His Majesty's First visit to the college (GCIT)

Until now I have been among the students who desired to be the first in line to see and adore the charismatic personality of His Majesty. I would always tussle myself in the crowd to be in the first line (literally to be as close as possible) so that I conceive all the words of HM. The notice of HM's visit during college days always lightened the mood and induced the excitement to my hysterical adrenaline. I would look forward to the audience with HM and made sure that I had a small notepad to jot down HM's speech. The HM's visit always was unprecedented as the speech inspired and motivated me to do better as a student. I think in a way it was epiphany or realization of being modest and true to ourselves.

However, this time when HM visited the college I am no longer a student and I don't have to sweat profusely to get a good place to sit. As a faculty of the college, we get a special privilege to be at the forefront. This time I have all the ambiance left to me to courteously admire and comprehend the invaluable words of His Majesty. I am fortunate and blessed to meet HM, this time not from far but a close friendly interaction. I am overwhelmed by the modesty and relentless effort of our King.
Every time HM makes a visit to a college he always has advice to the students. The advice may be few but the words are as strong as etching in stone. The words guide when we trend to go astray.

The four major points HM emphasized during his first visit to the college are:

1. Character- No matter how qualified you are, if you are a sociopath then the whole purpose of education goes in vain. For instance, if a person holds Ph.D., (the highest education) but if he doesn't make a good husband then he is not a good human being. The qualification he has is paradoxical to his character. Education doesn't suffice everything. We should have the right understanding and right attitude. A person without a good character is a threat to society.

2. Resilience- bounce back when life ditches you. Our society has promoted and bestowed praises to the ones who perform well. Our education teaches children to win and play triumphant for their achievement. Nowhere in our education system teach our children to accept failure. It's a cutthroat world where the weak are eaten and the stronger thrive. S/he who endures, win the gold. Thus, when life knocks you down get up and move on. Be resilient and make the obstacles your stepping stone to success. You are young and you are prone to encounter failure but you should not stop, move relentlessly what may come. Remember:

"The toughest steel is forged in the hottest fire."

3. Habit-Old habits are hard to die. Inculcate good habits from the beginning so that you do not have to shun any of the habits in the future. As a student, of many habits, the most excruciating habit you should develop is the "READING". You never know at what time you will need to speak and meet with. You should not be confined to textbooks only but read about the world and different cultures.
"As a King, I have to read a helluva lot. I meet people from different walks of life and different countries. For example, let's say I have a diplomatic meeting with delegates of Denmark. I can't just go and discuss but before that, I have to read all the articles and documents related to Denmark. This will help me initiate the talk and navigate the discussion successfully."
Keep yourself abreast of the surrounding by reading. The education we had had from university, the sophisticated subjects we learned during our college days trend to fade away. We cannot remember everything we studied but after education what is left is our desire and willingness to learn. We know what we have to learn and what we need to do. We are not in a dilemma as education guides us. Thus, read to update and do not rely on obsolete education.

"We cannot remember everything we studied but after education what is left is our desire and willingness to learn."

4. Discipline- You should be emotionally, intellectually and spiritually disciplined. The superficial discipline requires obedience. The respect you show to your parent, elders, and the teacher are all superficial. The profound discipline should come within oneself. Discipline is directly proportional to the emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being of any individual. Be disciplined holistically.
The first priority in education should be given to DISCIPLINE and then to the core subject matters.
First, the discipline and then comes BA, B.COM, BCA and all the degrees you name it.

With splendid character, resilience to move forward, commitment to read ardently and with sound discipline, our country will do wonder with productive human resources. Our smallness is not our weakness but an asset. We can do the work faster as we do not have many potholes (procedures and regulations) like India. We should train our youth not just to produce a product but the logic behind producing the product. For instance, our graduates who have mastered themselves in art and craft are not reliable as they don't have mass production skills. After all the investment in grooming them to become professionals in producing the traditional tables (chodroms), in times of urgency if the government import even the local producible tables from India then the whole target behind establishing the art and craft institute is not fulfilled. If you are going to import then why train them.
Make them competent to compete with the other contemporaries.

"What we cannot meet with the number can be met with talent."

HM reiterated the importance of having good character, resilience, reading habit and discipline to become a talented and competent citizen.
The talk was really inspiring and instigated us to work harder than before.

HM's visit to our college was significant for me particularly because:
1. It's a first visit since the inception of the college.
2. This time I am not a student but faculty.
3. Lastly, it was gracious on HM's part to gift us a watch each.