The First Teacher (Duishen)

First of all I would like to declare that the following review is based on the book “The First Teacher” written by a famous Soviet author Chingiz Aitmatov. The original work "Der erste Lehrer" has been written in Russian and I first happened to read the translation of it in my native language and then the English one. Here, I take the opportunity to bestow the credits to my native translator for his excellent work which didn’t tamper the richness of the original copy.

True that I have read hundreds of novels till date, but I seldom come across stories like this which touch my heart deeply. Despite being a very short novel it was very interesting and moving. I was even quite amazed to find out that this wasn’t noted has one of the most renowned works of the author in the Wikipedia. I dare say that those few pages of the book contained a lot more feelings and life than volumes of great literature we often read.  The words were powerful and expressive and the flow of the story had a good force in moving the reader along with it.

The story is set upon the village Kurkureu which lies in a plateau at the foot of mountains. A young artist who was brought up in the village and now have become a townsman and a middle aged Academician who too has born and brought up there but have left to the town at very early age in her life take chance to reveal quite a remarkable tale of a great personality, Duishen. In 1924, the young Duishen arrives at the village Kurkureu with a determination of a noble duty to fulfill. That is to open the first school in the village and educate the kids. The work was not an easy task; rather say it was an extremely difficult task to encourage the people to send their kids to a school. The young man was never ready to accept defeat and go back to join some other profession in order to earn his bread and butter. On the contrary, with great efforts the first teacher of the village achieves his dream that is educating the children.

Throughout the story we are exposed to the mindset of the people then, who were quite uneducated and narrow minded. Specially, the Aunt and Uncle of Altynai portrayed a couple of great evil who would be hated by every reader. Meanwhile, the character Duishen stands out of the crowd for all the courage and perseverance he had. His action of kindness and the ability to hope and work for a better future is appreciative. Being honest and passionate about his duty is a great quality every reader could add to their life by following his steps.

Altynai, who was then a mere teenage with a great passion to be educated is another inspiration for all of us. The author depicts the cruelty of the system and uneducated behavior of the people then while describing the life of Altynai. The poplar trees also have a significant role in the story. In my opinion, it was the main source to connect everything in the story, the past and the present, Altynai, Duishen and the young artist, the hopes and all the memories down the lane.

“Ah my poplars, my beautiful poplars! So much water has flowed under the bridges since you were  young slender saplings! All that the man who planted and tended you dreamed of, all he predicted has come true! Then why do you murmur so sadly, so mournfully? Are you lamenting the passage of summer, are you complaining because the cold winds are tearing off your leaves? Or are your trunks moaning with the pain and grief of our people?”

There were many incidents in the book which struck a chord in my heart. However, the parting scene of the teacher and the student at the train station was the best of all.

“There was such urgency in his shout as if he suddenly realized he had not told me something terribly important he had wanted to tell me all along, but now it was too late, and he knew it. Till this day I can hear that shout, rising from the very heart, the very depths of his soul.”

“Good-bye, teacher, good-bye, my first school, my childhood, good-bye, my first love...”

As the English Translation says in the beginning, “If there is one single book on education which will make you weep, this is it”. Yes, this is a must read for all ages and would certainly be an inspiring read for the teenagers. Also, I’m sure it would be a good read to everyone regardless you are a bookworm or not.

Ending my note with a quote from the book which I found inspiring and appropriate for all of us in our lives.

“Yes, there will be winter, there will be cold, there will be snowstorms, but then there will be spring again...”