Miss Jean and the country bumpkin

Hi Friends,There was a lovely real life story in September 2008 edition of Reader's Digest about a boy called Shrikant narrated by him only. He belonged to a Nellore, a small town in Andhra Pradesh,where his grandfather was a military doctor. He was really treated as a prince there,pampered so much by all and sundry. In 1971,his parents decided to shift him to Bombay,where they worked. In Bombay he felt totally lost. The poor boy did not know any language other than Tamil and Telugu. Everyone in the class made fun of him and he could not cope with his studies at all. His copies were always empty.But there he got Miss Jean as his class teacher. She worked extremely hard on him,with great tact and patience. She also encouraged other students to make friends with him. Even after class, she used to guide him in his studies. Gradually his confidence came back and he stood fifth in the class. Then suddenly Miss Jean announced that she was going to get married and would shift to Australia. Shrikant was in class 2 then. He and his friends were too young to realise how far Miss Jean is going and no one cried. However,Miss Jean wrote her new address on the blackboard and Shrikant copied it faithfully on the last page of his school copy. However,when the copy was finished,it was sold to the raddi wala and Miss Jean became a forgotten chapter.After many years,when Shrikant was in class 10, Miss Jean revisited the school. The Vice Principal introduced her to the students,saying- "She is Miss Jean,seven years agao she taught her here.She remembers many of you." Shrikant also talked to her. She said-"Yes,I remember you. You were very naughty." However, a standard 2 teacher was no more the centre of their universe and Miss Jean sensed that probably and left hurriedly.Now Shrikant is a marketing executive in an MNC and realises that whatever he is today it is largely because of Miss Jean,who worked so hard on him. In the weekends he teaches marketing management to college students,and he really feels that this work is nothing ccompared to what Miss Jean did to him. Now when he teaches the principles of Maths and Science to his kids, he realises how difficult it must have been for Miss Jean to work on him,when he did not understand anything and was so low on confidence.Later,Shrikant gets a chance to go to Sydney,Australia,for some business meeting. He tries to find Miss Jean there, but unfortunately,he could not do so,as he did not even know her surname.Shrikant ends his story with the wish that Miss Jean stays happy wherever she is. He realises that it was she who had turned a country bumpkin into a mature,confident guy.Friends, I shared this beautiful story with you all as I am sure,all of you too, must be having some or the other teacher in mind,whom you will not forget,and feel really fortunate that you were taught by him or her,even though you may not be knowing the whereabouts of that teacher now.

By: Amitabh Bhaiya