New Delhi: Teachers wield immense power in all our lives. They can shape our mindsets, our belief systems, our personalities and, not to be too melodramatic about it, they can also change our lives. A good teacher can educate us on much more than what is in our textbooks — push us, make us believe in our skills, hone our manners and mould our sense of right and wrong. And their impact is celebrated in popular culture as well.
As we celebrate Teachers’ Day in India, and think about the people who helped us become who we are today, ThePrint looks back at a Hindi film that encapsulates this effect — Parichay.
Starring Jeetendra and Jaya Bhaduri and directed by Gulzar, this 1972 film is inspired by The Sound of Music. Jeetendra plays Ravi, an unemployed young man, who takes up the job of tutor for the five grandchildren of a wealthy man, Rai Saheb (Pran).
When he arrives, Ravi learns that the children, under the guidance of their eldest sister Rama (Bhaduri), have managed to drive away every tutor they’ve had so far. Their grandfather, having lost his estranged son and daughter-in-law a few years ago, runs a tight ship with many strict rules, which include no laughter or music. Ravi, of course, vows to change all that with his unconventional methods and teaches everyone, including Rai Saheb, how to love.
Much like The Sound of Music, this movie, too, is a musical and has some classic songs like Musafir Hoon Yaaron, Beeti Na Bitai Raina (for which Lata Mangeshkar won a National Award) and Mitwa Bole Meethe.
Parichay also happens to be the first collaboration between R.D. Burman and Gulzar, and given the magic they created, it’s not difficult to see why the two hit it off. They even managed to recreate the iconic Doe a Deer from The Sound of Music as Sa Re Ke Sa Re.
Plot teaches an important lesson
The plot is quite straight forward, but it drives home an important point.
Jeetendra, when interviewing for the post, is asked if his previous students were afraid of him. He replies, “No, they used to love me”, and goes on to explain that he prefers using kindness and love over fear to teach. This is reiterated when he refuses to use a cane to discipline the children — something they were subjected to all this while.
Romanticised as it may seem, this is an important point to make even today. Many of us have at least one horror story from our school days of teachers getting violent. While there are many excuses made for this kind of behaviour — they’re underpaid and overworked etc. — it does not justify using fear as a teaching tool.
Fear of violence and the eventual abuse have long-lasting effects on children. They do not understand the reason behind the rules, only the consequences of breaking them. The abuse also stunts their self-confidence, growth and learning abilities, and happiness.
And much like Ravi shows Rai Saheb that he needs to love his grandchildren first before he can expect them to love and respect him, the lesson also holds true for parents. As cliched as it sounds, parents are our first teachers — and they continue to be throughout our lives. They mould a child more than anyone else. Unfortunately, there are too many stories of child abuse (at the hands of parents and teachers) to count today.
Parichay, in its own simple way, teaches us that what children need more than anything else is love and encouragement to become confident and kind adults themselves. And if you had a teacher like Ravi, who made you believe in yourself, take a moment, even if Teachers’ Day has passed, to thank them.
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