Chapter 16: Chapter 16
After Vir and Swarup left, the women went to their building with the books. Everyone was curious to quickly go through the books to see what was so different about them that Swarup was making such a fuss.
For a while, only the sounds of gasps and pages being flipped were heard in the mansion. Although all of them understood Khariboli or Hindustani, Swarup had suggested that they begin by going through the grammar book. They quickly understood why.
Other than eating the food prepared by the servants, the teachers were immersed in reading the books until the next morning. Some of them were so engrossed that they hadn't even slept yet.
Some of them who had studied mathematics and science extensively were even busy verifying the theorems and formulas that were discussed in the mathematics and science books.
"It is extraordinary. To think that knowledge could be structured in this manner and the other continents and countries have developed so far without us knowing." Kishor sighed while closing a book.
Aftab, Kihor's friend, looked up from the page he was reading and nodded, "I can understand why they said we needed training. Although some geniuses are already trying to verify these books, most of us will need some guidance in many places to understand these things better."
Kishor looked down at the book on logic in his hand, "Using stories and examples to teach the students about how to ask questions to find out the truth is such a great idea. We were only ever taught to memorize the truths dictated by our teachers as kids."
"I remember being punished for asking too many questions. The standard answer we got was, it is what it is, that's how we learned so you will learn the same." Aftab laughed sadly while reminiscing about his childhood.
Kishore laughed along and thought back, "I have only heard of such a style of teaching in the institutes of higher learning where they have philosophical discussions. I want to meet the people who prepared these books. How great are they and their thoughts to have written these books?"
"Just go through all the books and prepare your questions for now. They said we will get our answers tomorrow so you might get your wish fulfilled tomorrow." Aftab quickly got back to turning the pages with interest. Kishore followed suit and picked up another book.
....
The next morning, all the young men and women were already sitting in the large hall before Swarup and Vir arrived. There had been quite a commotion very early in the morning regarding the seating arrangements.
Some of the smart guys had gotten up early in the morning and reserved their places at the very front of the podium. The news spread quickly and there was a rush to get better seats. Some arguments had also broken out but due to the presence of the guards, it died down.
The seating arrangement was such that twenty seats could be placed in front of the podium with six horizontal rows behind them. So twenty rows of six people could sit in front of the podium.
By the time the women had entered the hall as a group, they found that they only had seats on the far left side of the podium where three rows were left deliberately empty by the guys. Although it wasn't the worst, it wasn't the best seating arrangement either.
All of this was relayed to Vir and Swarup who had arrived at the hall after breakfast. When the two of them entered, the room gradually quietened down as everyone took out the papers with the questions in their hands.
Swarup began with a light joke, "I heard there was quite a lot of enthusiasm amongst the teachers this morning. But everyone will get their chance to ask questions so there is no need to panic. We also have a new teaching tool which will make it easier for everyone."
With Swarup's announcement, four large men brought a large piece of wood that looked like a black table board without legs. The men placed it on the podium and Swarup explained, "These are called a blackboard and a chalk. They are teaching aids that you will use in your classes as well. You will become familiar with them here."
Swarup brought out a chalk and wrote the word 'blackboard' in Hindustani on the board in large handwriting. The room instantly erupted into exclamations and gasps. Swarup looked at the room with a satisfied smile.
He had the same expression the first time Vir had shown this to him yesterday. After meeting the teachers, Vir had asked for a large board to be painted black and a specific type of limestone from around the sea and gypsum to be brought to him.
Swarup was curious and went to see what Vir was doing but only saw Vir ordering people to crush the gypsum and limestone into powder with other minerals. It was then mixed with water and rolled into sticks of dough which were dried out.
"Isn't this a cool idea, uncle?" Swarup remembered Vir's words as he demonstrated the concept of chalk and blackboard. It made his mind go blank at first then it started turning like crazy.
While he was busy calculating how much to sell it for and where to produce it, Vir added, "We will make the kids in the orphanage produce these on their breaks. We can give them extra food or clothes as remuneration from some of the profits they make and the rest will be used to run the orphanage."
It was a genius idea to make the orphanage self-sustaining, Swarup was impressed and already thinking of additional production factories to be added in the factory town. Since the formula isn't too complex, they had to be the first ones to start the business and eat up the market share.
Swarup came back to the present from his thoughts after Vir poked his side. He had almost gotten lost in the thoughts about planning for the new business once again. "Now, let me introduce you to my nephew here who is the main reason you all are here."
When Swarup pointed to the little kid, people became confused as to why he was being introduced. He was even being called the main reason for them being there.
"I know you all are very curious about who prepared the books you've read. It was indeed my nephew Vir here who planned and prepared these books with the help of some foreign scholars. Although he is young, he is quite an accomplished scholar. You will find out soon enough."
Swarup bragged about his nephew. He lied about the books being written with the help of other scholars though. It was to hide Vir's intelligence as much as possible but also to provide credibility to the books. No matter what, people would not easily accept a book written by a kid.
Vir came forward to stand on the podium and greeted the people in front of him, "Greetings, my name is Vir Chand and I will be answering the queries you have about the books."
The low humming sound of whispers stopped when Vir gave his greeting. There were quite a few of the guys whose eyes were burning with the passion to teach the kid a lesson for daring to get on the podium to teach them.
Vir accepted all the passionate and doubtful gazes. "Let's begin from the very back and we will go turn by turn. Everyone will get two questions each. For today we will do general questions but from tomorrow the questions will be subject-specific. Let's begin."
The commanding voice of a young boy began captivating the audience. His appearance was very cute and his clothes were great. On top of that, his unnaturally mature temperament created a charismatic appearance that captivated the audience easily.
Coincidentally, the ones at the very last were Kishor and Aftab who had lost track of time while reading the books. By the time they came to the hall, they only had the last seats.
Kishore who was nudged by Aftab to ask the question nervously got up and spoke up, "My name is Kishor Lal. I wanted to ask, are we supposed to teach the students everything in conjunction with the logic subject? If so, where will we get the answers to the questions that the students will ask beyond what is in the books?"
Vir smiled at the question, "That is a great question. If you have noticed, all the books complement each other in one way or the other. Knowledge is not isolated to specific subjects. So, yes not just logic but every subject is to be taught in conjunction with the others."
Vir let his words soak in for a second before continuing, "As for the second question, I think that the role of teachers is to guide the students. They have to become the lamps that shine on the road ahead of their students, so the teachers will have to continuously learn new things, study, research, and improve. So the next question is what happens when the teacher gets stuck?"
The room had long forgotten that the one speaking to them was a child, now they were captivated by his words that spoke of new ideas and great philosophy. Some were proud of being the lamp that guides the students while the others were thinking of Vir's last question.
"We will create a huge library with books from all over the world so that you can constantly enrich your knowledge. But when you stop having answers for the questions your students ask, it generally means that the student has caught up with you on the path of knowledge seeking. So, you just have to invite them to explore the path ahead together with you for the next generation."
Loud exclamations of surprise and approval were heard from the group.
Encouraging students to ask questions, continuing the process of learning, and finally accepting your limits and working together to enrich the knowledge for the next generation of knowledge seekers. All of it was new to the people who had only ever been taught to memorize everything along with the meanings as interpreted by their predecessors.
Except in a few places, it was almost blasphemous to question your teacher. The teacher was always right and the things that the teacher didn't know about were a distraction and unnecessary. Due to such a rigid structure, the education system was stagnating.
Youth like Kishore who were gathered there were aware of the problems but were unable to break the mold that they were forced to fit into. They wouldn't get a job if they tried to be different.
But at this time, Vir showed up and told them to not just break out of the mold but to create a system that discourages a set mold altogether. They had to just provide a solid base, basic know-how, and the right tools necessary for the students to build however they wanted.
It was Aftab's turn next, he stood up holding some papers. All the eyes were on him so his hands were shaking with some nervousness.
"Greetings to everyone, my name is Aftab. My question is if I wanted to focus on teaching just one subject with minimal focus on the other subjects, can I do that? Also, will there be any support for someone who wants to study advanced knowledge and conduct research?"
Kishor who was sitting beside him muttered, "Why are you asking for more support? Won't they throw you out for asking for money like that?"
The others had similar thoughts as well. Although Vir had told them to continue to study new knowledge and to experiment and research. But who would spend money on something that they don't know whether it will be successful or not. There is no profit in doing that.
But Vir's answer surprised them, "We would encourage anyone who wants to specialize in one subject. After you have mastered the basic knowledge to be able to teach all the subjects fairly well, it is recommended that everyone should find a field they are interested in and continue studying.
Based on feasibility and factors like your understanding of the subject matter we will gladly finance your further explorations and research. But we will also own the profits generated from the knowledge gained from such an endeavor. Of course, you will be paid handsomely as well."
The prospect of making money by studying sounded very foreign to the young teachers. They didn't even believe Vir's words entirely.
Vir who noticed their disbelief continued, "In Europe, young scholars like you who have studied different things like chemicals, machinery, physical phenomenon, and mathematics are constantly studying and creating products and ideas helpful in different industries or even entirely new industries altogether and getting richer than many nobles."
Most of the group was fascinated by Vir's words but were still very skeptical about his claims. When they were told that they could verify Vir's words by talking to the European merchants, they gained some belief. It would be stupid of Vir to lie when the truth is easily verifiable.
With that, the question and answer session lasted the whole day with questions about everything from how the classes should be conducted, how to teach, what not to do while teaching, to how many vacations they would get.
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