Rabindra Raja Shahi
At age six, my elementary education kicked off formally at Bhulke Primary School at Katari in Udayapur district. The school was housed with a thatched roof and bamboo bars, and manned with a single teacher who was an eight -class- pass man. At school, there was no furniture. In the name of furniture, there was just a single rickety, wooden chair for the teacher to sit on and the floor was bare so that we children ourselves had to carry jute-sack or a gunny bag to sit down on. We back then used to have a big wooden slate which we made all smooth and shiny and clean by rubbing it hard with a glass ink pot. For ink, we used to use limestone powder diluted up with water. During the school hour, the teacher would make us read Nepali alphabet and memorize multiplication table. we would call our teacher ”Mastersab”.
In those days, I very often used to take French leaves, and as such I couldn’t learn anything worth the name. Then seeing and sensing no progress in study, our father undertook the job of teaching us (myself and my second younger brother). During the period of his teachings, we got caned, slapped, thrashed, whipped and whiplashed -God knows how many times, how often and how harshly! For fear of being beaten, I began being well prepared and ready at my study. Then afterwards, so far as my memory goes, I never got beaten, not even a single of his dressing down; rather instead, he visibly looked quite content with my ongoing study progress. This thing I say on the ground of one incident when I found myself overhearing my dad in his animated, lively conversation with his friends affirming that my English -at the time I was a mere three grader- was somehow better than that of even class six students. So, I have a feeling that punishment sometimes can act as a medicine for the pupils to boost their learning up. With the fear of getting whipped, they learn the given assignments by hook or by crook, though my assertion of course runs counter to modern educational theory.
Our father taught us ABC of Nepali alphabet, multiplication table up to twenty one’za twenty, thereafter English alphabet, word meanings and little bit of English grammar too.
His teachings slowly but gradually brought me on the right track- to take an interest in study and read accordingly. He would bring books for us to study with a result that by the time we got to class three, I had already developed my English (according to my father’s saying) at the level of class six students.
Once again, What I want to reiterate here as my argument is that had I not been punished physically and that too hard by the father, most probably I wouldn’t have turned a promising boy with deep flair for study. So, I feel that children should be sometimes admonished, reprimanded and if need be punished so that they out of fear may develop their interest in study.
I used to read all the English magazines that my father read. In the very process of reading, I would put underline to those lines and sentences and words which I found sweet, impressive and worth-memorizing. Such was my habit! I tried to copy his style of speaking- his style to speak in the tone of native English speakers. Later on, during my higher studies, I became crazy of English and even started writing in English, and first time I did write my English article and had it published in the Rising Nepal, I was in my M. A. first year way back in 1993. The write-up had its title ” Literature: My Food and Fad’. It was very successful albeit my debut and maiden attempt at dabbling in English. Since then on, I’ve been unremittingly writing in English, even managed to come out with a book published, apart from three dozen more of the articles-research oriented and academic both and a reference material as well for B. Ed. first year students- all to my credit and laurels.
For one thing, I picked up English after I had laid my hands on Speedy English Grammar by R. K. P. Shrestha. During the whole period of my student days, rather than from Chudamani Gautam’s grammar, it was from RKP’s grammar that I grew extremely benefitted by acquiring basic grounding on English language in regards to pronunciation, grammar and vocab. So, I’m really pretty indebted to the writer. His grammar to me came up like a guide, as a teacher and in the form of a trainer which I must admit without mincing the matter!
One must have a never-say- die attitude and a fight-to-the-finish spirit for learning English – it is a piece of my advice to all the non-native and foreign English language learners who earnestly aspire to hone their writing skill and craft in English in their ambition to be a writer in English in their lives. Additionally, I should like to tell you to maintain an English dictionary, preferably Oxford Dictionary as your life-companion, as your bed- fellow, as your study mate, and it is the case with me always, truly speaking. The dictionary use facilitates your personal growth regarding enriching and enlarging your word power in as much as writing an article of substance demands playing with words, dancing with words, crooning and humming with words as these words hold the power to make you or break you in real sense of the term. As a matter of fact, words are, to writers, a fixed asset, a permanent property, a magic coterminous to Midas touch for them to be well-established and popular among their experienced yet inquisitive readers.
And, as for me, I’ve not stopped learning English, it is still on till this date despite my advancing age. To those who are high-end boarding English products or who have authentic foreign-based education, my English writings may appear quite ordinary and plain and bland and inadequate, but definitely charming and up to the mark to village school products and I’m one of them- a country bumpkin ever struggling to transition himself to becoming an author, a loveable author in deed!
I wanna fill every single word with the voice of my inner conscience!!
Rabindra Raja Shahi is an Associate Professor at Triyuga Janata Multiple Campus, Gaighat, Udayapur.
