K Ela
(Written for Mrs. Asenla Temsü, Principal, Chandmari Higher Secondary School, Kohima)
Dear Ma’am,
As we celebrate with you, your 25 years of “labour of love”, of making our Alma mater, Chandmari Higher Secondary School, the school that we are all proud of, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you and say, “Ma’am you have done well”. We are proud of you! Being the “woman of substance” that you are, you have taken things in your own stride and shown us all what it takes to be a winner all the way! We felt mighty proud of you when you were awarded the “Best Teacher” award. Over the years in your different capacities as an asst teacher, then the headmistress and then the Principal of the school, we have, in pride and admiration observed you contributing your best and overcoming all the hurdles in the right spirit. The joy of a teacher when a student does well, the pain of a teacher when a student fails! The highs and lows of being a teacher, only a teacher knows so well. And the joy and pride of the students when a teacher makes a mark for all to see and be proud of! Today as we all share in your joy, I’d say, “Ma’am you deserve all the love and respect that is due to you. A good teacher, a role model for the students, what/who can be greater than a great teacher?” A teacher loved and respected by the students, ever remembered fondly even in old age, they rightly say.
Today as I sit down and think back of the school days gone by, fond memories flash through the minds eye. The best times, most memorable times are the times spend in the school (though at times we hated and cursed those who invented books, schools, exams, tests, homework, classwork etc.etc) As your student I remember you teaching us Moral Science. You were the perfect teacher for the subject; for you lived out all that you taught us. You were a living example, a model for us to look up to. Always cool, calm and composed, a sweet smile always lighting up your face, ‘the beautiful face with a tender and compassionate heart’ is what we always clearly saw as young and innocent students of yours. Thank you Ma’am, for being the person that you are; you may not know how much we look up to you, we admire you for the stuff you are made of. As growing girls looking for role models you were one in our list of “ladies” we’d like to have grown up to be like.
As we graduated to high school, yet again you were the perfect teacher for our Domestic/Home Science subject. Wild and naughty bunch of girls we all were (sometimes, not always, rite friends?) you managed to train us into domestic animals, oops! Domestic ladies! Some teachers used the stick to beat some sense into the thick skulls of the students, some shouted and screamed at the students to make them listen to them, some gave not so pleasant punishments (which we’d rather forget but oh so painful to be forgotten!) to make them learn. But Ma’am all along, your kindness and love for us always got the better of us. A lady of principles and substance, a dedicated Christian, a good mother, you were/are the “right person in the right place”. As a high school girl growing up under your constant guidance, I saw in you so many qualities that I still try to emulate. Over the years as I graduated and worked as an asst teacher under your capable leadership, I learnt much from you. Today as I have ventured out to my calling and reflect upon what I have gone through and achieved, I acknowledge that in so many ways you were instrumental in shaping me( and so many others) into the responsible person that I am.
Along life’s journey from the shelter of home to the school, coming under the protection and the wise guidance of teachers, today I cannot help, but recollect all the fond memories of growing up under very capable and committed teachers, I wish to take this opportunity to say ‘Thank you’ to all my other dear teachers of Chandmari Higher Secondary School who have in your own unique ways added meaning and purpose to my life and all your other students. Thank you for the kind words when I needed them for because of your kindness towards me, I have learnt to be kind to others. Thank you for the corrections when I needed them. I am a better person because of you. Thank you for appreciating and acknowledging my effort when I tried to do well. For I have learnt to try my level best in whatever that I do. Thank you for being a friend, I have learnt to make friends and also learnt to be a good friend. Thank you for the words of encouragement when I felt discouraged. For through your words of encouragement, I have learnt to be positive in life. Thank you for simply being there to listen to me. Thank you for being a clown to make us laugh, for you taught me to always look at the funny side of life, and laugh away even when things are not so pleasant! Thank you for your tolerance, for your understanding, and accepting us even when we were not the ‘good students’ we should be. Thank you, dear teachers for everything. I hope you have forgiven and forgotten all the headaches and heartaches caused by us! We didn’t mean to, it was the monkey in us. Blame the monkeys, it’s their fault!
I wish I could be there, but I cannot make it, but my thoughts and wishes are definitely already there. Heartiest congratulations once again on this auspicious occasion of Silver Jubilee Celebration (10th. Dec.05) of your untiring Service to Chandmari Higher Secondary School, Kohima, and best wishes are being conveyed through this love note which I wish many others to read and know that a noble teacher like you and many others like you are remembered fondly by their students even after they are grown and gone away from the school and that they carry their memorable years with them wherever they go. And their dear teachers always have a special place in their heart. And the school where they learn to be responsible citizens, the place where foundation for the future successes is laid, is always remembered and treasured. May God continue to abundantly bless you and your team and may my dear Alma meter grow from strength to strength and shine ever brightest.
The writer is an Alumni of Chandmari Higher Secondary School Kohima, and the present Assistant Director of Prodigals Home.
