India is a land of many traditions. In an Indian family, when a child is born, on the eleventh day NAMAKARNAM is performed i.e., naming ceremony. After few months ANNAPARSHANAM - feeding the child with solid food, then after few years on the Navarathri festival or Gurupurnima or on any auspicious day the child is gifted with AKSHARABHYASAM, making the child to write or introducing him to the world of education, familiarizing with the alphabets of his mother tongue.
From there the role of the teacher commences in the life of a child. Initially mother becomes the first guru, introducing his father, family, friends & relatives. “Naasthi maathru samo guruh”
The second guru being the father- the head of the family takes him to a guru &seeks his help to up bring his child and brighten his future with the best Education, because the education is the Teacher of teachers.
“Vidhyaa Guroonaam Guruh.”
GURUKULA system was the ancient form of education prevailed in India. Oral transmission is the only medium to impart Vedic texts and life lessons to lead a best life. Guru Sishya Parampara is best found in the epics like Ramayana & Mahabharata. Drona is the first & the best guru, because of which the National awards for best coach is titled as DRONACHARYA AWARD. Dronacharya for Arjuna, Valmiki for Lava & Kusa, Shukar for Parikshith & others, Vasista &Vyasa for Pandavas & Kauravas, Dhathathreya for Prasurama & Karthaveeryarjuna, Yama for Nachiketha, sungod or Surya for Anjaneya or Hanuman, Chankya for Chandragupta were all the phenomenal gurus and sishyas. Their sole aim is to make their students excel in their chosen fields.
Then came the stage of using palm leafs and copper plates to preserve the teachings in the form of manuscripts. Later on the system of school education began with slate and slate pencil. As the days progressed, with the invention of printing machine, the methods of using books and notebooks were introduced into the education system. With more advancement in every field, even the education scenario moved to ‘SMART class & OMR sheets. In the place of GURU, Google is being substituted. With the onset of modern education, the teachers too made them to fit to handle the subjects and impart the essence in the best possible way.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Rukmini devi Arundale, Yoga guru Krishnamachary, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam all left an inerasable mark in the field of teaching. On this Teachers day, salutes to all the teachers of yesterday, today &tomorrow.