Everything has its time -Raj Bahadur Yadav

Everything has its time

Everything has its time

                              -Raj Bahadur Yadav


It was  the night of June 1, 2017. I had gone to bed, having taken my supper. No sooner had I closed my eyes to prepare myself for a sound sleep than I heard my mobile phone ringing loudly below my pillow--"trin--trin-trin".I looked at the watch,it was 10.38 pm. I picked up the cellphone and put it to my eager ears and heard a very familiar voice from the other side," Halo! I am Satnam Singh" speaking.Congratulations,Sir! You have become Principal!" On hearing this good news, I almost jumped up from my "charpoy"[ stringed cot],"Thank you, thank you very much,Sir! All this has been possible because of good wishes of friends like you". In fact, we both were shortlisted for the post of principal[school cadre] by the Education Department of Haryana last year and this summer we were lucky to make it to the final list also. Having got bored waiting week after week for the release of the list, I had gone  on a short tour to my village. Saint Kabir has very beautifully said," Dhire, dhire re mana, dhire sab kuchh hoye/Maali seenche sau ghara,ritu aaye phal hoye"[Slowly,slowly, o mind,everything happens/Gardner may water the tree  with an earthen pitcher hundred times a day yet it will bear the fruits only in its season".
                        I have always believed in the English problem,"He that serves well,needn't ask his wages". I can now  say with a sense of satisfaction that my consistent work of more than twenty-four years  in the class room has led me to my due promotion as a school head. But I humbly acknowledge that  there are some  of my worthy colleagues whose contribution in the field of education puts mine to the shade. Earlier I used to travel twenty-three kilometers to reach the place of my work and now the  distance to the new place of posting has also almost doubled up. While I have risen in rank, my responsibility has also gone up. I cannot slough it off at any cost. When my students pray to God  in the morning Assembly,"Daya kar daan vidya ka, hume paramtama dena/Daya karna hamari aatama mein shuddhata dena"[ O Lord, bestow on us the gift of education/Kindly bless us with a clean conscience], I also become spiritually moved,reflecting  upon my own inadequacies and limitations as an ordinary mortal. In such moments, I try to recall the tales of some of the famous headmasters and principals whom I have personally met or heard about.
                             

                    The ancient philosopher, Cicero says,"Glory follows virtue as if it were its shadow". Prof ND Grover was one of  the most diligent and popular  principals of the Dayanand College, Hisar. During his tenure [1977-1982], DN college became famous throughout Haryana for its prestigious Science Faculty. He hunted for talented and meritorious students from the poor families and provided them with the facilities of free boarding and lodging also in the college hostel. In the late seventies, he met a poor yet very brilliant student, Ramphal, from Hansi area and invited him to study science at the DN College. Ramphal who belonged to an artisan's family told him plainly," But Sir, I don't have money to get admission to your big college!" Prof Grover smiled," You just pack your luggage and follow me. I will look after you as my own son!"  I still remember meeting this simple yet very promising young scholar of DN College in 1978.It is quite proper to mention here that in those days, Ramphal's name figured prominently in the  merit  list of Kurukshetra University every year when the results were declared. Prof Grover used to say," There are so many rough diamonds in and around Hisar, I have to unearth them  and polish them"[ referring to rural students]. Prof. Grover was born on November 15, 1923 at Isakhet now in Pakistan. Having obtained his Master of Science degree in 1945, he started teaching at the DAV College, Lahore.After partition, he relocated himself as the founder Principal of DAV College, Abohar in 1960 and continued serving there till 1977. In Hisar, he was popularly known as "Jholewala Baba"[ saint with a bag] and "Karmayogi" also as he helped the DAV College Management Committee in setting up more than 200 schools and colleges in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa.

                              

                     I can never forget late  Master Maturam Sharma who worked as Head Master and Principal of Shri Ram Sewa Samiti Senior Secondary School, Fatehabad in early nineties.He was a great teacher and a very sensible human being. He inspired and trained me to become a tireless and sincere class teacher.He is no more in this world yet there is a whole  locality  named after him" Maturam Sharma Colony" in Fatehabad.I salute him from the core of my heart. I think that the deep impressions, which I have in my mind about Prof Grover and respected Maturam Sharma, are going to help me in carrying out my duty as a school principal also.

Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV
Behind Kath Mandi, Kranti Nagar, Fatehabad[Haryana]