# Teaching Begins explained — My Reminiscences

> Chapter companion for My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore.

## What happens

The narrator recalls his early education alongside two older companions, his first poetic encounter with 'The Rain Patters,' and the beginning of his school life at the Oriental Seminary. He also remembers the old cashier Kailash and his doggerel ballad, as well as a childhood incident involving a false alarm about a policeman while reading the Ramayana.

## Themes in this chapter

### Memory as Artistic Creation

The narrator's vivid recollection of the rhyme and rhythm of 'The Rain Patters' and Kailash's ballad shows how memory transforms early literary experiences into artistic foundations.

### Childhood Innocence and Imagination

The narrator's fear of the policeman and his intense interest in the imagined bride illustrate the vivid imagination and innocence of childhood.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The young boy experiencing early education and literary delights.

### Satya

The narrator's sister's son, slightly older, who starts school and later frightens him with a false policeman alarm.

### Kailash

The old cashier who recites a doggerel ballad about the narrator and a future bride.

### Mother

The narrator's mother, whom he runs to for protection from the imagined policeman.

## Key lines

> The rain patters, the leaf quivers.

The sound of rain falling and leaves trembling.

_This is the first poem the narrator remembers, marking his early encounter with poetry._

> You're crying to go to school now, you'll have to cry a lot more to be let off later on.

You are upset about not going to school now, but later you will be even more upset about having to go.

_The tutor's prophetic advice about the narrator's school experience._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_reminiscences_se/chapters/part-i-ii-teaching-begins
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_reminiscences_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/my_reminiscences_se/chapters