Everybody loves an icon. Success sounds sweet and raises romantic visions of pleasant ‘what-if’ scenarios. The icon’s quotes, sayings even lifestyle habits are sought after and in many cases emulated. The hyped-up version of the icon almost but not quite goes to the extent of simplification of the absurd - that achievement is just intent or luck.
The hard work, perseverance and above all the hunger for knowledge is sadly overlooked. Most of the world’s revered icons never had formal schooling or were drop-outs. And they did so because they found the straight-jacket systems stifling to their curiosity.
Lest it be misunderstood, this is not to suggest that formal schooling isn't required. The teacher is merely a guide, a means to learning, not learning itself.
So it does come across as strange that such a kerfuffle emerged over questions asked of GPA5 achieving students. The premise is flawed and tragically so. Students cannot be blamed for allowing their world to be consumed only by dreary, incompetently formulated syllabus that test memory rather than provoke the mind. Nor can they be absolved of not knowing facts that should be engrained.
The only battle that general knowledge ever led was that of the mind, bloodless and constructive.The ‘have beens’ as the older generation is at times described by the young generation went through similar schooling but were curious enough to enrich their knowledge banks. Education is all about rounding the mind to prepare an individual not just for a career but also a life in which each has a contributory role.
There are many who believe that instantaneous replies to questions are often evasive and while that is true to an extent it still doesn't absolve one of the guilt of not knowing. Or, perhaps, programming the mind to not accept that which seems irrelevant. Nine out of ten among the icons will never come unstuck in such situations. But then they are exceptions; not the rule.
And the least publicised elements of their lives are the ones that made them what they are. Ernest Hemmingway re-wrote his novel ‘A farewell to Arms” fifty times by his own admission. The poet John Milton was candid in saying ‘writing is painful’.
The devoted fans of the mercurial Sachin Tendulkar probably aren't aware of the personal battle with pain the master-batsmen went through,the many adjustments he had to make to last as long as he did.
And Humayun Ahmed fans will likely not know that no publisher accepted him till Dr. Ahmed Sharif weighed in with his recommendation. Sharat Chandra needed Tagore’s one-line introduction to be a teacher at Dhaka University. The same Sharat Chandra who fumed at the lack of readership even after Tagore became a Nobel laureate.
Too often, the underlying facts are missed for the veneer. Biology’s best teaching, that of the cycle of life doesn't just tell us of progression, it contains the untold theory of adaptation or evolution. But that is for a curious mind. A mind that continues to ask questions of life and the status quo.