Tribute to my “Teachers”-Part I

Today on the ‘Teachers’ day’ I decided to pay tribute to all my real life teachers who have changed my life. I’ll be posting about all of them one by one, on every teachers’ day. First on the list is my ‘Dada ji’. So here, I start with my Dada ji as my teacher:


My Dada ji (Mr. Bhagat Ram) has always been a source of my inspiration and enthusiasm. Although I got very less time to spend with him as my father is a Central Government employee and we (my parents, my brother and me) have to live where he is posted. I loved the summers when we used to visit our native place and I found some time to spend with my grandparents. Dada ji used to tell us (the whole family) the stories of his endeavors in the Army, great personalities like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar ‘Azad’, Haqiqat Rai, Prem Chand, and many more. I used to ask him to tell the same story again and again as I enjoyed them very much. He had narrated almost all the stories known to him at least for fifty times. And he would tell us the same story fiftieth time with the same energy and enthusiasm, that is why I loved the repeated stories.
Enthusiasm should not be lost… Keep your spark Alive…


He never got a chance to go to school, but studied up to class B while he was in Army. Immediately after retiring, he started his own business. He used to collect raw leather from nearby places (Mandi and around) and supplied to the processing plants at Jalandhar. But due to recession in the industry during late 80s and early 90s, he had to bear a huge loss. All the same, he never gave up; and started his own small processing plant and started supplying leather to almost all the Himachal. However, due to local rivals working against his wish, he had to shut down his factory at the peak period of its career. Though he didn’t stop and this time he came up with a small shop of raw material (used in making of shoes). Later he also worked as a Government supplier of grains for a small period.
Never give up… Conditions may oppose you... Don’t let them overtake you and your will…


Whenever I was with him, he never let me sit idle. I accompanied him in some of his activities. I remember once, I went with him to a local ‘fair’ (mela) to sell belts. Not because of financial requirement, but because it was then better to do instead of sitting idle at home. It was a little embarrassing for me, but soon I realized that no job is poor, and has a certain value.
Don’t waste time… No work is incompetent… a simplest work has its own value… respect those values…


I used to be with him as much as possible for me. And he also used to involve me in almost all of his activities. We had a nice time traveling together; on bus continuously for 4 days as he never liked traveling on trains; on scooter to Shimla, Karsog, Hamirpur and many other places in Himachal. We never bothered about the road conditions and the destination; the only thing he bothered about was state of mind. To rest in hot sunny days of summers, he used to ask me to stop near a tree, where we could have afternoon nap. It was then adventure for me, a lifestyle for him. Despite of his busy schedules, he always found a time for afternoon nap, no matters wherever he is.
Enjoy!! Have fun… Be adventurous… But never overload yourself, take a rest whenever required…


He used to get up at four in the morning, and light up the ‘chulha’ heat water for his bath, household use, and prepare his morning tea. Then sit hours doing nothing, facing a small temple in his room. He never used to bother anyone, and lead an independent life, doing whatever he really wanted to.
Be Independent… Disciplined… and Free…


Lessons from my Dadaji do not end here; I have learnt many other things from him. Some are expressible some are subtle. So, I have mentioned a few which I was able to explain.