Presently, whenever I teach, his teaching skills, sincerity, and integrity often come to mind. I don’t say I do justice to the profession. Yet, my uncle’s justifiable style never lets me do injustice. Somehow, I do a little good. And I earnestly want to imitate him perfectly until I am in this field, as I am certain that following him can transform me into the best educator that our society needs.
Zeeshan Rasool Khan
I am not perfect, but my imperfections do not define me. Just like every other being, I possess something from everything. But every better thing that I hold is because of certain people in my life who have impacted me beyond what one can imagine. My uncle, Feroz Ahmad Khan, is one of those. He has not only been a guardian but also my first tutor.
As my father spent most of his life away from home, my uncle was in charge of my studies right from the beginning. My schooling, fee submissions, and progress reviews were his primary tasks. Being a teacher himself, he had a great understanding of all schooling and teaching affairs.
Every night, I would have to show my notebooks. He would check whether a notebook carried a teacher’s sign or not, and then he would turn to the neatness I had maintained in my copy. My uncle possessed excellent handwriting; therefore, I never required any sticker for the notebook name. He would bind my notebooks himself and would write my name on each notebook.
After that, I learned more advanced concepts from him. He wanted me to be independent of school and always worked on me to finish the syllabus much earlier. Math and science were his favorite subjects; thus, they were the point of focus. All this really helped me to excel, maintain learning discipline, and develop an interest in these two subjects.
My uncle had a well-kept bilingual dictionary that was always beside him, along with monthly General Knowledge and science magazines. Slowly, I developed a habit of going through that every day. Each day, I would learn and then remember a new word from the dictionary. Whenever I would miss the routine, it felt like I had wasted the day.
It was from this period that science magazines attracted my attention. I began to collect and read his discarded magazines. In those times, he maintained a bookshelf, in fact, a cupboard in his room. In my free time, I would secretly look through all the books over there and pick up the interesting ones to read at leisure.
I vividly remember that during my board classes, like 9th and 10th, he had subscribed to a magazine namely “Wisdom.” The latter contained topics ranging from General Knowledge to science, which strengthened my knowledge and reading habits. As I cleared matriculation, my uncle was the person who selected curricular books for me and brought additional books for my assistance to broaden my frontiers of knowledge. From here, I was able to build my own bookshelf.
Today, as I write this piece, memories rush into my mind, and one of them is important to share. My uncle had subscribed to a daily newspaper for his preparation, and ultimately it would reach my hands. During my college days, going through columns of different valley-based columnists was one more addition to my list of habits. I not only learned the language but also deciphered how to write a column.
Onwards, I desired not to be a reader, but a writer. Had I not been exposed to papers brought by my uncle, I might not be able to write a single line today. It was a stage when I started trying to send write-ups to newspapers. Yes, I wasn’t very qualified for publication as a result none got published. But my uncle had indirectly ignited in me a passion for something I had only dreamt of.
Things continued as before. I tried, but nothing worked. Finally, in one of the less-read newspapers, my article appeared. As I shared that on social media, my uncle wrote the first comment, which I still remember: “Son, I had wished something else for you, but Allah has something different in store for you and that is too great.”
This was not his compliment alone. It was, to be honest, jubilation for the outcome of his indirect influence.
He didn’t want me to be an educator, but who could oppose nature’s plan? However, in this field too, he is my guide. Memories of his teaching are still fresh in my mind. He would never enter the class without homework. He always tried to update himself with new advances in each subject he taught. Resultantly, our home was once like a tuition center, and he handled hundreds of students during the winter vacations. The same was his way at school. He would never differentiate home tuition from classroom teaching, and he received a reward for it every time.
Presently, whenever I teach, his teaching skills, sincerity, and integrity often come to mind. I don’t say I do justice to the profession. Yet, my uncle’s justifiable style never lets me do injustice. Somehow, I do a little good. And I earnestly want to imitate him perfectly until I am in this field, as I am certain that following him can transform me into the best educator that our society needs.
Once he advised me, “Fellow, there exist many Zeeshans now, be the Zeeshan of grace, having recognition of your own.” As of now, I couldn’t be. I regret. But I have not forgotten it. I am rather hopeful, and I wish that day will ultimately enter into my life, when his aspiration will touch reality.
I know that fulfilling his wish would be the greatest tribute to him. Still, on his superannuation, I hope these ordinary words will serve as a small sign of honour for the many blessings he has given me.
Live long, dear uncle!
mo************@***il.com