This Teachers' Day, a thread on one teacher who continues to influence me even 17 years after I last attended his class. His name is K Thomas Oommen. KTO to some, or just Oommen sir ...

#HappyTeachersDay

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I first saw him during the interview. I mostly blabbered, but must've said sthing right to get in. MASCOM. 2002. 
1st class he said: This is not ur last year of college, but the very first in professional life. 
We took it as a good pep talk, little realising what awaited us.

Initial classes were tough. V tough.  He was strict, to the point of being rude. It seemed he was bent on breaking us. He would drown our writing with corrections in his red ink. Getting a sentence without a red mark, was akin to...winning a cricket trophy

I would literally sit in trepidation on Monday mornings, as he evaluated our story ideas. Few ideas would pass muster. 

Deadlines were sacrosanct. I mean, think of the strictest teacher you have had in school or college. Just multiply by 2x. No, make it 5x.

Those who didnt meet deadlines were thrown out of the class. C'mon, we were in our 20s, not in KG! But he did leave many sobbing like babies, because of his searing feedback. He didn't tone down one bit. 

Imagine this intensity day after day, week after week for 11 months.

A couple of months down the line, we started understanding him. we first saw his caring side, when he heard out our grievances about a faculty member.

Praises were few. But as we improved, he acknowledged. A smart headline. A good intro. Each praise was a feather on our hats

Soon we started to see the humor too. And he was funny! When one classmate gave a headline, "Mian Musharraf..." inadvertently - or intentionally - giving a communal angle, KTO  said acidly, "why not say madar,#₹@# Musharraf." Point made. We nearly fell off chairs, laughing.

Looking back, it was clear that he was being tough because he wanted us to unlearn, before picking up new skills. To this day, over 17 years later, his words still ring loud as one goes about in the profession.

Happy Teachers' Day, Oommen sir.

That's me with him in 2017, when our batch had a reunion.