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I learned my driving from my friend NP in the year 2000 when I bought my Matchbox Maruti car when I was all of 57 at IIT KGP.
17 years before then I had learned driving my Chetak scooter from the same friend (our intimate friendship now is half a century old).
And I had learned riding a pushbike when I was 14 from another friend in the village Nidubrole during my pre-university year...the pushbike was his.
We didn't have Driving Schools those days...
So far, touch wood, I have not met with any serious accident while driving any of these vehicles.
It proves that our friends are our best teachers.
I am not alone...Arjun learned the lesson of his life right in the battle field of Kurukshetra (and promptly forgot it...that is altogether a different matter). His teacher was his best friend, by name Krishna. You may think Arjun was a devotee of Krishna, apart from being his brother-in-law. But the truth is that Krishna was more of a friend of Arjun than a relative or god. Brothers-in-law, aka salahs, are not the best of teachers...that is different story.
Let me quote from the Chapter, Vishwaroop Darshan (Transcendental Vision):
After watching the glorious and fearsome form of Lord Krishna, Arjun says:
"Man, so sorry, I have been calling you jokingly: 'Hey Krishna! Hey Yadav! Hey Dost!'...in the light of our intimate friendship, not knowing your divine form"
That friends are the most patient teachers of all is proved by another shlok from Gita:
Notice that this verse occurs at the very end of Gita. After teaching all of 18 chapters, Krishna asks his friend:
"Have you followed everything I have been saying for all of an hour and more? Have you any doubts still lurking? (If so, Partha, I shall repeat it all, starting from scratch)"
Will any teacher paid by the Central or State Government (even in Gujerat) teach a class of just one student and at the end offer to repeat the whole course de novo?
The smallest class that produced Nobels for all of its students had 2 (Lee and Yang). And it was taught by S Chandrasekhar, who got his own Nobel a quarter century later than his students. I don't know if Chandra was the best friend of his two students who in turn didn't remain the best of friends (as was rumored):
I must admit that 90% of the tricks of classical mechanics I learned at IIT KGP was from my friend and senior colleague, Late Prof MS Sikand. It was done neither in his office nor mine. Whenever I found MSS sitting alone under the mango tree of the Old Canteen in the cellar of the Netaji Auditorium sipping his tea, I used to fetch my cup of tea and sit beside him and say:
"Kuch kahiye, Sikand Saheb!" ...(Say something, Sikand Sir!)
And he would gladly tell me over the next half hour with a twinkle in his eyes what was then fresh in his mind; and the lesson was always crystal clear. One-on-One is the best way of teaching and learning.
I also shared office with my friend Late Prof D Basu for all of 20 years. And pretty soon we found our skill sets were different and complementary and they dovetailed nicely. And our mutual learning sessions were again under the mango tree by the new canteen in the cellar of the Tagore OAT.
Many students at IIT KGP used to learn from each other (the night before their exams)...and at times in the Exam Hall and repent later in their DC.
I once read a book titled 'Performing Flea' by PG Wodehouse. It is a collection of letters between him and his friend Townend. Wodehouse was teaching his friend how to weave interesting plots avoiding pitfalls like the villain being killed by someone other than the hero...like Ravan being killed by Laxman or Hanuman or Jatayu.
And in return, Townend introduced to his friend his most hilarious character, Ukridge:
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I learned my driving from my friend NP in the year 2000 when I bought my Matchbox Maruti car when I was all of 57 at IIT KGP.
17 years before then I had learned driving my Chetak scooter from the same friend (our intimate friendship now is half a century old).
And I had learned riding a pushbike when I was 14 from another friend in the village Nidubrole during my pre-university year...the pushbike was his.
We didn't have Driving Schools those days...
So far, touch wood, I have not met with any serious accident while driving any of these vehicles.
It proves that our friends are our best teachers.
I am not alone...Arjun learned the lesson of his life right in the battle field of Kurukshetra (and promptly forgot it...that is altogether a different matter). His teacher was his best friend, by name Krishna. You may think Arjun was a devotee of Krishna, apart from being his brother-in-law. But the truth is that Krishna was more of a friend of Arjun than a relative or god. Brothers-in-law, aka salahs, are not the best of teachers...that is different story.
Let me quote from the Chapter, Vishwaroop Darshan (Transcendental Vision):
Sakheti matva prasabham yaduktam
Hey Krishna Hey Yadava Hey Sakheti
Gita...11-41
After watching the glorious and fearsome form of Lord Krishna, Arjun says:
"Man, so sorry, I have been calling you jokingly: 'Hey Krishna! Hey Yadav! Hey Dost!'...in the light of our intimate friendship, not knowing your divine form"
That friends are the most patient teachers of all is proved by another shlok from Gita:
Kachidetat shrutam Partha tvayaikegrana chetasa
Kachid ajnana sammoha: pranashtastey Dhananjaya?
Gita...18-72
"Have you followed everything I have been saying for all of an hour and more? Have you any doubts still lurking? (If so, Partha, I shall repeat it all, starting from scratch)"
Will any teacher paid by the Central or State Government (even in Gujerat) teach a class of just one student and at the end offer to repeat the whole course de novo?
The smallest class that produced Nobels for all of its students had 2 (Lee and Yang). And it was taught by S Chandrasekhar, who got his own Nobel a quarter century later than his students. I don't know if Chandra was the best friend of his two students who in turn didn't remain the best of friends (as was rumored):
I must admit that 90% of the tricks of classical mechanics I learned at IIT KGP was from my friend and senior colleague, Late Prof MS Sikand. It was done neither in his office nor mine. Whenever I found MSS sitting alone under the mango tree of the Old Canteen in the cellar of the Netaji Auditorium sipping his tea, I used to fetch my cup of tea and sit beside him and say:
"Kuch kahiye, Sikand Saheb!" ...(Say something, Sikand Sir!)
And he would gladly tell me over the next half hour with a twinkle in his eyes what was then fresh in his mind; and the lesson was always crystal clear. One-on-One is the best way of teaching and learning.
I also shared office with my friend Late Prof D Basu for all of 20 years. And pretty soon we found our skill sets were different and complementary and they dovetailed nicely. And our mutual learning sessions were again under the mango tree by the new canteen in the cellar of the Tagore OAT.
Many students at IIT KGP used to learn from each other (the night before their exams)...and at times in the Exam Hall and repent later in their DC.
I once read a book titled 'Performing Flea' by PG Wodehouse. It is a collection of letters between him and his friend Townend. Wodehouse was teaching his friend how to weave interesting plots avoiding pitfalls like the villain being killed by someone other than the hero...like Ravan being killed by Laxman or Hanuman or Jatayu.
And in return, Townend introduced to his friend his most hilarious character, Ukridge:
Performing Flea is a non-fiction book, consisting of a series of letters written by P. G. Wodehouse to William Townend, a friend of Wodehouse's since their schooldays together at Dulwich College....
...The letters are introduced and annotated by Townend, who had provided Wodehouse with the inspiration for his character Ukridge.
...Posted by Ishani
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