My Teachers & Gurus:

In the Muthuswamy Dikshidhar's krithis, Dikshidhar leaves his marks with a "GuruGuha" phrase in each and every single song. I have often wondered about this. His ishta deivam is of course lord Muruga. However, there are so many names for the lord to choose from. That being the case, why 'GuruGuha'?

I got my answer when I came across this Tirupughaz :

"Uruvai aruvai uladhai iladhai, maruvai malarai maniyai oliyai, karuvai uyirai kadhiyai vidhiyai, guruvai varuvai arulvai guhane"

He is not asking the Lord to come as his mother or his father. Or as his friend. He is asking the Lord to come as his teacher.

And so does Dikshidhar. Guhan = the one who resides in the cave of the heart. Guru = teacher. The teacher who resides in this heart - which is the cave.

I have been thinking about my teachers. Those who have made me. Those who have sculpted me. Who had given shape to the person who is now Vishy.

I remember Vijaya teacher. In my 5th standard. In the Susilabai Boys school in Pondicherry. Taking the entire class to Chennai and showing the Valluvar kottam and on return the next day, asking the students to write about what they saw there. And, delighting in my little note and asking the entire class to clap for me. Asking me to tell Ramayana to the whole class - simply because I could tell the story. Asking me to write about freedom fighters and when I wrote about Vanchinathan, reading out the 2 page note to the class and making me feel so very proud. Instilling in me the confidence which is going to remain with me that I can write and write very very well. What a teacher! When I went to see her after my State first rank in 10th, she proudly told her neighbours : "Didn't I tell you? I told you that Visu would come. Here he is".

Krishnaraj sir. My tamil teacher in my 8th standard. VOC School Pondicherry. Teaching me the nuances of tamil grammar. Getting me to participate in some hundreds of elocution constests. "You can read the books. But, this is a much higher order learning. You have to read many books and understand and prepare if you have to speak for a few minutes. You will grow in confidence". So I did. How many contests and competitions he had taken me to. Endlessly listening to my speaches. Correcting them. Telling me how to prepare. Telling me to prepare all that stuff for the competitions on my own. "I can prepare and give you. But that would be the worst thing I do for you". Whenever I stand up and speak in a meeting, I think of him.

Mohana teacher in my 9th standard science. VOC school Pondicherry. I began to love science because of her. Physics and Chemistry and Biology. What is possible with science. What is a lab and how people discover and invent things.

Balasubramaniam sir in my 10th Std Maths. Who changed my hatred towards maths into pure love for maths. What an alchemist! He taught me how to befriend the numbers. How to visualize maths. Where all the mathematical principles get applied and why it is important to understand all this. When I got the marksheet and came and showed him with lots of pride, he was not proud. "So, you have scored only 98 in maths. What Visu. You should have got 100". Every time I do anything towards maths, I think of him.

Natesan sir in my 12th standard Maths. Jeevanandam HSC school, Pondicherry. "Vishvanathan, you are good. But, the 12th standard syllabus is nothing. You should be preparing for your IIT by now and I will tell you how to prepare for IIT maths". I had never heard of IIT till then. He used to select a few of us and give us problems from IIT papers. Matrix and calculus. I still remember getting just 2 out of the 20 problems right in that special class that he ran for us. Absolutely punctual. With Vibhuti covering his forehead. Explaining maths in a simple fashion. Explaining where all this maths gets applied. "You should be able to solve a problem in at least 5 different ways. It is fun. It would also help you if you ever get stuck in the exam". That lesson applies not only to maths but to all things in life. The teacher who made me acutely aware of how much more is there to learn beyond our textbooks.

EKR sir. My principal in 12th standard - Jeevanandam HSC, Pondicherry. He took English for us. I remember the special care he took for the entire class. Running special classes for the English 2nd paper and teaching English grammar. I remember the 12th public exam. I finished the exam abot 30 minutes before and made the mistake of coming out immediately. EKR caught me. "Visu! Come with me." He took me to his cabin. "Why did you come out so early?" I told him I had done well and written all the answers and also revised the entire thing at least twice. He nodded. And, promptly proceeded to ask the whole set of questions one by one. I ended answering the whole paper once more!

Vishwakumar sir. My tuition teacher. Worked in Petitseminar school. Took Physics and Chemistry classes. Explained physics and chemistry in the simplest of terms. Explained with anectodes, stories and examples. It was an experience to just sit in his class and listen to him. His 30 marks tests were famous. When my final exam marks came and I had scored just about 85% in physics and chemistry, he camly told me to face the facts. He told me that life is not just about the marks. And he was absolutely right.

Diwakar sir and Manohar Jesudoss sir. My Farm Mechanics and Tractor teachers in Agri engineering, TNAU. The kind of devotion they had to the subjects and their mastery was something to be seen to be believed.

Uma Chandrasekaran Mam, School of Management, Pondicherry University. She took Marketing Communications and Advertising. What a teacher. Not only the way she taught, but also the way she prepared the students for all kinds of management competitions was awesome. And the kind of insights she came up with for every single one of her students was truly amazing.

Teachers. Every one of them. Who had taken the time and trouble - out of their way - to sculpt me and a thousand other students. Without ever asking for 'what is in it for me'. Passionately telling the students how they need to figure out things. What they should do to become somebody in life. Always ready to help out. Always going that extra 100 miles for their students.

No wonder Dikshidhar wanted Lord Muruga to come as a teacher. To come as 'GuruGuha'. No wonder Arunagirinathar wanted Lord Murugan to come as his 'Guru'. No wonder Avvaiyar wanted Lord Ganesh to come as 'Guru' : ("Guruvai vandhu kuvalayam thannil tiruvadi vaithu thiram idhu porul ena"). No wonder Lord Krishna had to become a teacher to guide Arjuna even during the heat of the battle.