Lakshmi Teacher

Author Raja Krishnamoorthy / Kitty - Oct 21, 2024

How often do we get blessed, in person,  

by those whom we worship every day? 

I feel so humbled by life, when it creates magic, one after the other !  

How often do we get blessed, in person, by those whom we worship every day?  This is such a rare gift of life, that I want so eagerly to share with all of you! 

19th October, 2024 was a day, so deeply touching and nostalgic, when I met  someone who made a huge difference in my life. She is all of 94 now, but she came  into my life when I was going from age four to five! 

She has stayed in my heart, been part of my soul, been a eternal silent partner to  many things I have achieved , causative partner for many accolades I have received  in all these years.  

My Lakshmi teacher, from my SRWS high school, Andheri, Mumbai!  

One of my greatest blessings in life is the fact that my complete education, from  the age of five till ten, was in my mother tongue, the divine Tamil ( thamizh)  language. And she was the oasis that provided access, familiarity and finally  mastery for me in that language! 

She was my teacher from the 1st standard. She taught me Tamil, from the  alphabets. She also taught me in my primary school days, a few other subjects.  

The best teaching from her was “ the way to discover” my hidden treasures :  multiple talents, self-confidence, perseverance in action and with all these  together the most, invaluable gift of my life: Self-worth based on conviction,  capability, courage and unconditional love!

Besides “leadership” ( I was the class monitor for all ten years and school head boy  for 2 years), She helped me discover some of the finest artistic skills I had: helped  me discover my talent for public speaking, acting, and writing- and all these  between the tender ages of seven and eleven. 

When I was just in my third standard, around the age of 8, she made a statement  that “Krishnamoorthy is capable of taking up any challenge...” At that time, it felt  like an enormously feel-good statement for a young kid.  

Today, I understand its power when I look back at the journey of life, thus far.  

As a kid I was quite charmed by a few of the regular beggars who came to our  locality, seeking alms in those days. As a little child wanting to participate in the  fancy dress competition, I registered my name and when Lakshmi teacher asked  me what role I wanted to play, and I replied in Tamil “ Teacher I like to be a  “pichakaran”...a beggar!  

She laughed but gave me two lines that a beggar would probably sing in Tamil:  “amma pasikuthe, thaye pasikuthe” , along with few more supporting lines. When I  got ready to present that caricature in front of the judges, she quickly told me to  go to the school ground and roll in the mud a bit more so that I really looked like a  poor ragtag beggar.  

I did that and came back! Guess who won the fancy dress contest? Of course, me. 

Today I am ALSO known as an actor in five languages with eighty films credits.  The first performance was at the age of eight! She encouraged me to get on stage  and deliver dialogues as a hero- “Raja Desing, The emperor!” when I was just about  8 years old. 

She is the person who first appreciated my writing skill. I remember being given an  assignment to write an essay as a third standard student, when as a kid, I was just  three years into the basics of language: speaking, reading and writing.  

With great enthusiasm, I wrote the famous story of the “crow and the fox and the  piece of vadai” , my first piece of creative writing in Tamil, and I received a remark  from the teacher on the side of the notebook: “very good”..., of course in Tamil.  She even told the class that this is how essays should be written. 

She was also one of the judges when I delivered my first extempore speech in the  tamil oratory competition and won first prize, while I was in the fifth standard.  The topic was “the good qualities of a class leader or class monitor” - as we used  to call that position. 

If I can communicate in Tamil, my mother tongue, with such power and intensity  today, the complete credit goes to this mother figure.  

Who is this magician, this goddess, this inspirer, this mother figure  who made all the difference in my life?  

My one and THE only Lakshmi teacher.  

So, last Saturday I grabbed the opportunity, I met my Lakshmi teacher at her  Andheri residence in Bombay after quite some years. 

I touched her feet and got blessed all over again- with the same bright smile, with  the same intensity of love. That hug and her proud statement to her son saying  that “my Krishnamoorthy was the best and even now is the best” melted my heart. 

I felt very grateful to divinity that at my age of 70 plus, even after a life journey of  seven decades, her love and affection for her favourite student remain unchanged.  

I prayed for her well-being before leaving after our memorable half-an-hour  meeting.  

“...My dearest Lakshmi teacher—thank you! Anything I say will be  less than what you deserve for what you have done for my life, and  to so many others like me!  

Teacher, I am doing that one thing you taught me by your devotion  and deep love to all your students: To be loving and giving and  making that the biggest lesson in life!...”  

In awareness & Love 

Raja Krishnamoorthy 21-10-2024: 9 pm Chennai