Dr Karuna Thakur
Closing a chapter of one’s life as a university professor after a long period is not just a countdown of years but a journey in itself – a priceless treasure of experience, knowledge and memories accumulated over the years which are hard to shake off , no matter how dispassionately we live. As I look across the window of my office room, the view does not seem to have changed much for decades. There is the stately tricolor fluttering in full glory; a silent reminder of the deep connection with a public institution that demands honour forever. In the sprawling lawns below, what has changed though are those small saplings, which lined up the pathway in the past , today have grown into tall and shady trees to provide respite to one and all in the scorching heat. Indeed! Rabindranath Tagore’s words make so much sense today when he wrote:
The one who plants trees knowing
that he will never sit in the shade
has at least started to understand
the meaning of life
Looking back, I do not remember if I ever nursed any dreams of becoming a teacher, because, law seemed to be the first option for anyone around wishing to pursue a career as it was believed to provide not only a firm rational- legal perspective of life but also the autonomy of thought, expression and action which possibly no other profession, however valued permitted in its organization. But destiny has its own design in store for everyone, and for me too , it was a providential push towards what is known to be a noble profession when I chose to offer free guidance to students in a college who needed help on a subject . Such an idea of using time at hand constructively occurred during a summer break,while I was a student pursuing my masters. It was a welcome experience and later followed by short term teaching assignments ,which though conducted routinely as a professional job won me the affection of the students , which I was to discover soon after , while going through the assorted gifts received as part of my wedding that had coincided with the completion of the tenure . It was an exquisitely designed souvenir which remains my most treasured gift till date not only for the beauty of its craftsmanship but the poignancy of the thought as to how those students coming from distant parts of the state including the peripheries would have pooled their meager resources to invest in a teacher who was on her way out .
Later, life at the university, was much more challenging, powered as it was, by reading, teaching and learning nuances of research and guidance. Frequent travel within the country and abroad gave wings to participate in workshops, conferences and events, which unfolded a boundless world that seemed hard to be wrapped up in a lifetime. While navigating life with students, colleagues, the staff and others with an open mind, I also learnt how every individual journey, however small , was meaningful in its own way. I also discovered that as a profession, no rational legalism would possibly have given to me the humanistic insight and ability to reflect upon issues that the subject of politics did, even though it is commonly misunderstood to mean a training ground for politicians which it certainly is not. There was also a lot to unlearn or undo personally for the sake of larger peace, congeniality and purposefulness of the institution without violating its essential spirit from time to time because institutions, in order to sustain and be durable have to constructively undergo a process of self repair with flexibility of both thought and actions.
I am convinced that whatever the space or occupation , life is not very complex if we live it in a simple way based on some basic principles and guided by an understanding of our eco -system which helps distill ideas about what is right or wrong , whether changing oneself is better than expecting others to do the same or at best whether to surrender to nature and allow it to take its own course .
On a personal note what I see as one of the biggest ironies of our existence in the world is the fact that just when one is beginning to feel comfortable with the surroundings and the situation around, after that long journey of struggles, milestones and challenges, which now have paled into insignificance, it is time to leave and move on to a different level of existence. Cumulative experience of the past in all its shades in a sense becomes a priceless resource for reinventing and interpreting life with deeper reflection. What is most significant to remember then , is the fact that marking the end of a milestone in a journey is true not only of a professional life but also a reality of life itself ; once the innings are over , there is no over stay and so you accept the final call in all humility and gratitude because that is the inevitable law of nature.
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