::: Star Campus :::

Spotlight

Going
beyond
the
classroom

Asrar Chowdhury

I've had the privilege of growing up in a 'magical' green campus Jahangirnagar. The openness of the green campus and the infinite space in the heavens always fascinated me. I realized that if you want to learn, you have to go beyond the walls of the classroom. Only then can you look towards the Cosmos with no fear of the unknown. I met my most favourite teacher in such a magical, green campus in England.

I was studying in the Department of Economics at Cambridge. A Bangladeshi friend offered me lunch in his department, Genetics. A tall man with a ponytail and a big moustache came to our table. My friend introduced him as “Maz”. When he heard that I'm from Bangladesh, he greeted me in a Bengali that would remind me of Tagore's Kabuliwallah. I was impressed. This was the first (and still the last) person of Pakistan origin that I came across who wanted to learn Bengali.

A few days later my friend and I went to Maz Bhai's house for dinner. I was flabbergasted. Mazhar Sheikh, a geneticist to the core in the classroom, was also a marvellous cook at home. For him cooking was not for pleasure alone, but also an art. He was also an avid reader and a true connoisseur of music. That day was the first of many addas. Here I'll mention only one encounter within the walls of this 'campus'.

One day I asked Maz Bhai what his favourite song is. The reply was simple and prompt- “Any song that suits my mood”. The explanation was one of the most influential lessons I ever had. “There are 12 notes in an octave. Some call them Sa-Re-Ga; some Do-Re-Mi; and others A-B-C. Whatever the names, there can only be 12 notes. Human emotions are also universal. People love and hate in the same language. You can realise the universality of music and human emotions only when you break the walls of the classroom. But then you need the classroom to prepare you to make that journey”.

Yes. The classroom teaches you knowledge, but wisdom lies outside. If you can reach wisdom you become a shepherd. You guide the flock. In all societies, shepherds have been a rarity. It's the shepherds who take societies and civilisations forward. And it's the 'campus', the university or the school, where these shepherds are born.I still have the privilege of being in the 'campus'. I have the privilege of spending time with young and fresh minds. This is what I try to tell my students 'challenge yourself beyond the boundaries that you find yourself in. If you can, you'll stand out be a leader.'

Maz Bhai is now settled in Cambridge. He has a wonderful wife and a beautiful daughter. I can only pray little Marvi grows up to be as wise as her father. A few minutes with a wise man is worth more than a thousand years with a fool. Thanks for all the lessons you gave me, Maz Bhai.

(Asrarul Chowdhury teaches Economics at Jahangirnagar and North South University).

Quotes on Teachers

A good teacher is a master of simplification and an enemy of simplism. ~Louis A. Berman

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward

What the teacher is, more important than what he teaches. ~Karl Menninger

"To teach is to learn twice." ~ Joseph Joubert

They know enough who know how to learn. ~ Henry Adams

Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers. ~ Josef Albers