This story is written by Sharjeel Ali, a student of class 7.
Once upon a time, a 7-year-old boy named Mustafa lived in Delhi with his brother and parents. He loved painting, fishing, and solving puzzles. As a good observer, he always looked around keenly and drew everything he observed. As he grew up, he developed an ambition to become a great painter. But Mustafa also had a weakness: studies. When he opened books and saw letters, he used to feel dizzy and often fell asleep. The pictures in his books, however, attracted him. This made his father furious as he wanted Mustafa to study hard and become a doctor, just like Mustafa’s brother.
One day, while returning home from school, Mustafa saw some boys playing cricket. They hit the ball so hard that it came all the way where he was standing, so he simply picked it up and threw it towards the boys. Unfortunately, the ball flew past them and went into somebody’s house. At that point, one of the boys approached Mustafa and started abusing him. Mustafa hit him in return, and the boy’s mouth started bleeding. He tried to punch Mustafa but could not do so because Mustafa was quite tall. The poor boy went home crying.
When Mustafa reached home, he was surprised to see the same boy with his dad standing at the door, talking to Mustafa’s father. Mustafa knew he was in trouble. His father was infuriated. He beat Mustafa and ordered the boy to go to his room. At dinner, his father said he would send Mustafa off to a boarding school. Although the child resisted, he had to spend 6 years at a boarding school away from his family and friends.
Poor Mustafa was so weak in his studies and always got scolded by his teachers. Even the principal used to mock him. But luckily, one fine day, the old principal retired, and a new teacher took his place. To his surprise, the new principal, Mr Salman, was an Arts teacher!
Mustafa got super excited. Mr Salman was really enthusiastic about teaching, and as he had heard of Mustafa’s artwork, he decided to manage his schedule to teach the class Mustafa studied in. He never scolded or punished anybody, so the students all loved and respected him the most.
After a week, when Mr Salman was in the staffroom, he overheard all the teachers discussing something serious. He went up to them and asked what the matter was. Upon inquiring, he was told that Mustafa was the worst at his studies and that the teachers thought they should expel him. The considerate principal knew better. He not only counselled the teachers to improve their ways of teaching and communicating with the students but also called Mustafa for a meeting. He guided Mustafa and gave him a well-defined career path that would help him take his passion for arts to a professional end and improve his grades in other subjects.
This proved to be a turning point for Mustafa because, per his teacher’s guidance, the boy got better and better at his studies, and, as a result, he convinced his parents to support his dream of becoming a painter. The little boy worked day and night and became the most famous painter in Delhi, all under the kind guidance of his teacher.
And the story doesn’t end here. As Mr Salman influenced him so much, Mustafa also developed a love for teaching. And yes, you guessed it right, Mustafa joined the same school as an art teacher and continued Mr Salman/s legacy.
