Of Teachers, Students and Dreams,

Rose before dawn as a friend was taking my car in for service. Made my usual steaming cup of Nespresso, strong Kazar, no sugar, hot milk. Amazing how one is able to relish the coffee sugarless. Proud of myself. Still working on my condensed milk tea though. Big day today. Cooking lunch for family. Saree Speak Meet. Temple. Dinner at a a friend’s home. Tomorrow my little ones are performing at a senior citizens’ meet organised by friend Dr. Anju.

Had a great week at work. Training, teaching is an art, a skill. My love and gratitude to all Gurus out there, angels amongst us. Whatever you teach. How to make curd rice, coffee, how to play a krithi, how to use a screenreader on a smartphone, how to be an Okay individual.

Knowing what to teach, how to impart the knowledge, how to know how little is too little, how much is too much, how to engage with students from ages 5 to 103; how to strike the rapport, how to know what it would take to get that spark alive, that glimmer of hope on the face, that smile of satisfaction. That moment when student realises ‘I can do it!’. That’s priceless. That opens up a whole world of possibilities. For me. For them. Sometime I think Hope is the most important attitude or feeling, because with fresh hope, comes gratitude, joy, and a thirst for more great things, more beauty, more good.

A student told me she had this dream of achieving something, I emphasised to her not to stop dreaming. Dreams are good. Dreams get you places. Dreams keep you going. Dreams become realities. I told her about a saying that I have been living by, whispered to me by a friend from my childhood, still my friend, and my daughter’s dance guru, Vasuki, a sishya of the famed Dhananjayans, a quote by Langdon Hughes,

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life becomes a one-winged bird that cannot fly”.

The hope, dreams, beliefs one has for another too, can become contagious. At the end of the lesson, the teacher, the room, the student, her mother were basking in the bright, sunny, starry aura of hope. I saw the smile on the mother’s face, especially in her eyes, laughing and crinkled, and I thought, this is what it means to feel God/Divinity/by whatever Name one wants to refer to It – this overwhelming feeling of happiness, love, gratitude, hope, not necessarily in that order.

Got home, Mami had cancelled class as she was having a Puja. No cooking required, I’d been invited for dinner.

Draped this gorgeous turquoise striped silk, with green grey pallu and borders for a lovely dinner with friend Vathsala. Gifted by a friend many Navarathris ago. Got younger daughter to take photos before leaving the house. Hair is turning white, eyes are tired but who cares? Bonded over delightful conversations of dance, music, students, upcoming Navarathri, Kolus; and soft iddlis, crispy dosas, delicious sambar, iddli podi, chutney, cutlets, vege curry, rounded off with the mandatory amazing curd rice and hot made pickle. Life’s really good.