His voice had an amazing enthusiasm. It exuded the knowledge and command he had on the subject. Anatomy lecture hall at KGMC animated and came to life when Prof. Mahdi Hasan delivered lectures .
Though he was retired, by the time we joined the college back in 1999 , but his love for teaching medical students brought him back to the lecture theatres as an honorary professor. His initial lectures for our batch was on Histology. I always had trouble with the microscope but I loved his lectures. More than the content of the lectures his passion for teaching mesmerised me and I hated to miss any of his lectures.
The best was when he taught us anatomy of the brain.
The day of the lecture he entered the lecture hall with a human brain on a tray and a large dissection knife. He sat down with an easy smile and started slicing precise sections at different levels of the brain and it seemed like the text book had come alive.
We were all enthralled by his method of teaching. His loud clear voice reached the last benches ... no 'straining to hear' required. He would teach actively moving around making dramatic gestures with his hands ... almost like a seasoned actor on the stage or a musician charting the depths of music or a magician creating a spell. No one could doze in his lectures ( an impossible thing to do in his class). He taught us the neurological pathways, one of the toughest things to grasp , by making us Role play! What fun was that : ).
He enjoyed and relished every bit of his teaching life. He had his eureka moments during teaching, like a yogi would get enlightenment during meditation. Difficult concepts spontaneously simplified themselves as he taught.
The best thing about this passionate professor of ours was that he always said and lived by it...
But what motivated me to write all this after 13 years ?
It was a picture circulating on the internet that I stumbled upon to my great delight. Our beloved professor was receiving Padma Shree from the President (the first one to receive it in the field of anatomy ). It was an immensely proud moment and I felt totally thrilled .
In a time when teacher student relationship has lost it's sheen and education has become a business we Georgians are lucky to have had the opportunity to gain knowledge from a teacher like Prof. Mahdi Hasan.
This is my way of saying that I am privileged and blessed to be his student and he totally deserves this honor.
Though he was retired, by the time we joined the college back in 1999 , but his love for teaching medical students brought him back to the lecture theatres as an honorary professor. His initial lectures for our batch was on Histology. I always had trouble with the microscope but I loved his lectures. More than the content of the lectures his passion for teaching mesmerised me and I hated to miss any of his lectures.
The best was when he taught us anatomy of the brain.
The day of the lecture he entered the lecture hall with a human brain on a tray and a large dissection knife. He sat down with an easy smile and started slicing precise sections at different levels of the brain and it seemed like the text book had come alive.
We were all enthralled by his method of teaching. His loud clear voice reached the last benches ... no 'straining to hear' required. He would teach actively moving around making dramatic gestures with his hands ... almost like a seasoned actor on the stage or a musician charting the depths of music or a magician creating a spell. No one could doze in his lectures ( an impossible thing to do in his class). He taught us the neurological pathways, one of the toughest things to grasp , by making us Role play! What fun was that : ).
He enjoyed and relished every bit of his teaching life. He had his eureka moments during teaching, like a yogi would get enlightenment during meditation. Difficult concepts spontaneously simplified themselves as he taught.
The best thing about this passionate professor of ours was that he always said and lived by it...
“Teach like a Lion but ask like a goat...” (the emphasis should be on teaching and not setting a tough question paper.)
But what motivated me to write all this after 13 years ?
It was a picture circulating on the internet that I stumbled upon to my great delight. Our beloved professor was receiving Padma Shree from the President (the first one to receive it in the field of anatomy ). It was an immensely proud moment and I felt totally thrilled .
In a time when teacher student relationship has lost it's sheen and education has become a business we Georgians are lucky to have had the opportunity to gain knowledge from a teacher like Prof. Mahdi Hasan.
This is my way of saying that I am privileged and blessed to be his student and he totally deserves this honor.
Wow..you have scribbled so beautifully the feelings of Hasan Sir fans...taken back to those wonderful lecture days...indeed neurology could never have been so easy without him...Will forever admire him and consider ourselves to be lucky to be blessed by his lectures!!
ReplyDeletethanks nivedita :)
ReplyDeletegreat to know about your professor. And after reading this post even I was thrilled to see his photograph and to know that he received Padma Shree award. Wow!!
ReplyDeleteThanks debajyoti for reading ... yeah it's a very special feeling to see somebody so deserving to be honored .. it is indicative that sense still prevails in the days of nepotism and favouritism ...
ReplyDelete