Today, for the first time, I felt how much weight our teachers’ words carry with teachers from other universities. If I had not come to this plant taxonomy conference, I might never have understood it. But let me say one thing at the start: that weight does not come from the university’s name. It comes from knowledge. A whole day of sitting quietly and listening made that very clear.
The funny thing is that most of the important posts in the Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists, from president to secretary to treasurer, are held by respected teachers from our own department. Today was the association’s annual conference. Researchers and professors from different universities and colleges had come with their work. One by one they presented their research, and after each presentation there was time for anyone in the room to ask questions about it.
When the book’s authors are in the room
The first presenter was a professor. Early in his talk he cited the Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh and put up some information from it, and our teachers immediately pointed out that it was not correct. He was a little unsettled, which is only natural. Here was a man quoting a book, and two of the authors of that very book were sitting in front of him, pointing out his mistake. Who would not be shaken? Tahmina ma’am, who was chairing the session from the front, said that any questions could be asked once the presentation was over.
As soon as he finished, the questions started again. In his presentation he had described panichitki (Phyllanthus reticulatus, the black honey shrub) as an aquatic plant. Sir asked how it could possibly be an aquatic plant when it grows on land. There was some discussion, and the point was settled: it grows on land. We just sat there, amazed at the depth of our teachers’ knowledge. It is hard even to imagine how much they know.
Question after question
We were only listening quietly and being amazed. Professors from other universities gave their presentations one after another, and the questions from our teachers made them think hard. The thing I liked most was something our teachers said: this is the age of the internet, so if anyone runs into a problem, all they need to do is get in touch, and the problem is gone. Now and then senior students from our own department presented too, and the teachers questioned them just as thoroughly. Being from the same department earned nobody any favours. What I liked even more was that it was our teachers who then offered the solutions to those problems.
When the department turns into a restaurant
And I cannot finish without praising the food. Nothing compares to the food our department serves. Someone once put it as “the department turning into a restaurant”, and today I understood exactly what they meant. What I ate today was beyond anything I could have imagined. It was a day I will remember for a long time.
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