"From Kitchen to Classroom" - A Teacher's Blog

1) "EVOLUTION" FROM A 
HOTEL TO A CLASSROOM

Every man finishes his days’ work at the office and goes home to relax. This is a natural modern evolutionary ritual in human civilization. I call it modern evolution because this liberty was not enjoyed by the primitive cavemen who always were on their feet till the food was earned. Once he got his share, he could not endure the relaxed mode for long, like other animals. Species other than man feel the necessity for their next hunt only after hunger strikes the cerebral chord. 

Though I am no evolutionary scientist, nevertheless on the basis of present day practices I can draw ancient perspectives. I imagine on my own that man may have never remained idle and being industrious was a gods inheritance  He thought of gaining more and more food, initially for his family, then as a stock, then for friends, relatives and finally for trade. So he always kept hunting and never relaxed. I always believe that man yearns to remain with his roots and always tries ways for achieving that. So as his ancestors never relaxed, a modern man can thus never remain so. In his pursuit he has now converted his horses into computer desks, once his faithful hunting dog is now his scrolling electronic mouse, his arrows and spears for the wild jungle have transformed into cursors and arrow keys in the wild, wild, wild (www) jungle of internet, meat and wheat have been converted to burgers and pizzas. His artifacts of trade has now become paper (money) and plastic (credit, debit cards). Man once used to roam on his legs is now evolved into virtual roaming. He now has the facility of making his livelihood more convenient by sitting in the chair.  Human species never stopped from keep doing something larger and better, as he was the only naturally selected stakeholder in the process of evolution. The remaining animals were luckily relieved from the process of rapid evolution. Thank god for the rest of the poor species who choose not to evolve like man and thus also lost the benefits and risks of advancements. Anyway I could never Imagine sending SMS to my pet requesting to come back home for food, or a cow denying milk to a milkman via voice-mail. 

An irony in my life had been that everyone else in my office ends their days work around 6:00pm and return home with a feeling of “the end of the day” relaxation and have their own methods of easing the remaining hours with their family. I come home to continue the job of managing my ancestral Udupi hotel at home. This hotel and being a "hotelwallah" was a privilege baptized by birth which unknowingly got converted into a job as I grew. Being born in a typical South Indian joint family, which was managed by two brothers who migrated from Udupi (South Canara) to Parbhani (Marathwada) a small district of Maharashtra. My father was elder among the two in age and his younger brother was the leader in his deeds. I was the only hope and the burning lamp of the family, who was reluctant to glow in the traditional way. 

As traditional as it can get my father never wanted me to get into this hotel business and my uncle never wanted me to get out of it. My friends always wished I controlled the business, not out of good will, but for their own selfish gastrointestinal desires. I personally never knew what it was going to be in the future, but I admit that I enjoyed the daily brand new experiences of running a hotel, which never seemed to repeat or cease. Moreover my  dad and my uncle used to narrate the daily incidences with customers and service providers with such wit and humor at the dining table, that it had become our favorite entertainment time in those years. May be this "education" was subconsciously creating a liking for the job, which latter on played a very important role in managing the responsibilities  god had in store for me. 

My father encouraged me to keep studying as he thought it was the only way to keep me out of this ‘mess.’ So I studied and studied till I could study no more in the town. My uncle never objected to my studies, on the contrary he was proud of my mounting degrees, as no one in our entire family or any hotel owner in the town has a lad who was a PhD and sat on a hotel counter managing the hassles. With a flair for teaching I joined as a part time teacher in a private senior college. Without bothering the peanut salary at college, I could now manage lectures and the hotel counter with ease and much to the awe of students and customers. Paradoxically I have experienced in my "dual" life, of being a hotelier and a Lecturer that, both though have a common philosophy of providing satisfactory service, the human behavior pattern markedly varies. 

Being Clark Kent

When I am in the hotel – serving the customers just before going to my college job, following is what I feel and experience. As a hotel service provider you are always looked upon as a “Servant” and orders are given by customers, you have to take those “orders” and see that the customer is served to perfection. This attitude comes mainly from the fact that he pays you money after he eats. He is here to satisfy not only his hunger but also desires an entertainment for his taste buds. And you have to provide a “valuable” service. Every penny of the customer demands “satisfaction.” You remain head bowed, till he eats and burps his approval out. You thank him for proving you an opportunity to serve him and request him to come again. A small dissent by customer is taken as top-priority by each and every person from the management. Everyone exercises their wit and wisdom to see that the disagreement gets converted into a convention. And that customer remains in the subconscious memory of the service provider for so long that even his children and grandchildren are taken care of, by the hotel owner, who passes on the story of his experience to his sons, which eventually may pass on to his grandsons.

Transforming into a Superman

I used to step down the stairs of my hotel and enter the gates of my college as a “Lecturer”. The transformation was like from Clarke Kent to Superman. Paradoxically I have experienced in my "dual" life, being an hotelier and a Lecturer that both professions though share a common philosophy of “Serving” there exists a strikingly different human behavior pattern in each situation. The philosophy in both the profession is “Service.” But the treatment you ‘give and get’ from the other side is amazingly funny.

When I used to work as a part-time college Lecturer (from 1993-2006) I started with a peanut salary. My salary was 1.5K p.m. which eventually got upto 7K p.m during 2004 (but my financial year was made up of only eight months). Back home at my hotel the sweet makers, experts from Rajasthan, salary was 15K per month. My dad used to hand over the money and tell me to give it to them as it was their hard earned salary. I never remember my dad “delaying” their payment ever, on the contrary they always had a couple of months’ salary taken in advance, due to various reasons. I always felt funny that a PhD man earning a salary of Rs.1500/- per month was the one who monthly paid one of his worker 15000/- per month who was 4th Std. pass (proudly proclaimed by the sweet expert himself).

Entering the college gates I knew that the philosophy here to is same that of being service provider. I saw a few things in the “evolved caveman’ who became a Lecturer and I choose that I will not become like them. I decided that I will become a true service provider for the class which my dad did in the hotel. I am proud to put on record that after 20 years of service in both industries (hotel and college) I remain a true “waiter” yearning for customer satisfaction.

But surprisingly what I see seeing the picture is totally contrast to my practices. The “students” who were being served here, never behaved like my customers at the hotel who were very difficult to satisfy. The students were (read ‘are’ and sadly will always ‘remain’) highly submissive to the “service provider.” This gives that service provider (now the Lecturer) a feeling of a “Superman” instead of a “Servant.” This customer here is meant to satisfy his “hunger of the brain” but sadly even after making an advance payment (admission fees) long before he gets served, never realizes what he desires. He is forced upon a “menu” of courses and syllabus, and served according to the needs of the service provider and not the customer. He never is allowed to show dissatisfaction he keeps harboring the fears of failure. The “Waiter” here becomes the superman who does not allow dissent. He does not tolerate mistakes and has developed fear in the minds of his customers his prime weapon. Killing creativity, discouraging “out of the syllabus” acts by the students have been his prime defense mechanisms.

But luckily enough all this attributes to 40% of the academicians and the rest 60% are quite contrast to the things mentioned. There are serious “Service providers” who sweat out their blood for the students. Robert Frost had said “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence”. Surprisingly same thing applies to all professions. But, I still think that  40% of what I mention is highly ridiculous. Strangely enough the major problems in Udupi hotels always had been lack of technical man power, whereas the major problems in the field of education is not only lack of good teachers but also lack of students with an burning desire to "achieve."

My dad never believed in advertising, he always said it projects everything but the truth. He said the best advertiser is you present customer, satisfy him and he will advertise free of cost. Whenever someone used to ask him how is your hotel running - my dad used to smile and answer "when you open a hotel - someone is bound to enter to eat something, its only how you see that he comes again with more of his friends." Now the same thing applies to colleges, if the course is a bread earner, more and more students will initially pour in, but it is the role of a good teacher to sustain that flow and create good human resources. No subject or course is ever bad, it only lies in the "hands and chalk" of the teacher. With ever growing population there is no dearth of unemployment in India but there definitely is lack of talent and with those possessing talents the desire to give 100% is a rare combination. There are plethora of opportunities for talented young people. But with these opportunities new challenges and responsibilities are delivered "free". The question is are we (the "Service Providers" and the "Receivers")  ready to take them head-on.