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February 03 Taare Zameen ParDear Aamir Khan,
I find no better way to write this letter than through my blog. I accidentally landed in the profession of teaching when I was all of 22, disillusioned with life, changing from a corporate world or should I say escaping it, and married! That was 8 years back! Hence, when I viewed your directorial venture TZP, I was moved beyond words!
As a teacher I have been lucky to teach along with my wife at every school so far, and the journey has been but amazing! Maybe because we did not go through the outdated B.Ed course that supposedly teaches you to be a teacher but makes you forget the uniqueness of a child and does not recognise special needs. Maybe because our first batch of twelve ten year olds taught us much much more than those old textbooks could teach! [When I met one student from my first batch a month ago, (she is now 18 and has just left for college) I realised what those kids had taught us!] They had taught us to be human and remain child like. I can say proudly that that is one lesson I still havent forgotten and maybe is the secret behind my rapport with my students. I was also lucky to have not taught in traditional schools, and had small classes, opportunity to experiment and be creatve, and thus, have loads of fun with my students while learning.
I wanted to congratulate you for the amazing feat you have achieved through your movie. I saw it in a middle class theatre in Gurgaon where most viewers are moderately educated, but wealthy. Their homes are where the future of our country lies! Even they, (for whom the fact that you dont need to spank a child every time he makes a mistake was a revelation), were spell bound and explaining in their local dialect to their own kids the nuances of the film! You have educated the masses and even the so called elite, whose children I now teach! I have also been witness to the fact that even the well educated and elite have failed with their own children, dumping them in boarding schools and leading selfish uncaring lives. You have opened their eyes to learning which has taken me eight years to expertise in, and millions spent in research on!
Through three hours, you have shown to the world a glimpse of your own soul! A glimpse so kind, true and compassionate. Kudos to you for havng taught to the people how precious the stars that dwell in their homes are and how easy it is to be a teacher! In our day and age, there is a dearth of good and young teachers. Being one of them I am extremely grateful that you have inspired many others to consider this profession and broaden its scope from a bored housewife's pocketmoney earning occupation! Teaching is about life and being good role models! Teaching is about learning to deal with our problems and not brushing them under the carpet. For me every day in the class, every moment of it is challenging and filled with learning and contentment.
You have also gifted the children of today a voice, through Inu's character. A voice in which we can all hear echoes from our past, pains of our childhood and traumas in our own learning! I hope that with this portrayal, you have prevented the stomping out of a child's innocence and beauty...the uniqueness each one is endowed with by God! let us keep alive the sparkle of these stars, that have blessed our Earth!
with gratitude and prayer,
a father
a teacher
a child! |
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