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Kader Baatcha 'vadhyar'
(teacher) felt immensely relieved after getting down
from the bus which was crawling like a full term
woman with overcrowding of passengers.
In spite of its being 5o'clock in the evening, it
was very hot and humid. Thank God, an old student
got up and gave him his seat - otherwise, it
would have been a virtual torture.
Those crossed by, wished him "Good evening sir”. He
felt happy; a respect, still retained for a retired
school teacher like him.
When he crossed "Pavadi street", he could see some
youngsters walking, their lungies having been tugged
up to their thigh region. They were making a lot of
shouting too. On seeing him, Karthik, son of his old
student Ramachandran put down his lungi immediately
as a mark of respect. Others on seeing his obedience
to the old man started making fun of him.
Vadhyar didn't give much importance to that. After
all people now a days laugh at "Ahimsa", the great
philosophy of the father of our beloved nation!
General discipline and decorum have degenerated to
the core.
His daughter Ayisha took the umbrella and the small
yellow cotton bag from him. He went to the backyard,
washed his face and limbs. Ayisha gave a hot cup of
coffee which made him rejunuvated.
"What happened Vappa? - Ayisha enquired.
Vadhyar smiled dejectedly.
He stared at her for a while. He felt a thorn prick
on his heart.
"See, sir, things are not as you always presume -
have changed altogether - you must pay at least one
thousand five hundred rupees if you want your paper
move briskly in our office. That too only for you,
sir! If it is for others, things would have been
different.; we would have easily demanded three
thousand plus" - Vadhyar recollected the statement
of the head
clerk.
"I cannot tell this to Ayisha"- he said to himself..
He went over to the head clerk because he happened
to be his old student. He gave him enough respect
and showed affection. There was no deficiency on
that score but he demanded huge bribe for the job to
be done.
He explained instantly "Sir, you must not mistake me
- this is our office routine.-I can show concession
in my share or even forego for your sake - but
others would not accept or oblige - I cannot pay
their share from my pocket., sir"
"What is this Somu? after all I am a retired
teacher; pensioner; you know my economical position
very well. Where can I go to fetch that much
money?”. He asked pathetically.
"Sorry, sir, I have explained my position"- he told
instantly.
Vadhyar got up.
"How can I tell this to Ayisha!"
If I tell this, she will be put out.
If she is to go out of this house, in a wedlock, the
ancestral land piece must be sold out - if that was
to be sold out, certain formalities have to be
carried out by the Thasildar office. Vadhyar had
enough documental evidence for the same but they say
they are not sufficient. They make an open bargain.
So, he cannot tell this to Ayisha - he should not
tell.
"Somu promised to do it as early as possible my
child" he lied.
He could see a flash of confidence lit on her face.
"Vappa, the bank cashier Muruganandam came to our
house in the afternoon. There is a meeting of the
literary movement in the village, it seems. He asked
you to attend the meeting positively. He said the
collector is going to preside over the function"
said Ayisha.
Muruganandam is a good youngster. He is not an
average boy of his time; A vibrant young man with a
lot of constructive and innovative ideas for the
betterment of the country and he was a dedicated
field worker for the literary movement of the
district.
Vadhyar felt relieved on seeing such youngsters – it
gave him a logical confidence in the future of the
nation.
He was terribly tired of the travel and wanted to
take rest.
But he cannot skip the meeting- at least to please
Muruganandam he should attend this - he felt it as
a part of his national duty.
He went to the mosque and finished his evening
prayers and went to the meeting venue, the local
school building at 5.15PM. He felt very homely as he
entered the school building - a building with which
he had a very long association of 35 years.
There was a festive look with flags and festoons but
there were only a few people sitting in front of the
stage. A very poor attendance indeed! A gruelling
door to door campaign for about ten days could bring
only a few dozen people for the function.
There was an obvious feeling of anxiety among the
audience - they wanted the function to start early
so that they go through the formalities quickly and
leave the place, as early as possible.
Muruganandam ran towards him with folded hands and
asked him to sit in the front row - meant for the
VIPs.
The function started exactly at 6 PM.
The district collector was a youngster - with a good
personality - seemed unassuming in nature.
Muruganandam delivered the welcome address - he
explained how we were defeated in our Endeavour of
giving 100% literacy to our people even after 45
years of independence.
Next the office bearers of the district literacy
movement spoke one after another - it was a routine
– dull - monotonous narration of activities, failing
to attract the audience in anyway.
Then came, the Thasildar!
Vadhyar straightened his body upright!
The same Thasildar - the one who bargained for
bribes to move his papers!
Thasildar started giving statistics of the literacy
movement. He told "The country suffers because of
the illiteracy - problems keep mounting because of
this gross insufficiency which results in
inefficiency. The uneducated do not understand the
constructive programs of the government in its true
perspective - that is why these schemes are getting
defeated at the execution level"-his speech was very
eloquent and forthcoming. He drew a lot of applause
from the audience.
A volcano kept brewing inside Vadhyar.
"How efficiently The Satan narrates Veda?” "What a
difference between words and deeds?" - He stood up
stirred by an impulse! "Sir, sorry for interruption
– I need an explanation" he shouted loudly.
The audience didn't expect the intervention - it
didn't like it either. The Thasildar was visibly
upset. Probably he might have recognised vadhyar.
"Who is this old man? Ask him to sit down"- someone
among the official machinery shouted.
"We are already at the receiving end because of the
dry and dull lectures..... this old man for his
part....?" murmured some people.
The village administrative officer and some of the
officials came running towards vadhyar and asked him
politely to sit down. But vadhyar stood upright.
"I am a retired teacher - I have put up 35 years of
very sincere educational service - I have a point to
share with you."
"Sir, you can tell your opinion after Thasildar
finishes his speech"- suggested one higher official.
The collector intervened to the surprise of
everyone. "Leave him alone - ask him to tell his
opinion. - Sir, please come over to the stage." he
told.
The Thasildar took his seat with a grim face.
Vadhyar thanked the collector and said "Every one
who addressed this gathering told that literacy will
put everything in order and this country would
prosper. Especially, our beloved Thasildar attracted
our attention by explaining that illiteracy was the
sole reason for the failure of our developmental
schemes. Quite an attractive and catchy lecture
indeed!
Sir, I was a dedicated teacher - a teacher who
thought teaching children was the most coveted
service to God Almighty. Not one or two years - but
35 years of
unstinted
teaching. What I do feel is , the problems that our
nation faces today are not due to the illiterate and
innocent masses but due to the educated elite! yes!
The real culprits are the educated people of this
country" he shouted aloud and stopped. He was
profusely sweating.
The crowd became dumb bound.
Every one's attention including the collector's was
at vadhyar.
Vadhyar continued "An uneducated villager stands in
the long queue patiently for one hour to pay his few
rupees worth of electricity bill; but an educated
and elite Indian tries to cheat the government to
the tune of thousands of rupees making use of all
the loopholes in the law.
Do you mean to say that the top level retired army
officers, caught red-handed while passing our
security secrecy to our aliens are all uneducated?
Do you mean to say that the adequately paid officers
of the government, who demand huge bribes for
performing even their day to day duties, are all
uneducated?
Please for heaven sake; do not think that I am
discouraging literacy movement - not at all. I
welcome literacy movement. There is no substitution
for education. But what is important is, education
alone is not going to help. One should behave -
learn to behave as an educated man - he should
behold the values of education in his day to day
life - that is what our great saint Thiruvalluvar
said.
"The foreign countries made enormous progress due to
literacy”, our Thasildar told us. Yes it is true ;
they progressed-but their progress was not due to
education alone - they beheld at least a part of its
virtue in real life.
Therefore, please do not keep reciting and preaching
mechanically that "Education will put everything in
order"- Do something different - Do something
drastically to improve the day to day application of
our education in real life and that alone would put
our nation – our great nation - in order-in the rail
to real progress".
Vadhyar concluded his talk in emotion, as everyone
including the collector sat dumb bound.
He got down from the dais and started walking back
to his house.
There was palpable energy and contention in his walk
now.
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