Nostalgia

The following is an article by senior jamiaet(Aziz Akhtar Bhai)in Dubai, Son of One of the Life member of JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA.
I Hope it is worth reading.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS.......... ( A TRIBUTE TO JAMIA )
A telephone call from Zubair is always welcome. that is the reason why, when he called me the other day, i pressed 'Yes' on my cell unhesitatingly. his voice, as usual, was cheerful but the context of his talk was not. He wanted me to write something about Jamia. Though he had gift wrapped it in the form of a 'request', but I could smell the 'order' behind it. I tried to wriggle out of it, citing, the work load, etc. (the usual stuff), but as a true Jamiaet he persisted. Not finding any escape route, I agreed, hoping that he would forget. But then, you know Zubair. a few days later he called again. this time the gift wrap had gone. the 'request' had almost become a 'threat'. I agreed on a deadline with all good intentions. but you know how it is. the deadline came and went with no reminder from him. I relaxed, hoping that he had given up. but last night when I was sleeping a message came on my cell phone, which read : "Kahan se laaoon, sabree hazrate, Ayub ae Aziz - Waqt guzra, printing pending, article nadarad"! Now this was serious. Somebody was becoming a 'Shaaer'. i had to do something so here i am. The basic question, which was responsible for this delay is still there. How does one write 'something about Jamia'? 'Jamia has always meant' a lot of things to me. Unfortunately, I belong to the Jamia with which many of our young Jamaees will not be familiar with. It was small, it was beautiful. there was something about Jamia which i have not found anywhere else. The warmth, the sicerity, the one-ness, the sense of belonging and a very very special atmosphere. there were certain unique activities which the other schools try to follow but the difference is huge. Which school has 'Khuli Hawa ka Madrasa', 'Taleemi mela', 'One day school', ' Mud Day', and full fledged elections- even at the primary school level?!!!! In which school do students learn without a text book till class VI. In which schools do class I students look after animals in their own mini-zoo? Where will you find class four students managing a bank, class V students the 'Khwancha' (tuck shop). and class VI th e poultry farm? where else have you seen the entire primary school engaged in gardening a and selling their own produce? Which principal anywhere in the world will have the confidence in his students to hand them the entire academic and administrative work- right from cleaning the toilets, hostels, class rooms and the entire campus to teaching seriously in class rooms, to managing the office, while the principal, the entire teaching, administrative and ancillary staff go far away on a picnic?!! There cannot be many institutes or schools whose products, without exception, will be honest under really difficult situations, helpful to even strangers, respectful to the elders and ladies, helpful to even strangers, most open minded and truly secular. Well all this and much more was Jamia. It pains me to use the past tense but those of you who are familiar with Jamia of the fifties and sixties would know what I mean. I was inspired by my teachers. From Mehboob Saheb who taught me in class I to Sayyed Ahmed Ali Saheb who was my teacher in class VI to Batra Saheb and Faiz Saheb who taught us mathematics, and Ms. Kamlesh Daniel (popularly known as K.D.) who had the unenviable task of teaching us english to class XI students in Jamia, where we had started learning out english alphabets in class VI! they were all truly 'great teachers' and extremely good 'human beings'. I guess in the Jamia of those days, the two were synonymous - for you cannot be 'great teacher without being a good human being'. Inspired by those teachers, I chose teaching as a profession and have not regretted it. Where ever I work, I try to give a 'bit of Jamia' to that school. But it can only be a bit because giving everything is impossible now. this i consider my humble contribution towards the debt I owe to Jamia for giving me eleven wonderful years of my life.

ByAZIZ AKHTAR