the walls of their homes and offices across the world with GRD’s portraits.

At age 76, leading industrialist A.V. Varadarajan, chairman of Sandfit Foundries, in Sulur, does not begin his day without seeking the blessings of his former principal GRD whose photograph adorns his home and office. “He is my mentor, god and everything else,” the proud student still claims.

Mr Varadarajan was 18 when he met GRD at PSG college where he worked at the canteen. “I discontinued studies after intermediate due to financial woes and was working at PSG when GRD met me.

When he found I was interested in studies, he gave me a seat in his college and also provided financial support throughout the course. His act transformed my life,” the septuagenarian says.

After completing his studies, Mr Varadarajan worked in the PSG foundry for a few years before setting up his own business. Despite belonging to a rich family, GRD pursued a career in teaching.

Just a month before his death, the college had a financial crisis and needed money for a new library. “We found out after his death that he had allotted his insurance money to the college,” said Mr Varadarajan.

Children swap positions with teachers

A group of primary school children made Teachers’ Day unforgettable for their teachers and parents on Tuesday.

The kids donned the role of their class teachers and gave a credible performance. “Don’t go to jungle. Wild animals will eat you,” said S. Jain, a UKG boy from a school which organised “Flipday” on Tuesday evening to commemorate Teachers’ Day.

While explaining about the wild animals, Jain walked up to a parent and asked, “Do you love pet animals?” When the parent nonchalantly asked the boy if he knew what pet animals were, Jain replied, “Cats and dogs. But dogs eat a lot.”

Like him, Suman, Sneha, Lakshmi and Gauthaman too did not falter much when they explained about ascending and descending orders in mathematics, domestic animals or “teaching” dance to the “students”.

The school’s initiative, according to the organisers, involved the students to take the role of their teachers as this was the best way to assess how well they had absorbed what they were taught while ensuring an apt forum to express themselves.

The way the children explained and posed questions to the audience and especially when some of them asking the students (the audience) to open their books and write down the portions or ordering them to do their homework got a lot of smiles from the “students”.