To Ma'am with Love
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
4 September
2023
Dekha Na Kohkan Koi Farhaad Ke Baghair
Aata Nahin Hai Fun Koi Ustaad Ke Baghair
(The way Farhad dug the mountain for Shireen/
Nothing great can be achieved sans a teacher or mentor)
"Mudarris
Humein Asbaaq-e-Hayaat Sikhate Hain" (Teachers teach us lessons of
life).
I'm
reminded of this famous adage in Urdu whenever I think of my late teacher and
mentor Dr Zaifa, who taught me Persian, Pashto and their dialects. Alexander
the Great once told his friend and trusted general Seleucus Nicator about his
teacher and mentor Aristotle, “He opened my inner eyes to the world around and
inculcated values that I still nurture in my heart and will continue to nurture
till I die"
So very
true. A great teacher is placed on the same pedestal with one's parents. Dr
Zaifa was everything to me. Having studied in a Persian medium school in Iran,
my English was very poor and my accent was even worse. I used to be tongue-tied
when it came to conversing in English. My English-speaking friends would laugh
at my awful English and I used to feel so crestfallen and dejected. But thanks
to my affable teacher Dr Zaifa, I overcame my inferiority complex and learnt
English to be on a par with my condescending peers. Though I still make
mistakes aplenty, I know a modicum of English.
Since I
could converse only in Persian and Dari, she made it a point never to talk to
me in these languages. Instead, she would speak with me in simple English that
was intelligible even to a nursery student. Whenever I would break into Persian
and Dari, she would admonish me in her inimitably pleasant manner that I needed
to learn English. Persian, Arabic, Dari wouldn't come to my rescue at world's
premier Universities. Thanks to her exhortations, I could learn a little bit of
English.
Dr Zaifa
widened my horizons and deepened my perceptions. She taught me how to converse
in grammatically correct Urdu despite my familiarity with the Persian Rasmul-Khat
(script).
A life-long
non-believer and rationalist, she inculcated in me the ability to discern and
examine. She turned her back on Islam and all religions at the age of 16. I
imbibed from her, the spirit of rationalization. Dr Zaifa urged me to think
logically.
Once I fell
seriously ill and was in need of money for my immediate surgery. She didn't let
me spend a single penny and had borne all expenses of my hospitalization and
operation. When I wanted to pay back, she said, ' Forget it. You're too
precious to me.' She was full of compassion and would regularly visit
orphanages as well as old homes. If I've a semblance of compassion in my heart,
it's because of Zaifa ma'am. She never discriminated against any student and
would never fail anyone, though she was critical of the level of students and
their poor understanding of the subjects.
While
guiding me for my Doctoral thesis on Persian Mysticism with Respect to Rumi
and Jami, she would collect rare books for me from the great libraries all
over the world. Even when I left the varsity, she accompanied me to India and
lived with me for six years before the fell hands of death took her away.
She had
already willed and donated her whole body to the medical college because she
didn't want a rigmarole of last rites to be performed after her death.
She was an
atheist but loved mankind and all those who came in her contagious contact. I
still remember her with tears in my eyes and when readers across the world
admire me after reading my articles in various publications and in several
languages, I remember my Zaifa ma'am, who taught me how to read, write and
speak.
I remember,
Hafiz Jaunpuri's famous Urdu couplet, "Ab Mujhe Maanein Na Maanein, Ai
Hafiz/ Maante Hain Sab Mere Ustaad Ko" (Whether I'm acknowledged or
not/ My mentor is acknowledged by all).
All the
praises for me are actually acknowledgement of her exemplary mentoring. I shall
remember her till the wrinkled eve of my life. She's eternally etched in my
memories, ensconced in my thoughts, embedded in my consciousness and entombed
in my heart.
----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/happy-teacher-day-love/d/130597