Teacher’s Diary: ‘Had it not been for my teacher, my anger would have ruined my life’

A rural resident reminisces about the fond memories of his teacher whose understanding of child psychology helped him pacify his anger. The reporter recalls that had his teacher not been supportive of him in his formative years, his growing anger would have derailed his life.

I am a resident of Brahmavali village in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district. I vividly remember that day. I got involved in a fist fight even when I wasn’t involved in the altercation to begin with. These were the days when I could not control my anger which was adversely affecting my relationship with people around me.

My parents didn’t know what to do with me and blamed it on my new found interest in cricket. They thought I was being unruly because of developing an interest in cricket. Only my school principal whom I deeply respect, Bhagwati Prasad Gupt, could understand what I was going through.

The day after the fight, my school principal came home to meet my grandfather. But I wasn’t alarmed because it was usual for him to meet my grandfather as he was his old friend.

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However, my unruly behaviour at school was the reason for his visit. He told my parents that I was growing into a violent person who would lose his cool at the slightest trigger. My parents replied that cricket was the reason behind my ‘wild’ outbursts.

My principal replied that they are not providing the apt environment for me to become peaceful and he asked them to let me live with his family instead. My parents and my grandfather insisted on cricket being the germ that had spoiled my mind to which he replied that he knows his protege better than they know their son.

Accordingly, between 1993-1996, I lived at my principal’s house where I even fought with his grandson because of my uncontrollable anger. Even then, I was never reprimanded for my behaviour, instead my principal jotted down my issues and invested time in me to get rid of my anger.

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I was also allowed to play cricket which was my favourite hobby in those days and also became the captain of my school team. The loving environment and care I received from my principal pacified me and my anger issues were resolved effectively.

Also, my academic performance improved and I adhered to the path of peace and righteousness even after leaving the school. Had it not been for him, I would have grown up to become a ruffian.