Guru
Vandana means “Reverence for the Teacher” – it is the
thanksgiving from a student to a teacher, expressing his or her gratitude. Guru
is in news on the proposed move of HRD Minister to celebrate ‘Guru Utsav’ –
with some projecting it as a move towards saffronisation. The Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani has stated that with an aim to ensure wider
reach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with school students on the
Teachers' Day, live streaming will also be made available through web channels
of Doordarshan, PMO and the HRD Ministry. The interaction will start from 3 pm
and will continue till 4.45 pm. Modi will address about 1000 students from the
Manekshaw Auditorium which will be broadcast live by all Doordarshan channels
and on radio. The prime minister would also take questions from some students
spread across the country through a video-conference facility. Live streaming
on the web would also be made available to ensure maximum 'audience'.
Newspaper reports
suggest that Tamil Nadu government would stick to "Teachers' Day"
tag, avoiding reference of "Guru Utsav" anywhere in the celebrations. It is stated that TN Govt’s education
department is going ahead with organizing Teachers' Day celebrations as it used
to do in the previous years. It will
honour 377 teachers with the Best Teachers (Nallasiriyar) Award this year.
Do you remember the
Names and can you recollect the faces of your teachers at your Elementary
school and in Secondary school .... have you ever met any of them after coming
out of school. Can you recognize them
and would you pay reverence, if you are to have a chance meeting with
them. Read somewhere that Sultan Qaboos
did ....
5th
Sept is a special day - …and those in Chennai – know well
this road connecting Beach Road[Kamarajar Salai] from Gandhi statue to Gemini
flyover [Anna Membalam] …… is Dr. Radhakrishnan
Salai, earlier known as Cathedral Road. 5th
Sept, is Teachers Day… in many countries, it is a special day appreciating the
role of Teacher… but the World Teachers’ Day is distinctly different, for it is
on Oct 5th.
In India, it is after
a person whose father was not keen on him learning English or going to school –
he wanted his son to become a priest – somehow this man went to a school in
Tiruttani. Later he became a great
scholar – the man - Sarvepalli Radhakrishna,
a scholar, philosopher and statesman who rose to become the first Vice
President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India from 1962 to
1967. One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and
philosophy, Radhakrishna built a bridge between the East and the West by
showing how the philosophical systems of each tradition are comprehensible
within the terms of the other. He is known for his scholastic achievements.
Radhakrishna was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India,
in 1954. Among the many other honours he received were the British Knight
Bachelor in 1931 and honorary membership of the Order of Merit (1963), but ceased
to use the title "Sir" afterIndia attained independence. Dr Radhakrishna believed that "teachers
should be the best minds in the country". Since 1962, his birthday is
celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5 September.
5th
Sept for sure should rekindle the memories of another great patriot who
underwent untold sufferings at the hands of British.. there is a separate post
on that ...
Qaboos bin Said Al Said is the Sultan of Oman and its
Dependencies. He is the 14th generation descendant of the founder of
the Al Bu Sa'idi dynasty. Sultan Qaboos, the present ruler of Oman received his
education in Pune where he was taught by Shankar Dayal Sharma, who later became
the 9th President of India (served from 1992 to 1997). Prior to that he was Vice-President under Sri
R Venkataraman. He was earlier the CM of
Bhopal and Cabinet Minister holding various portfolios. It is stated that when Shankar Dayal Sharma
visited Muscat, the Ruler personally received him at the airport and drove him
around as a gesture of respect to his teacher.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar.
Society Magazine
