RAYEES AHMAD KUMAR
“Like the waves make towards the pebbled shore,So do our minutes hasten to their end. This beautiful couplet is taken from world famous English poet William Shakespeare’s popular poem “Sonnet 14″. There is a well known proverb that ” Time and Tide waits for none. Distinguished Kashmiri Sofi poet Rajab Hamid has also has expressed the value of time through these words ” Rajab Hamido Suli yim drai manzilas weati,Pato lakan wichti kam kam mazar weati. From these words and poetic couplets we come to the conclusion that time is very precious and can’t be even bought from any means or source. One more saying is striking my mind ” You can buy a watch or clock but not the time”. All these and many more quotes of great philosophers are unanimously teaching a great lesson to whole humanity. The lesson of the importance of time. In our lives instead of wasting the time, we must regard it a big blessing because the minutes, hours, days of our life once gone can’t be brought back. So we must merit and value every second of our life. In human lives it is the passage of time only that we witness and experience the different phases of life. Once a baby is born he is an infant. Through the stages of baby, child , boy/girl, young, adult and old when an individual passes, it is nothing but only a travelogue through the time. Every stage of human life has it’s own importance and is unique through the features from other stages. After an individual has finished the studies, his main focus always remains to see the day when he gets a job particularly a job of government service. After rendering the services spanning over years and decades, he is bound to retire when he reaches the age of superannuation. This retirement stage is yet another important stage in the life of a government servant. It is both challenging as well as a blessing depending upon how it is taken and faced by the retiree.Yesterday a prominent and a well known figure of education department of Ganderbal district Mr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, Headmaster Govt Girls High School Manigam Ganderbal attained superannuation from his services. Bashir Sahib is a popular name among the teaching and non teaching officials of the district. His dedication to his services, mechanism of academic monitoring in the institution, making every official accountable at all levels and treating the students of the institution exactly like his own children are the virtues seldom found in any person. Bashir Sahib had the possession of all these God gifted qualities. He never compromised on his duties and had the excellent skill of running the institution with utmost smoothness. Bashir Sahib got absorbed in education department when Ganderbal was the part of Srinagar district. So he was lucky enough to serve the schools spread over whole Srinagar and Ganderbal areas. Bashir Sahib had the distinction of being a good administrator as well. His policy decisions with regard to better school environment and overall institutional development has no parallels. It is because of his visionary thoughts and ideas that Bashir Sahib very often was called by the district level as well as directorate level officers to find an everlasting solution whenever the need was felt. Further because of his broadminded approach he was many a times appointed as the member of different panels and committees of the department. At district level whenever the department intended to bring a positive change in the education scenario, Bashir Sahib’s consultation was sought like a spiritual consultant because every officer regarded him with high esteem. Keeping in view his excellent administrative qualities, Bashir Sahib was assigned the duties to look after the affairs of education zone Kangan a couple of years ago as well. At zonal level also Bashir Sahib rendered his duties with utmost honesty and zest. So far as the relation with his staff members is concerned, Bashir Sahib always maintained cordial relations with his subordinate officials. They were always in the race of learning different aspects of teaching and running the school affairs from their boss. A couple of years ago DIET Ganderbal organised a Science Mela at Ganderbal. Schools of almost whole district participated in the event. Students were asked to prepare good science models for the Science Mela. Science teachers of the concerned schools were directed to guide the students in preparing the models. Under Bashir Sahib’s visionary leadership, the school got second best position at the district level. Bashir Sahib is also famous for being good at school official records. In his service tenure one can hardly find even a minute error in his signed official documents. It is because he always rechecked every document himself despite it being checked by his concerned subordinates. In district and zonal level official meetings of the department, Bashir Sahib’s role and efforts to bring the desired changes in the institution were often lauded and complimented by the officers. He possessed all the excellent qualities of a good teacher as well. Besides being much concerned about school academics and transparent official records, he always desired to make the institution ever beautiful and decorated the office and classrooms by exploiting all the available resources judiciously. It is because of Bashir Sahib’s noble efforts that Govt GHS Manigam Ganderbal is ranked among the very few best institutions of the district. It is equipped with almost every facility. That is why students and parents prefer to join this institution for their studies and with each passing day the enrolment is seeing a steep rise. To commemorate the best services Bashir Sahib has rendered during his service tenure spanning over many decades, staff members of Govt GHS Manigam organised a memorable farewell function in his honour in the school campus on 27th of March to laud his role as a best administrator and an excellent teacher. Chief Education Officer Ganderbal Mr N.A. Wani, ZEO Kangan Mr Qamar Ud Din Lone, his clerical staff and some teachers of Bashir Sahib along with some members of civil society groups graced this grand farewell function. All the students of the institution, school staff and the invitees of the function amid tearful eyes bid an adieu to their loving officer. Staff members of the institution, civil society members and the officers of the department who were invited in function in one voice highlighted the qualities of Bashir Sahib as an administrator and as a noble teacher who always preferred his duties over all other things. To express the love for Bashir Sahib, every staff member, student and the officers presented gifts of varied kinds. A Kashmiri Samavoar used since ages in valley to make pink “Nun Chai” ( salt tea) and Kashmiri Kehwa and a big example of Kashmir culture was also given to the retiring officer on the occasion. Yesterday (31st March) on the last day of his service carrier, Bashir Sahib invited all his staff members, teachers, officers of the department and other civil society members at his residence ie Manigam Ganderbal where he thanked all of them for showing such extraordinary love and respect for him and for being so generous on the occasion. There is a great lesson for all of us. When we render our duties with utmost zeal and with sincerity, we are bound to be respected both during the services as well as on retirement the way Bashir Sahib has been. My purpose of composing today’s article too is to show a bit respect for this legendary teacher cum administrator and to remind the fellow colleagues to be extra cautious for their duties and take teaching as a mission not only as a profession. May almighty Allah give you the strength to overcome post retirement challenges and may you live, a long, prosperous and dignified post retirement life. Sir, I wish you all the best.
