Now, apply the same to a case where I didn't know cycling till I was 28. In 2014, be it the tremendous national elections or the final semester results, my not knowing how to cycle worried me a bit. I pretended to be not, and it was good I did, but finally, it got reflected on my inferiority issues!
After completing my doctoral work somehow, I managed to get hold of a teaching job in one of the good institutes in the country in 2017. Frankly speaking, I didn't know cycling till then, and it was not serious for me. As a new faculty member, I had to share a desk with a fellow faculty. Let us call him Arpos as of now. He looked serious, was punctual and shared the image of an ideal teacher, much opposite to what I was, in all the three traits (I am not kidding.). But who knew that deep down every Banner, there is a Hulk! And deep down this Arpos, there was a witty Thanos, someone with much cooler attitude than most of us.
Much of the introduction now! Arpos somehow came to know that I was not cycle-friendly. He quickly offered the idea of teaching me to ride a bicycle. I was a bit embarrassed for a second, but also as shameless as I was, I agreed to the adventure. I didn't realize he was that serious. Now, in a population over 1 billion, there is a high probability that more than one person share the same misfortune. The news of the training spread like a mild fire and I got to know of another faculty member who was in need of similar cycling lessons. So, we formed a gang of two, and decided to buy a single bicycle! We would train first and one of us would get a new bicycle later.
So, our lessons started. It was a ten day long target, and we, the students didn't even feel that we could get it done in ten days. Arpos would start the lessons at 5 in the morning, and as I had said, he was punctual to a T. I was not! And that caused a mismatch in the timings in the initial days.
We began cycling in our apartment complex. Our training lasted for two hours in the morning, after which we would proceed for taking classes. We were being students and teachers at the same time. Sincerely speaking, this felt great.
But as it happens with every good venture, we started facing problems, both recurring and non-recurring!
Recurring
Every morning, the women in the complex set out to have a walk around the complex, and since we trained there, they started feeling threatened by our invasive ways of cycling, each vulnerable to accidents.
One aunt said to Arpos, " What are they doing?"
"Learning cycling...," said Arpos.
"At this age? My younger son can ride a bike."
As soon as she uttered this, we didn't know how, but her son came running down the stairs, started the bike and rode out. Such an opportunistic fate!
"Aunty, there's no age for learning," replied Arpos.
As usual, this offended our aunt quite bad. We could see her face drooping like a jackfruit.
Based on the demotivated comments, Arpos, our trainer, decided to change the place of training.
It was just two days and we shifted to a bye-lane nearby, which was wide and had good pitch.
Non-Recurring
We trained well for two more days at our new place, and at least we could balance a bit now and then. On the fifth day, we faced the rarest of all threats. A kid from a nearby house came with his bicycle and started riding beside us. He would ride fast and grin at us like a little Devil. I got frustrated, and screamed at him, "Give me one more week. I will break your cycle here!"
That frightened him, and he was nowhere to be seen from that day. We were relieved but I was a bit worried sometimes, if my mischief would bring some more trouble. Luckily, it did not!
Anyway, we didn't realize but on the seventh day, we could ride the cycle for a sufficiently longer time without any hiccup. On the eighth day, Arpos took us out to the road and asked us to continue there. We were a bit cautious but gradually adjusted to the scene. On the ninth day, Arpos gave us the final lesson: making an 8 on the ground by cycling. And believe me, it was the toughest. We worked for 3 more days, and by twelfth day, we were confident enough.
Finally, the master came on the thirteenth day, and he declared that we were done! We were glad, and more than that, we were satisfied. It was not an achievement, but it was good to learn something so obvious at an age of 28 years and prove that everything is normal.
Anyway, the reason for writing this true story is not just motivation. There are a few things which I can share.
1] People may shame you for something you do not know. But that is a fact. You cannot change the people. So, you prove you can do it! And this you can do without harming anyone!
2] It is more than teaching that makes a teacher! It is values that make a good teacher. If you observe the timeline of the story, nothing of this would have happened had Arpos not offered the idea of training us! A good teacher understands the emotionally masked needs of his students, and stands up to support him in the simplest of problems. Because a problem may seem easier to you but it may be someone else's biggest nightmare! So, Arpos shall always remain as one of the most ideal teachers for a Rupos (ignore the tagname) like me!
3] An old Chinese proverb says, "Empty your cup first to fill it." You can always learn... at any age. It is belief that makes you a champion! And the biggest test is not any academic examination; it is the examination of life!
4] You have a bigger hero in you! You can awake him any time. Just keep in mind that he is a bit lazy and not used to the air around!
I must have written quite a long story for you all! But, again, you cannot defy the change of Fate, can you? Now, be it a long story or a short one, ultimately, we learned cycling, and you are reading us! Thanks a lot for that!
~Arpos, Rupos, Bhupos. [Extremely Sorry. Ignore the tagnames again.]
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