Little things
………..
When you sit back, relax, ruminate and masticate old
instances, lingering thoughts, anecdotes and episodes, you will be amazed to note that not big
promotions, grand titles, fat bonus that have brought happiness in one’s life
!!! Small….. Pretty little things that were done by so thoughtful people have
brought in more joy in one’s life. Wish
to share a few such instances !!
It is very important to get good teachers in one’s school
and college life! A good teacher can make or mar your career.
My daughter, in her twelfth had a poor business studies
teacher. She still hates the subject and does not have any inclination to even
read business column in news papers. She had a great Accountancy teacher. She
adores the subject, despite the fact that she had moved out of accountancy
& book keeping long back and now she is a practicing lawyer. The accounts
teacher used to call her at home, over phone, just to pep her up before exams!!
I have had wonderful relationship with my teachers,
professors. I still make it a point to call them over phone or mail them my
salutations on Teacher’s day! Being a bright and obedient student in my school
& college days, I was liked and brought with great love by many teachers.
One of my professors in National Dairy Research Institute
Karnal was Dr. B N Mathur. He had
studied all his courses from NDRI and thus becomes my senior. There used to be
great admiration and respect to seniors in our branch! He had then just
returned from Nebraska USA after his post doctoral course. He used to speak
with a very typical American accent in a very slow manner. He had taught us a
course on liquid milk. We used to enjoy his classes as they were done with a
different practical perspective inviting voluntary participation, daily tests
and anecdotes from far and wide!
He was also active in our annual days, annual dinner
celebrations and other extracurricular activities like Tennis etc. When it was
time to write resumes for interview etc. he was the obvious choice of many in
the reference column, as by then he had become the head of Dairy Technology
Division. A rare fete for a young man who had graduated from own alma mater!
Life took its
different twists and turns. We moved from place to place but retained our
contact by an occasional greeting card, a letter, wedding invite etc.
Everything elicited very prompt response from him. When I visited my college,
after a span of two decades, with my wife and daughter he was still active as
he used to be! We were invited for evening tea and his wife Mrs. Rekha Mathur
was attending to us with a spread of nice delicacies for snacks along with tea!
Later, I met Mathurs at NARAM, Hyderabad where he was the
Director, that too on the last day of his tenure as he had by then taken
voluntary retirement from ICAR. I learnt
that he was moving to Radha Swami Sat Sang in Beas, Punjab. From pure academics
he got engrossed in spiritual and service world!
In between in Alumni meetings at NDRI, Karnal we used to
bump into each other. In 2013 he was awarded Distinguished Alumni award!
My neighbors in
Nangal, Punja were staunch devotees of Radha Swami Sat Sangh and through them I
had sent message to Dr. Mathur. We were invited by him to be their guests
there. It was a In 2014 on the day of Holi whch was a holiday I and my wife
Jayashree had a chance to be his guests in Radha Swami Sat Sangh, Beas. We had
a great time staying in Beas.
As our cell phones, camera etc. were kept at the entrance of
Beas by the security for security reasons, we were left with no means to know
time as we are not of the habit of wearing watches. Mr. Mathur volunteered to
lend his watch. We told them that our biological clocks would help us to get up
in time. Next day we were to attend Sat Sangh in one of the biggest tents which
could accommodate up to three lakhs of people at a time.
We were picked up by Mathurs from our accommodation and
taken to the tent very early morning for the Sat Sangh. When we got down from
his car, we were handed over two big woolen shawls stating that the climate
would become too cold and windy. We were already having maximum protection by
way of sweaters, cardigans, caps etc. Despite that they were insisting on us
keeping the shawls. But they insisted on us keeping the shawls as additional protection,
which came very handy!!
We were taken around the entire length and breadth of the
Sat Sangh and explained everything in detail…internal air port, ETP Plant to
final funeral ground by Dr. Mathur. At last we were taken to the book store and
presented with a nice collection of books on Radh Sawmi Sat Sangh !
We do not know what sort of good Karma we had done in our
earlier birth to get such a good Guru like him !!
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