<B>“Bhoomitre Boolell was a guru !”</B>

“The man who really helped me to master arithmetic, languages and logic was my uncle, Bhoomitre Boolell. He used to give tuition to his nephews, nieces and his neighbours at his home at La Rue Labourdonnais in Port-Louis every Saturday. I must say that I consider myself as having been “the last Mohican” because as one of the youngest of the family, I was the last to take tuition with Bhoomitre Boolell. I was between 9 and 11 years old at that time. In those tuitions there were the Boolells (Arvind, Sattyajit, Mitradev, Shakuntala, etc), the Matabaduls and many others. By giving us this tuition, my uncle was actually giving us that small asset that the school was not giving us. In other words, he was taking time to put emphasis on the mastery of language.

<I>“Today, all his children and other members of his family have succeeded mostly thanks to his help and contribution. As an example, he played a major role in helping his brother Satcam to go and do his studies abroad. He wanted to help others to achieve something he did not have the good fortune to obtain.”</I>

Bhoomitre Boolell was someone very rigorous, harsh and very disciplined. He was always insisting on good hand-writing, good pronunciation and good grammar. Moreover, I should say he had a heart of gold. In those days, my perception was that he was someone that we could not reach, as he was very severe and very distant. However, he would certainly melt if we were reaching the standard he was expecting. I must say that whenever he was angry we were scared. His look was enough to reflect his anger. He always gave the impression of being an extremely austere person. His body language was sufficient to put us off. Fortunately, I never really got into trouble with him as I always made sure I had my homework done before going to tuition.

What was incredible was that the tuition took place under a tree. The atmosphere was great. There were around ten students. He was not charging any of us any fees, but doing it voluntarily. The other thing was that Bhoomitre Boolell was not a teacher but only a nurse. He simply had a certain love for education. He was very intelligent. In his time, he was one of the first to get the “petite bourse” to go the Royal College of Curepipe. Today, all his children and other members of his family have succeeded mostly thanks to his help and contribution. As an example, he played a major role in helping his brother Satcam to go and do his studies abroad. He wanted to help others to achieve something he did not have the good fortune to obtain himself. Another example is that there were some hopeless cases in the group who would never have been able to go to the Royal College or to the Queen Elizabeth College, had it not been for him. He made all the difference!

Today, when I remember Bhoomitre Boolell, I tend to think that a good teacher is someone who can make you feel confident. I do not want to criticize anyone. But I personally believe what teachers lack nowadays is that professional consciousness. I spoke about Bhoomitre Boolell who dedicated all his Saturday afternoons voluntarily to sharing his knowledge with his relatives and neighbours. Whereas there are teachers who are paid and who are unable to deliver the goods during their working hours!”