Nuances in Education

Two professors had come for Maha Periyava’s darshan from the college at Mayiladuthurai – one from Commerce, the other, Sanskrit.

Maha Periyava looked at the Professor of Commerce and asked him,

“Where is your native place?”

“Waltair…”

“How far is it from here?”

“About 1000 miles…”

“About or Nearly?”

The Professor was in a fix and was not able to give a satisfactory reply.

Periyava answered the question himself, “About” means more or less. May be a little more or a little less, “Nearly” means almost. Less than a thousand miles, is that not so?

Periyava then looked at the Professor of Sanskrit, “What have you studied?”

“Sanskrit M.A.”

“That is, you have studied about Sanskrit. Then, when are you going to study Sanskrit?” The Professor of Sanskrit was taken aback.

“One is considered a real scholar of Sanskrit only when one studies literature or grammar and obtains the title of Sironmani. History M.A, or Tamil M.A., just means that one has studied about History or Tamil, isn’t it?”

Maha Periyava taught the professors a few nuances in education before he sent them away.