In 1979 the first flight of India’s satellite launch vehicle, SLV-3, failed. Satish Dhawan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, faced the press himself. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the project director, later recalled: “He took the whole blame on himself despite criticisms.” Dhawan told the press that “next year we would succeed because his team was a very good one.”
A Meal at the Teacher’s House
As a boy, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had a teacher named Sivasubramania Iyer, an orthodox Brahmin. “One day, he invited me to his home for a meal,” Kalam wrote. Iyer served the Muslim boy himself. He told him: “Kalam, I want you to develop so that you are on par with the highly educated people of the big cities.”
He also told him: “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted.”
The Tied Thread
In May 2006 the singer Girija Devi tied a sacred thread on the wrist of the singer Malini Awasthi at her home in Varanasi. The ceremony is the ganda bandhan. “Gandabandh is a traditional knot-tying ceremony, which cements the relationship between a guru and his shishya,” wrote The Tribune. “Usually performed on an auspicious day, it heralds the beginning of teaching.”
Pandit Jasraj, the newspaper reported, holds the other side of the bond. A guru cannot demand respect. He has to command it with his conduct.
The Art Teacher
In Taare Zameen Par (2007), Aamir Khan’s first film as director, a boy named Ishaan is sent to boarding school to be disciplined. A new art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, realizes that Ishaan is not happy at school “and sets out to discover why.” The cause he finds is dyslexia.
The Phone
During the Rio Olympics in August 2016, the badminton coach Pullela Gopichand spoke about his player P.V. Sindhu: “Sindhu did not have her phone during the last three months. The first thing is I would return her phone.” He added: “I also stopped her from eating ice-cream. Now she can eat whatever she wants.”
Like a Father
In February 2020 Ratan Tata spoke about J.R.D. Tata, who led the Tata group before him. He called JRD his greatest mentor. “He was like a father and a brother to me,” he said.
Mother and Father
Mai-baap: mother and father. The Rekhta dictionary gives its meanings: parents, master, lord, the one who brings someone up, ruler, guardian. The same word names the parent and the person in charge.
My Style
On June 20, 2017, Anil Kumble resigned as head coach of the Indian cricket team. In his statement he wrote: “I was informed for the first time yesterday by the BCCI that the Captain had reservations with my ‘style’.” The captain was Virat Kohli.
Kumble concluded that “the partnership was untenable.” He listed what he had tried to bring: “Professionalism, discipline, commitment, honesty, complementary skills and diverse views.”
The Dronacharya Award
Since 1985 India has honored its best sports coaches with the Dronacharya Award. It is named after Drona, the teacher of the princes in the Mahabharata. The first winner was the wrestling coach Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat.
Keep the Critic Near
Nindak niyare rakhiye, aangan kuti chhavay. Bin pani sabun bina, nirmal kare subhay. Keep the critic near and build him a hut in the courtyard. Without water and without soap, he makes one’s nature clean.
The doha by Kabir is in the NCERT Hindi textbook for Class 8.