The Lamps that Lit My Path

Apart from our family and friends, the people who have a great impact on our lives are our teachers. They guide us and watch us grow, imparting both their knowledge and experience, much like our parents. Here, I recollect some of the teachers who have had a lasting impact on me and who knew me well. By no means is this comprehensive, and the order doesn't imply anything either; and also I'm writing it down, not because I might forget them but because I want to recollect the lessons they taught me and record it for posterity! They might have seen generations of students come and go, and I might have been erased from their memory, but they'll forever remain etched in mine.

Prof. Krishna Sivalingam (IIT Madras, CSE):
I was lucky to have him as my undergraduate advisor. He understood that I wasn't able to work on my project in the seventh semester due to placement work, and was kind enough to be flexible. His guidance and mentoring, introducing me to the world of research is something I'll cherish forever. I'm glad that he believed in me and let me do my work at my own pace, but also checkpointing in between to ensure I'm on the right track. And he always wore a smile, I've never seen him angry! I'm sure that for every student, college life is one of the sharpest points in their life learning curve, and mine was made all the more special thanks to him.

(Late) Prof. Dilip Veeraraghavan (IIT Madras, HSS):
Thinking of this great man brings tears to my eyes. He was one of the best human beings I've ever met. Even though he was visually challenged, his depth and breadth of knowledge as well as wisdom was unbelievable. We got to know each other through his course on constitutions, and we were like good friends. He was a source of philosophical guidance for many, and his own life was a source of inspiration for many. Cruelly, he was snatched away from this world, leaving an everlasting mark on many, including me.

Prof. Kalyana Krishnan (IIT Madras, CSE)
Though initially I feared him to be a tough taskmaster, he turned out to be a caring, grandfatherly figure! He was a very understanding and amiable prof, and cared about every student at the individual level. Asking us to write down progress on the webpage for the computer system design course, and conveying our difficulties and little lessons through that was a nice idea after all. The fact that even at such an old age (he must be way more than 60), he takes the pains to come to college, take classes and guide students shows his passion and commitment. I will forever admire him for these.

Prof. Hema Murthy (IIT Madras, CSE)
Our first interaction was through her course on communications, which I think is one of the best I've ever taken. I learnt a lot from her course, including the basics of linux, gnuplot, socket programming, etc. She emphasized that every student must compare one with one's self, rather than others. That was how she judged us, whether we are growing by actually learning. After that, she was also glad to recommend me for grad school, and gave valuable feedback on my project. Her passion for social causes and advocacy of developing education in India is something that I share and hope to emulate.

Muthulakshmi (KV IITM, Chemistry)
She was one really enthusiastic teacher who made sure that we covered all the concepts and did all the experiments thoroughly. Her soft strictness and ability to handle unruly students with suave was something I admired. Her teaching was one of the reasons why chemistry was my favorite subject in school! I used to have lots of doubts and questions in chemistry class, and it was fun when she struggled to address some of them! But her grasp of the subject was not questionable. And yes, I was her favorite student too! She even knew my brother well. I learnt from juniors that she used to mention about me in class even after I left school!

Prof.TR Subramaniam (Loyola/Satyamurthy classes, Math)
He is one of the most systematic and best teachers I've come across. His knowledge of the subject and his style of teaching were par excellence. I went for JEE coaching classes under him, and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. He took a personal interest in every student and made sure he remembered everyone by name, as well as whether they attend and participate in class! He even consoled me after a personal loss in the middle of JEE preparations and guided me on focusing on my studies first. I will forever cherish those wonderful classes.

Anuradha (KV IITM, Math)
Like Muthu ma'am, she was also fond of me and I liked her for introducing me to the mathematics beyond textbooks. Her teaching style was quite unique and I used to discuss with her math questions out of portions as well. She also knew my brother well. She encouraged me to participate in math and other olympiads, and I am indebted to her for that. It was because of her that I started liking olympiads and quizzes. Unfortunately, she was transferred from the school after a couple of years. It was a pity that great teachers like her couldn't stay longer.

Vimala Naidu (KV IITM, SST)
She used to be an English teacher, but she took history and economics for us, and did an amazing job of it. It was because of her unique way of teaching that history became a very interesting subject for me at school. She encouraged me to collect extra information about the subject material and maintain a scrap book for it. That became a hobby, and by the end of a year, I had more than 4 full scape notebooks full of such stuff! She even encouraged me to participate in inter school exhibitions and so on, which was an interesting experience. She was also the one who asked me to write the NTS exam, which I eventually cleared!

Unnikrishnan (KV Madurai, Sanskrit)
Unni sir is again one of the best teachers I've ever seen. His passion for Sanskrit and his disciplined life is something that inspired me. Not only did he cover the subject well, he even conducted free spoken Sanskrit classes. Those were some very interesting classes, and I managed to pick up basic conversational Sanskrit, which I still remember! I also loved participating in Sanskrit events and skits because of him. He was the one of the reasons why I began to love and hold in high regard Sanskrit and Indian culture in general.

Smriti (KV Dum Dum Calcutta, English)
She was a very caring teacher who had a special consideration for me, since I was new south Indian in a mostly Bengali class. She encouraged me to go out and speak with people of other languages, including the Hindi and Bengali people in classes and form friendships with them. That laid the foundation for me being friendly with people, irrespective of any barriers. And I still remember how she taught me and a friend of mine a cute little trick for performing well in a speaking contest, which we ended up winning! Unfortunately, I spent less than a year in Calcutta, but it was worth it thanks to teachers like her.

Thangam (KV IITM, Hindi)
This was back when I was in primary school and I barely remember most of it. What I do remember was that she was an elderly, grandmotherly teacher who was very respected in the school and I used to like her way of teaching. One incident that I remember about her was when some of my classmates blamed me for something that I didn't do, she asked for my response. I didn't even know what my classmates were talking about, so I conveyed my innocence, and she was very appreciative of that, saying that I was being honest and innocent. That is a lesson that I always followed, to be honest and forthright in life.

As I see it, life is a dark street, and these people are the some of the brightest lamp posts that have lit my path and showed me the way. Of course, they could not walk with me, nor could I stay with them. But without them, I wouldn't be what I am or where I am. As my journey continues, I'm sure I'll come across more such lamps, and hopefully I'll come back one day to record that too!