Mrs. Narayanan did it again.This poem won the first prize.
English was always my favorite subject in school. I loved the elegant English teachers with their straight-backed posture, top knots and their starched saris. There was something about the way they carried themselves that each one of us in the Elite private school for girls’ wanted to be like them. As difficult it is to choose amongst my teachers (fortunately, I was blessed with a few), if a choice has to be made, then the best one must be the teacher who changed my life. The poem below is an ode to my Math teacher, Mrs. Narayanan, who taught me for a year but changed my life, forever. She taught me for a year after which we moved countries. I went on to choose higher Math in college. From getting a red line in my report card in grade 7 to taking up a career which dealt a lot with numbers, I was blessed to have got a teacher like her. I never met her again after grade 8 but I’ve thought of her often and whenever anybody tells me I’m good at Math, I can’t help but say, ” I was blessed. I got a good teacher.”
I had always thought of writing this poem on teacher’s day but somehow it didn’t happen. When ALS society published this week’s topic “My best teacher,” there was no reason to dilly-dally anymore.
Literature and poetry my all-time favorite,
Math a challenge, got me irate,
“Poor thing,” they said, “She just doesn’t get it.”
“How dreadful!” my doting parents, were in a fit…
Percentages, relative speed, ratios and proportions,
Throwing me in a tizzy- probabilities, decimals and fractions…
“Story-telling’s hardly a profession!” I saw them worry
Dejected, disheartened, my future nailed, ‘dull and bleary.’
Then one day, an angel walked into my life,
And saw my doubt, my confusion and my internal strife,
She looked me in the eye and questioned with authority,
No condescending sympathy I saw, but trust in ability,
No question too small, no doubt too ‘stupid’,
Not for her was I the ‘Not-so-bright’ kid,
Patient yet stern, she made my goal clear-
Restoring my confidence, banishing my fear…
Of all my teachers, I could never forget,
She, who changed my life and did not let-
The past knock me down and get in my way-
To her I shall forever be thankful today and everyday.
For helping me dream… dreams that I once kept at bay.
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