<B>?He was a model teacher?

?I was at Bhujoharry College in the days when it had laureates and more importantly great teachers. By ?great?, I mean teachers who were experienced and noble. They had become teachers simply because they felt a passion for teaching. Last but not least, they were generous. They wanted to share their knowledge. It is important to underline that, at that time, Alex Bhujoharry himself was in charge of the school.

During my time there, I was lucky to get to know Gaëtan Raynal who was my teacher for GP and English literature. In a way, I can say that he has left his mark on my memory and on my heart. Gaëtan Raynal was a great intellectual! He was the kind of person who was eager to share everything he had with you.

Due to the fact that I was fond of history and languages and so was Gaëtan Raynal, we were always talking about those subjects. Furthermore, he loved talking about the history of the City of Port-Louis. While he was my teacher, Gaëtan Raynal was also a municipal councillor. But the thing we had most in common was our passion for politics. After teaching hours, we would always have a good discussion about politics. In fact, I was not the only one! Indeed, there were the likes of Finlay Salesse and James Burty David as well who would converse with him about politics.

Sadly, Gaëtan Raynal resigned as councillor later on, and as far as I can remember, we were among the first to know that he was going to resign. He announced it to us and obviously we felt privileged! As far as I remember, it was due to some decisions taken by the municipality, which he did not agree with. To me, this demonstrated that there are a few people in this world who are not ready to sacrifice their convictions and principles just because of prestige or money. In other words, it showed Gaëtan Raynal?s moral courage! Coincidently, in 1982, I resigned as minister because of some disagreements about certain principles with the government of those days. Just as it was for him, politics is more a question of serving the nation than a question of personal glorification for me.

Coming back to Gaëtan Raynal?s teaching career, I must say he inspired me a lot when I became a teacher in my turn. I may say that I have inherited his qualities, because after my HSC, for a few years, I taught English literature, French literature and History. He also gave me, along with some others, tuition. I remember every time when he arrived for tuition he would bring his gateaux piments. Obviously, we the students, were hungry as we were just out from school, and the good smell of the gateaux piments sharpened our appetites. So, once he had his back turned, we would go and take some of his gateaux piments as we knew where he kept them. When he came back he would look at us in a funny way and say: ?There are some rats in my house!?

Once, he came to me and offered me a history book. I asked him why he had chosen me. He said: ?Do not ask questions. Just do me a favour by taking this book. You like history so take this book.? When I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised. The book was about the centenary of the Mauritius Turf Club and was published in 1913. I looked at him and said that I was not very interested in horseracing. He replied: ?I am giving it to you for the historical aspect!? Up to today I still treasure this book and I feel very nostalgic whenever I see it, especially as I am a very emotional person. It reminds me of those great men that Mauritius has produced and lost. When I recall those times, I realise that Gaëtan Raynal was a model. I believe other teachers should take him and his methods of teaching as an example.?