An actor with the heart of a teacher

Teaching is all about reinventing yourself,” says Chetan Kumar, Fullbright scholar and an award-winning actor with two blockbusters to his credit. He is the intellectual face of Kannada cinema.The Aa Dinagalu hero, who was born and raised in Chicago, is a star in the truest sense of the word. Praised for his acting prowess and winning the best debut award in his first movie, he says about his acting, “A lot of thought and research goes into acting and I just hope to do justice to my role when I sign a film.” He finds time in between his busy schedule to devote hours for charity work across the state. He has contributed in fields of education, women empowerment and also promoted a campaign to save pesticide victims. Speaking about his volunteer work as a rural school instructor, teaching critical thinking and logical skills at Vinayaka Gnana Vidya Shale near Mysore, he says it has been exceptional journey so far. Moving to India to study Kannada theatre, he began teaching children from 2005 and says that he learns from them simultaneously. “More than teaching it is about self-understanding and reviving oneself. I think the kind of knowledge I gain from these kids is immense,” he says. A Yale University graduate, he says his strongest inspirations are his teachers, “They are the first people you meet in the outside world after your parents. We look up to them as our role models and with the kind of social justice they practice, they remain your motivation for life,” he says. About the professor who inspired him the most, he says, “Barney Bates, who taught me at Yale, continues to encourage me in ways unimaginable. I would be glad if I could be half as good for my students.” Apart from teaching, he also plays football with the children and knows their life stories. On donning the role of a teacher he puts forth, “Being a teacher helps you stay young at heart. There is an incredible positivity associated with the profession.” About his experiences with the children he says, “The kind of experience I gain from the children are much more than what I can give them back.” He says the kind of education he imparts is not textual or based on structural syllabi, “We just sit and discuss things beyond the syllabus. I prioritise on what the kids should know about and stay aware of,” he explains. He promotes speaking Kannada in schools and feels that to be able to think in numerous languages is a blessing. “Speaking, understanding and writing in a variety of languages gives children the advantage to think in multiple dimensions. I believe being born and raised in a country such as India, we have that chance, which opens a whole world of possibilities,” he opines. He reflects on youngsters taking up lucrative professions rather than teaching. “Many people become doctors and engineers. But I think to be able to teach and impart knowledge to the younger generation is one of the most inspiring jobs. Though I may not be a professional teacher, I just hope I am able to instill good values in my schoolchildren,” he says. He goes on to add that teachers are poorly paid across India, “I feel they are underpaid considering the amount of hard work they put into their work.” On a closing note, he says that his stint in India has taught him much more than what his university degree did. “I now believe my perspective about things and life at large has changed extremely. I am now able to think, talk and imagine in manifold ways. Truly, education is not found within four walls but from reality that exists in the outside world,” he concludes.