25/10/2014
Manish Rai has posted my teacher Dr R N Rai on his Bhumihar Encyclopedia.
My own experiences of my teacher _____
WhenI joined B.H.U.as an undergraduate student in 1977,Dr Rai was a very young teacher. I didn't know him much at that time as he was not allotted classes to teach us. In our final year he was to teach us a few books that I fail to remember correctly. In fact I came to know him properly when I was a student of M.A.final year. He taught us poetry, W.B.Yeats particularly. His method of teaching was simple but quite effective. He didn't have the angst and touch me not attitude of English teachers. Probably it was due to his being from the rural background. He had enormous patience in stock. He believed in having right sort of communicative links with his students. It was highly liked by us because most of the students were from the rural areas , barring a few urban ones,who did not appreciate Rai sir's otherwise native pronunciation and raised their black brows to our sharp protests that came out in our free hours. I don't remember if there was any disturbance in any of his classes. He analysed The LAKE Isles of Innisfree, a famous poem of Yeats authoritatively and authentic ally. Since Dr Rai had done his Ph D on W B Yeats, he had more in his stock than what we needed as students at our level. He generated in me a liking for Yeats that remains intact even to this day with me.
I completed my MA in English in a fair way, although not as fairly as I had expected.
Now the next course of action was to be taken by me. After much consideration and consultation I decided to get myself registered as a Ph D scholar.
But under whose guidance? It wa yet not clear to me as who will accept me as his research student. After a few weeks , I made up my mind to meet Dr R N Rai as he was of simple nature, and a man easily accessible to a student of my background. I met him in the department. He heard me patiently and advised to see him at his residential quarters. That very evening l went to meet him on my bicycle.
Do you know where he lived then in Varanasi? He lived in the Assi locality just a few steps further from the Kashi Mumukshu Bhavan. In a narrow lane in the rented house of a retired teacher of B H U. It was a very narrow passage that I had to pass through to meet my research guide. I parked the bicycle, not forgetting to lock it cautiously as it was my sole mobile companion at that time, and climed the short stairs to knock at the closed panels of rather deformed look. The doors opened to receive me inside. I was face to face with my lovingly smileful teacher. He motioned me to take my seat on the sofa. I comforted myself with a thankul gesture on the rather calm and plain sofas. After snacks and tea, I told him of what l planned to do. He told me to read some authors in the library as it was the initial step towards doing research. He also mentioned me the ABCD of research that was to be known to every scholar at entry point. It was not a very pleasant suggestion as I was not ready to be bogged down so easily. It was an incursion into my freedom, so I thought in my heart of hearts then. I returned a bit morose and despited,I can't say exactly what my mind was ruminating at the hour.
