I Respect You More Than Before

The Covid-19 shook mankind as never before and each little positive gesture that we could think of double both in our actions and rewards that we would never expect. Humanity is in jeopardy. Likewise, this is the story of a gentleman, a teacher who stood bold and determined in the adversity of the invisible ghost. Frontiers closed, schools are under temporary lock down and the escalation in grocery and vegetable prices shocked both the rich and the poor. For some people, it is nothing less than the survival of the fittest. Which one of it would you have believed; the apocalypse 2012 or the present deadly novel virus? The decision is yours and I respect it.

I have always been afraid of him as he never joked or even smiled in class but since that day his revealed persona betrayed the perception of mine to which I callously clang to.

Mr Richard, a stern-looking and stout man of around forty-six years old with salt and pepper hair, his glasses hanging on the bridge of his nose, sent a WhatsApp message to all his General Paper students. The message read as follows:

“Dear Students and Parents,

Good morning, I agree that for the last couple of days we could not conduct classes so I want either one of your responsible parties to be present for a short briefing on Thursday in view of carrying out our classes on the online platform Zoom. Stay safe students and parents. Thanks. Mr Richard”

Ting, ting, ti…nggggg…sounds reached all the eighty-three students on WhatsApp. Most of them heaved a sigh of relief that they had eagerly waited for the classes to resume while few were unhappy that their free indoor loitering times were finally going to be over.

During the lock down period, morning and night were no longer poles apart and days flew like hourglasses. On Thursday, the scheduled meeting happened. Lots of talking, instructions as well as precautionary measures were enlightened. The tougher got going and the going got tough. After fifteen minutes of continuous and unparalleled briefings, the most awaited point for the parents reached to an end; the tuition fee.

‘Yes, so I have decided to exempt the tuition fee as I firmly believe that using a free online platform like Zoom, I will not charge anyone of you till our normal classes will resume.”

With a round of applause and a proud sense of making the right decision to send their children to such a great man, both the elders and the teenagers joined to wholeheartedly thank him for this noble deed. However, another respectful narration and anecdote that he strongly observed at the supermarket, brought tears to my eyes.

“Today, I have gone to the supermarket for groceries and the one moment that has grabbed my attention throughout the day was when a lady, she could be a mother, a wife, was counting her penny twice before taking out an item from the shelf. She was in great dire of financial help. Tomorrow, it could be you or even I.”

All of his online viewers were dumbstruck for his farsightedness and generous thought. Everything is not for free and certainly not when parents want quality education for their children but kindness and generosity are indeed for free.

Mr Richard has touched each and every soul on that day to bring in any big or small contribution in the fight against this dangerously known pandemic, the Covid-19 who has cost the lives of many innocent lives throughout the world. Let’s join hands together for the world to be a new normal again and I am sure that it will happen.