1. Shanta madam (Can't remember what she taught. Air Force School, Jodhpur, LKG): Babe. Entertained the class with the song "Tu mera Jaanu hai..." from the movie "Hero".
2. Ratnu sir (Science. KV Jaisalmer, Class 1): Outright thug. Beat up kids for reasons like "your HW is not good enough". Can't remember much of his teaching capabilities. He loved one of my science projects (dad drew the sun, moon and stars for me!)
3. Laadoo Ram sir (KV Jaisalmer, Class 1): Don't remember much of his teaching either. I remember him for regularly beating up his own own genuinely unruly son Rakesh, in frustration and anger. Why? Because the guy used to get rough with a few other kids, and in turn evoked complaints -- mostly fake -- from others like me. Just to see him get beaten up by his own dad in front of the whole class.
Feel sad for Ladoo Ram sir. For Rakesh. Feel guilty too.
4. Mary Thomas (Hindi. KV DRDO, Bangalore, Class 2): She knew jack-shit of Hindi. Used to beat me up when I corrected her.
5. Shanta madam (This is another one. KV DRDO, Bangalore. Maths and science. Class 2): She used to call me "the boy from Jaisalaaamer". Lovely teacher. Taught me the right pronunciation of "hotel". First heard the word "Athikaprasangi" (oversmart?) from her when she called me that.
6. Vijayalakshmi madam (Can't remember what subject she taught. KV DRDO, Bangalore. Class 3) She first gave me the confidence to go on stage and speak. Remember meeting her in a BTS bus once when she made me sit on her lap.
7. Lilly John madam (English, KV NAL, Bangalore, Class 4): My first all-time favorite teacher. Dont remember much about her teaching capabilities. But she loved me. I remember that. I remember we got a cake for her birthday and she gave me the first piece.
8. Venkoppa sir (Class 5. Social studies. KV NAL, Bangalore): Superb teacher. But brutal. He beat up kids. Ruthlessly. Will thank him always for the Bannerghatta nature camp.
9. Dutta madam (Can't remember what she taught. Class 5, KV NAL, Bangalore) Bad teacher for sure. She treated students literally like dogs. And she would say it aloud too.
10. Prabhavati madam (Maths. Class 6, KV Kozhikode): She single-handedly killed my interest in the subject. She was never a terror. She was plain boring. I'd like to think I would have been some kind of a tech-wiz today but for her entry :D.
11. Geetha madam (Social studies, KV Kozhikode. Around 6 months in class 6): Pathetic Hindi. But what a fantastic teacher. I remember every word of hers on the Indus Valley civilization. After her, it took another stalwart to revive my interest in the subject.
12. Chitra miss (Science, Class 7. KV Kozhikode): Not really a great teacher. But fantastic Human being. She hated me as long as she was teaching me. Her routine day began with sending me out of class. She simply refused to begin her day if I was present in class. But a great teacher nevertheless. She moulded me unwittingly, adding whatever few good qualities I have.
13. Joseph sir (Hindi, Class 7, K V Kozhikode) It was frustrating that this man rarely managed to complete the syllabus. Fantastic teacher. Learned the first verses of the Ramcharitmanas from him. Never to forget them ever. All this despite his sometimes brutal treatment of kids.
13. Nambeesan sir (History. Class 8. KV Kozhikode): Stalwart. Stalwart. Stalwart. Slightly feeble voice. Brilliant story-teller. Never lifted a finger against kids in my memory.
14. Balan sir: (Maths. KV Kozhikode, Class 9) Whatever little was left of the ruins that the late Prabhavati madam left of maths in me, this man swept it clean. He thrashed kids like nobody else. And the tragedy is that we realized much later he was not a bad teacher. One day when school inspection was scheduled, this man turned into an angel. A master teacher by any standards. On every single other day, all he did was read out the BLOODY guide, forcing us to copy whatever he dictated.
15. Vasif sir (History. Class 9. KV Kozhikode): Another fantastic teacher. His knowledge in almost every field made the difference. Knew how to use humour and fun to drill drab stuff into students' brains.
16. Janardhanan sir (Art, KV Kozhikode): Hope somebody managed to tell this guy that creativity cannot be brought about by pinching kids on their thighs using a bloody pencil.
17. Gopalan sir (Physics AND English, Class 9 and 10): Always amazed me with that kind of dexeterity. He was a punter at both. A gentle soul.
18. Kumaran sir (English. Class 12. KV Kozhikode): Not a great teacher. His interpretations went outright haywire sometimes. But what a thorough gentleman. He was the ideal teacher. Helpful, warm, mature and fatherly.
19. Asha Bhagwandas (KV Kozhikode. Never taught me): She stood by me during the most difficult of all my times. Her smile revived all the positives that died in me during a particular period.
20. Suma madam (Class 11, chemistry. KV Kozhikode): Outright boring and unnecessarily stuck up.
2. Ratnu sir (Science. KV Jaisalmer, Class 1): Outright thug. Beat up kids for reasons like "your HW is not good enough". Can't remember much of his teaching capabilities. He loved one of my science projects (dad drew the sun, moon and stars for me!)
3. Laadoo Ram sir (KV Jaisalmer, Class 1): Don't remember much of his teaching either. I remember him for regularly beating up his own own genuinely unruly son Rakesh, in frustration and anger. Why? Because the guy used to get rough with a few other kids, and in turn evoked complaints -- mostly fake -- from others like me. Just to see him get beaten up by his own dad in front of the whole class.
Feel sad for Ladoo Ram sir. For Rakesh. Feel guilty too.
4. Mary Thomas (Hindi. KV DRDO, Bangalore, Class 2): She knew jack-shit of Hindi. Used to beat me up when I corrected her.
5. Shanta madam (This is another one. KV DRDO, Bangalore. Maths and science. Class 2): She used to call me "the boy from Jaisalaaamer". Lovely teacher. Taught me the right pronunciation of "hotel". First heard the word "Athikaprasangi" (oversmart?) from her when she called me that.
6. Vijayalakshmi madam (Can't remember what subject she taught. KV DRDO, Bangalore. Class 3) She first gave me the confidence to go on stage and speak. Remember meeting her in a BTS bus once when she made me sit on her lap.
7. Lilly John madam (English, KV NAL, Bangalore, Class 4): My first all-time favorite teacher. Dont remember much about her teaching capabilities. But she loved me. I remember that. I remember we got a cake for her birthday and she gave me the first piece.
8. Venkoppa sir (Class 5. Social studies. KV NAL, Bangalore): Superb teacher. But brutal. He beat up kids. Ruthlessly. Will thank him always for the Bannerghatta nature camp.
9. Dutta madam (Can't remember what she taught. Class 5, KV NAL, Bangalore) Bad teacher for sure. She treated students literally like dogs. And she would say it aloud too.
10. Prabhavati madam (Maths. Class 6, KV Kozhikode): She single-handedly killed my interest in the subject. She was never a terror. She was plain boring. I'd like to think I would have been some kind of a tech-wiz today but for her entry :D.
11. Geetha madam (Social studies, KV Kozhikode. Around 6 months in class 6): Pathetic Hindi. But what a fantastic teacher. I remember every word of hers on the Indus Valley civilization. After her, it took another stalwart to revive my interest in the subject.
12. Chitra miss (Science, Class 7. KV Kozhikode): Not really a great teacher. But fantastic Human being. She hated me as long as she was teaching me. Her routine day began with sending me out of class. She simply refused to begin her day if I was present in class. But a great teacher nevertheless. She moulded me unwittingly, adding whatever few good qualities I have.
13. Joseph sir (Hindi, Class 7, K V Kozhikode) It was frustrating that this man rarely managed to complete the syllabus. Fantastic teacher. Learned the first verses of the Ramcharitmanas from him. Never to forget them ever. All this despite his sometimes brutal treatment of kids.
13. Nambeesan sir (History. Class 8. KV Kozhikode): Stalwart. Stalwart. Stalwart. Slightly feeble voice. Brilliant story-teller. Never lifted a finger against kids in my memory.
14. Balan sir: (Maths. KV Kozhikode, Class 9) Whatever little was left of the ruins that the late Prabhavati madam left of maths in me, this man swept it clean. He thrashed kids like nobody else. And the tragedy is that we realized much later he was not a bad teacher. One day when school inspection was scheduled, this man turned into an angel. A master teacher by any standards. On every single other day, all he did was read out the BLOODY guide, forcing us to copy whatever he dictated.
15. Vasif sir (History. Class 9. KV Kozhikode): Another fantastic teacher. His knowledge in almost every field made the difference. Knew how to use humour and fun to drill drab stuff into students' brains.
16. Janardhanan sir (Art, KV Kozhikode): Hope somebody managed to tell this guy that creativity cannot be brought about by pinching kids on their thighs using a bloody pencil.
17. Gopalan sir (Physics AND English, Class 9 and 10): Always amazed me with that kind of dexeterity. He was a punter at both. A gentle soul.
18. Kumaran sir (English. Class 12. KV Kozhikode): Not a great teacher. His interpretations went outright haywire sometimes. But what a thorough gentleman. He was the ideal teacher. Helpful, warm, mature and fatherly.
19. Asha Bhagwandas (KV Kozhikode. Never taught me): She stood by me during the most difficult of all my times. Her smile revived all the positives that died in me during a particular period.
20. Suma madam (Class 11, chemistry. KV Kozhikode): Outright boring and unnecessarily stuck up.
