Mr. Magar and Mr. Zende inspire Rotarians through tales of their accomplishments
Mr. Magar and Mr. Zend
The Somchand Parikh Award for the Best Teacher 2013 has been presented to Mr. Ambarsingh Magar, Principal of Colaba Municipal Secondary School. His undying love for the profession and endless support towards his students make him an inspiring personality.
Mr. Ambarsingh Magar:
I’m grateful to the Rotary Club of Bombay. Thanks to the Club, I’ve got a lot in life. You have always supported me. I don’t support anybody, people support me — that is what I believe. I was born in a small village called Malegaon in Nasik. I studied at the district school and even now we live in the fields and end up walking two to three kilometres. Till the 7th grade I studied in my village, after which I had to go to the nearby village to attend school. Everyday, I’d cross the river, which would overflow during the monsoons. However, we would walk or swim across waist-level or even neck-deep water and go to school. I have been beaten by my teachers as well because I would love to swim. Eventually, I learnt from my mistakes and started focussing more on studies. So much so, that I became one of their favourite students. In the 11th grade, I went to Pune, gave the exam for Tata, but didn’t get through. I went back to my aunt in the village and stayed there for two years wherein I completed my senior college.
I stood first in my English medium B.Ed. exams with 76 per cent. This got me selected into the BMC. I didn’t have to pay because my presentation, interview and marks were good enough. I started off in Mulund. I saw that a lot of poor children didn’t have the means to pay even five or ten rupees to attend school. There would always be a few kids in my class I’d pay the fee for, and request them to come to school. I was young and wanted to do something different and the Club supported me. They used to run tuitions there. At the Marathi medium school, we’d get 25–30 per cent results for English, but we raised them to 70–80 per cent over time.
I became Assistant Headmaster at the school in Colaba. For a year, I was very troubled for a number of reasons, but I did not give up. I don’t look back, I only look ahead and I’m always positive. There’s something very satisfying about the smile on a child’s face. Whenever I saw that smile, I was more and more motivated to work. Today, with this award and the support of Salaam Bombay Foundation and the Rotary Club of Bombay, there’s a lot I have to say, but I cannot find words to express how happy I am. I got the Adarsh Mukhyadhyapak Award two years ago from the Mumbai Corporation, but today’s felicitation has truly touched my heart. There’s so much more to do. With your support, we can change the world. These children are my pillars apart from being the pillars of India. I’ve worked in the tribal department with respect to education and I continue to work in that sphere even today. They don’t have any access to either books or food. In that regard, children in Mumbai are much better off, but they need motivation. We’ve got to support them and let them run free.
Q: You’re an inspiration for so many people — teachers and students. What are the qualities that you believe should be found in a good teacher and a good administrator?
A: For a good teacher, the job isn’t limited to teaching. A lot of people can teach, but they can’t motivate children. Motivation is very important. Counselling, motivation and getting their parents to understand the process — if a teacher can do all three things, that’s ideal. Every teacher should be able to do these things and teach students how to study in adverse conditions.
he Rotary Club of Bombay Bravery Award 2013 has been presented to
Mr. Vishnu Zende for his efforts in single-handedly saving many lives during the 26/11 terror attacks. The city salutes his spirit, presence of mind and inimitable bravery.
Mr. Vishnu Zende:
I would like to thank you all for inviting and motivating me. Secondly, giving me an award here, at the Taj Hotel is special. I feel even the staff here would feel proud, as they had faced the situation bravely too, and one of us is getting recognised for this collective effort.
I have been in the Railways for 23 years, out of which I’ve been working for 17 years as an announcer. At the time of the incident, I was on evening duty, from 3 pm to 11 pm. It was around 9:30 pm and I was waiting for the reliever to come so I could go home. I was quite relaxed and my bags were packed. The attack was on the main line and I was stationed at the suburban line that day. Hand grenades were thrown and the sound was deafening. I figured that there was a bomb blast that had taken place and made an announcement advising people not to go towards the source. I requested the police to go to the suspected origin of the blast and handle the situation. I saw a small girl whose leg was severely injured being dragged away by people. I’d never seen such a sight before. Some colleagues came and informed me that firing was underway. After that, I started telling people that they shouldn’t come ahead and that they should leave from the back gate. I kept announcing this continuously, until all the people went out through the back gate. When the two terrorists came in front of me, the platform was empty. There was no casualty there. The terrorists found an empty platform but could hear the announcements, so they started firing at all the glass panes in sight. A bullet whizzed past me, missing me by only a foot. It was your prayers and my mother’s blessings that saved me.
Q: You must have had to wait there for a while before you were able to leave?
A: The terrorists were in front of us for most part of the unfortunate event. The attack was on at the Taj and at Leopold as well. I got calls from my family at home telling me what was being broadcast on TV. I told them that not only was the news true but that they were right in front of me and I couldn’t talk on the phone more.After that, I kept seeing the news on my phone and was in constant touch with the police officers. I could leave only two hours after the police came. I went to the place where the incident happened, to a waiting room, and there was not a spot on the floor where I could place my foot without touching blood. I couldn’t bear to walk there, stepping on the blood of a friend or commuter. I left and came back to my cabin. In the morning, my reliever came and then I went home.
Q: We in Mumbai are very dependent on the Railways and BEST to keep functioning relentlessly. We learn from you that one can think about others before oneself. In a situation where most people would think of their own safety first, how did you manage to think about others?
A: I’ve been working as an announcer for 17 years and have worked at many stations. Many people know me personally. When I was at Sandhurst Road, my cabin was at the entrance and a lot of people recognised me. Whenever there was a festival or a party, they’d bring me sweets. We had developed a relationship with each other. It was symbiotic — I’d be of no use without them and vice-versa. When this incident happened, I could only see them and nothing else. I couldn’t think of myself, only of moving them to safety.
Excerpts from a Q&A session:
Q: Mr. Magar, as social servants, what change do you want in society so that people like you get motivated even further? And Mr. Zende, I’d like to know what you were thinking when the firing was on.
Mr. Magar: Today, the direction society is headed in is compelling us to think. We can see what’s happening in Mumbai, Maharashtra and India. Children go through so much these days and have a lot of mental pressure to deal with. I feel that the media shouldn’t be showing things that spoil them. I don’t have a TV at home and I haven’t lost out on anything in the last four years. We read the newspaper everyday. If we watch the news, we tend to avoid reading the papers.
Society should control itself. We as adults are our children’s idols and must think about how we behave. We should be responsible for the way we walk and talk. I want society to keep these things in mind so the impact will be visible on children as well. I heard of an incident today. In Andheri, there was a girl in 9th grade in an English medium school who carried a bottle of alcohol to class. Once the bottle was found, she was taken to the principal. Her parents were summoned to school. Meanwhile, this girl went to a window, jumped out of it and killed herself. On later inspection, it was found that her parents weren’t giving her a sound upbringing. We ought to counsel even the parents. We keep saying that it’s a young country, but those between the 5th and 10th grades will be the foundation of a young India soon. We shouldn’t mentally pressurise them and for this we need more control within the community.
Mr. Zende: When the incident happened, I could only see the public. There was nothing else on my mind. I wanted them to get out safe and made announcements accordingly. At the end of everything, there was only me and the terrorists with their guns in sight. I thought I was going to die and I wanted to listen to the voice of my loved ones for the last time. I called my brother-in-law and my wife and told them not to worry. Somehow, I survived.
Q: My question is to both of you. One is a karma-yogi and the other is a gyana-yogi. I am unsure of something about what happened with Kasab and your ideas might help. My parents were teachers, so I have that in me and I am a karma-yogi myself. Kasab was made a killer, he didn’t have a personal will to be a killer. His face was like that of a child and he would speak straight. Do you believe such killers should be rehabilitated or given a death sentence?
Mr. Zende: I think when we’re teaching kids, there’s an age up to which they can learn. When we work with wet clay, we can give it any shape we want, but if it dries and hardens, we can’t change its shape. That’s how kids are. We can teach them the right thing while they are still young. Later, they think for themselves and cannot absorb what another person is saying. In Kasab’s case, his age to learn had passed and what they could teach him, they taught him. He became a terrorist and came here and there’s nothing we could have done to change the outcome. I feel he got the punishment he deserved.
Mr. Magar: Rightly said. I think he was over 16 years of age, 17 perhaps. I’ve been here for three years and I’ve come across a lot of examples. Every other day we have to counsel children. Kasab was mentally prepared to kill and sent to India. He should get punished. An enemy is an enemy, culture aside. And our culture also says that if we consider an enemy a friend, we won’t survive. This is true, and I’m not saying this as a teacher but as a patriot. He was my enemy, my country’s enemy and he deserved the punishment. We can’t say that he will change. He was sent to kill, he killed, so why should we forgive him? I don’t think such people should be forgiven. If he is my countryman and has committed a crime, we can think of giving him a chance to improve.
This afternoon of conversation was conducted by R/Anne. Padmini Aditya Somani.