The Expression Hub

  • A teacher or a terrorist?

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    “A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge and wisdom in the pupils.”

    Ever Garrison

    Genre: Thriller/ Youth

    No. of episodes:9

    Presented by: Medyapim

    Welcome to another post of this month where in we celebrate the people who shape our lives after our parents by guiding us on the right path-our teachers. When we think about our teachers, they are the ones who give a direction to what we want to achieve in our lives and lend us a helping hand if we face any difficulty isn’t it? They are the ones who make other professions possible. After all without their knowledge and wisdom, how is one to traverse the path of the journey called life? Because you do need help while taking decisions a lot of times. Especially if you can seek help and are able to open up to a person whom you can easily trust. Not every advice shelled out will be great but at least it helps to look things from a different perspective.

    Bringing on to the table another tale of a teacher who inspires but his way of inspiring is a bit different from others. And why is that so? Read on to find out more.

    Synopsis: Öğretmen (meaning Teacher) is a Turkish web series that is inspired by the Japanese drama Mr. Hiiragi’s Homeroom (a review on this will be out soon when I do feel like revisiting this story)with a few modifications. The story is set in Küçükkapı High School which is supposed to be one of the finest high schools in Turkey. Akif Erdem joins as a Physics teacher and is shown to be a solitude fellow who interacts with everyone at the minimal. He is also shown to be a law abiding citizen who follows the rule of the land faithfully. Things do take a turn when one of his students Ruya Orne ends up committing suicide and his fiance Zeynep, who is a fellow teacher at the same school ends up in the hospital after being hit by a car. This law abiding citizen and a caring fiancee in order to unravel the truth as well as draw the attention of the society takes a path which is dangerous as well as the least expected.

    He ends up taking up the students of class 12-A, the class in which Ruya studied as hostages.However, the only way the students can free themselves out of this is if they come forward and tell the truth behind Ruya’s death. The students feel as if their teacher is cracking a joke on them. But to make them understand the gravity of the situation which they had landed themselves or to put it in the words of Leo Tolstoy,”it is necessary to put people to sleep in order to operate physically; in order to operate spiritually it is necessary to wake up”, he ends up blowing the class with a bomb which separates the entire class from the entire school. This creates an atmosphere of fear not only in students but also in the management.

    The entire school is evacuated except the students of class 12-A who are held hostage by their teacher. Interestingly, the very teacher that holds the class hostage involves the police in his plan as he starts giving them instructions . However, he has a word of caution to the police as well that if they fail to adhere to the instructions given by him he will kill the students as per the degree of disobedience as punishment. This incident starts getting viral on the social media. Parents, grandparents and relatives of the students rush to the bombing site and start panicking as well as asking their children to be freed.

    Soon, it is 8 pm in the evening -the deadline which was imposed by the teacher to unravel the truth failing which would result into the death of a student. Nothing nor anyone is unwilling to give the details about Ruya. So, in order to set an example, Akif ends up murdering Tugrul in a cold blooded manner in front of the entire class. This leaves his girlfriend devastated and the entire class in a state of shock, anger and fear. They start fearing their teacher and start taking his assignments as days pass seriously. As days pass, new facts start emerging in the suicide case of Ruya. Facts which surprise the entire class and which force them to think. What are the shocking revelations that are behind the suicide of Ruya who was the country’s athletic champion? Who is really behind the suicide of Ruya? Is Ruya’s death actually a suicide or something else? Will the students of class 12-A be able to free themselves out or will they remain hostages ?

    Assessment: This is a drama which looks into a variety of topics like bullying, jealousy among students, using students as delivery couriers, mental health issues, the over usage of social media. It is a thought provoking drama which actually forces us to think, pursue the truth and help make the world a better place . It actually forces us to ask questions that are posts on social media the way they look. Or is there something more that meets the eye? The lessons delivered by the teacher as he holds the class hostage and forces the students to think properly are unconventional but really forces one to think in the real life as well.

    The positives of the show : a story line which keeps you hooked due to the twists and turns in the story, superb histrionics by Ilker Kaleli(it is a delight to watch him) along with Serkan Keskin and Serif Erol. Also, an amazing title track which you will keep playing on loop after finishing the series apart from the track which the teacher plays when he has to have fun. The cinematography will make you fall in love with the surroundings they are shot in giving you some travel goals as well😉. Though it is a youth oriented show but it has lessons for everyone which are really thought provoking and a food to the mind despite having a dark theme.

    The negatives of the show- some misses in the story line. For instance, the teacher is shown to be suffering from a disease but that is not specified. Secondly, the time duration of each episode. Each episode is almost 2 hours long. That is equivalent to watching 9 movies . For a person who is short of time, this seems like a pure torture despite a gripping story line. Also, how can classmates of the same class turn upon each other is a thing which makes you wonder. It just makes you think that are friendships becoming shallower day by day that people cannot be trusted.

    The view: A brilliant watch that focuses on a lot of topics and keeps the viewers hooked to their seats . Various twists and turns along with fantastic theatrics by the lead actors makes it a show to be included in your watch list. The only disappointment is the length of the episodes. Maybe if the makers could have a few edits and made the story shorter so that it is easy to consume for the people who are short on time. So, if you do have the time do watch it for the lessons it has to offer because it does give a lot of food to the mind.

    Rating: *** and a 1/2 stars

    The brilliant teacher with an unconventional method

    Baap Dialogue: “Birbiri için yaşamak , doğanin kanunudur , Hayatta hiçbir şey yalanizica kendisi için var olmaz.”[Living for each other is the law of nature. Nothing in life exists simply for itself.]

    Continue reading →: A teacher or a terrorist?

  • To that one teacher….

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    Author: Patricia Polaco

    Genre: Autobiographical

    “It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.”

    Collen Wilcox

    So, finally the month of September is here. September is supposed to be a month in which teachers are celebrated by all of us in my country on a particular day(5th September to be specific). I am sure there might be a day dedicated to teachers in your country as well. Do tell me how do you celebrate Teachers’ Day in your country in the comments section. I would love to hear from you guys if you belong to a country which is different from mine.

    Given the role our teachers play in shaping and molding us into good human beings, I thought instead of a single day ;I should maybe dedicate the entire month to them. So, from this September, I will be raising a toast to the people who inspired me in the reel as well as real life. After all, they do have a huge role in our lives apart from our family and friends. And a good teacher can come from anywhere. It can be in the form of a good book which offers us a great perspective. Or maybe from a good movie or any other visual form of entertainment, life lessons can be learned from anywhere. And it is not only books or movies or any other visual form of entertainment. There are even people who by their deeds or actions inspire us . May such people grow in abundance in our lives so that they continue inspiring us as well as give us a lot to learn from them.

    When talking about the teachers and the role they play in our life, when we look back as we grow up and enter into new phases of life, we often have some fond as well as maybe unpleasant memories of some teachers who either we grow fond of or end up hating a lot . Do you guys have such teachers in your life ? If you do let me know in the comments section.Would love to hear the same. As far as I am concerned, I used to have some teachers whom I still adore from the bottom of my heart . However there were some teachers who were a pain but had to endure them. The reason for endurance was also very simple: so that you do not end up in their bad books 😅 and end up getting bad grades. After all, when you are a good student such things do matter a lot isn’t it ?

    The reason why I spoke about these teachers because they do leave an impact on your life for the good or bad depending upon the relationship which we share with them. If we have had a good relationship with them they do end up occupying a corner of our hearts. But if the relationship is a pain, then I need not mention how it feels. Today’s pick talks about a teacher who through his efforts occupied a special place in a girl’s heart.

    About the book: Thank you, Mr. Falker talks about a girl named Trisha who is eager to taste the ‘honey of knowledge’ that her grandfather has always revered. However, whenever she looks at numbers and words, everything is a jumble for her. Due to this, she has to face taunts of her classmates as she is called “dumb” for not displaying age appropriate behavior. Life does take a turn when the encouragement and efforts of a teacher Mr. Falker helps her to blossom and develop her potential. When she grows up, she ends up visiting him and thanking him for the same. But the question is what efforts does Mr. Falker take to develop Trisha’s potential? And why does only Mr. Falker end up being cherished by her a lot ?Read this lovely piece of literature to find out the answers.

    Analysis: This autobiographical piece tries to understand the psychology of a child who tries her level best to savor the knowledge which is present in the books but fails to do so. The reason being she suffering from a learning disability called dyslexia. It is a big misconception among people that people who suffer from dyslexia are dumb. The people who suffer from this learning disorder are not dumb. They just interpret things in a different manner and require more time to grasp letters and numbers. But with the right efforts and teacher, these students too start shining as was the case of the author.

    This book also tries to highlight the importance of reading books. This is because reading does broaden one’s perspectives and gives wings to one’s imagination. In the age where reading has taken a back seat thanks to the advent of technology, this comes as a great reminder to all of us.

    Verdict: A book which is just a few pages long and is written in a language which even a small child can easily understand. Read it to understand the difficulty a dyslexic child faces while studying. Read it to remember the teacher who recognized your potential and helped you grow. Read it to raise a toast to the teachers who play an important role in everyone’s life. My only complaint is that wish it had not finished so soon.

    Rating: ***

    Cite Bite: “[Honey is sweet] and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book.”

    Continue reading →: To that one teacher….

  • When dreams come true…(The Conclusion)

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    “Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”

    George S Patton

    Earlier in the story we saw the top 15 compete for the top 3 positions. The judges had made their observations and had noted down the scores of each and every dish. Everyone waited in anticipation . Tension flowed in the air that you could easily cut it with the help of a knife. After all, this was the moment when they could either make it or break it.

    This moment of truth was extremely important for our hero. This was because of two reasons- he wanted to make it big as a chef and the second reason was that he wanted to prove his father wrong and show him that if you do give your everything to something you have really wanted bad, life does end up helping you. The judges declared the results . On the third position was the one who had made a blini platter and a ratatouille. This is because they had used the correct techniques and a few ingredients which had meshed up well . The two people who had made these dishes heaved a big sigh of relief and beamed a huge smile on their faces. This made our hero super tense and anxious as there was only one spot remaining and he did want this badly. However, it turned out that the first spot went to the person who had made the Turkish dish Baklava.

    On hearing the results, our hero was shattered. He felt as if his whole world had collapsed. His efforts , his hard work everything he had worked for what now seemed a next to impossible thing went into vain. He tried to contain his emotions as he did not want to display what he was feeling inside. He started to leave the hall as he felt he had done his job when the judges cleared their throat again. He was about to leave the hall when one of the judges asked him to stop and not leave. He wanted to tell the judge that now that the results are out and since he had not made it to the culinary school what was the use. But, he decided to not let his emotions out .

    The judge who had asked him to stop then said, “Even though we chose the person who made Baklava as our top pick. There was one dish which had to be a special mention. This was because of the confidence and the passion the person had exuded while preparing the dessert. Also, when we were skeptical about the ingredients he had told us while preparing the dessert, he proved us wrong . Since we were proved wrong and we could witness the passion, the dedication and the hard work along with the struggle this individual had undertaken, we decided to give this individual a full waiver scholarship . Welcome onboard to a journey of a lifetime Aidan. You did prove us that people with great passion can make the impossible happen. We are excited to witness your amazing culinary skills and what you bring on the table in the journey ahead. “

    Our hero could not believe what he was hearing. He just started crying silently. One of the panelists lifted him up and gave him a tight hug. The tight hug given by the judge still did not contain his tears. He just kept on crying and thanked God for making him pursue a journey which he always wanted to . He thanked his mother in his mind for playing an integral role and acting like a motivator to pursue his dreams. He thanked his best friend for always being there and being a solid rock in his life. He thanked his father for being the obstacle which he did overcome with his sheer passion and hard work.

    Few years later, he graduated from The Culinary Academy with the top most honors. He joined what was known as the ‘Big Boys Club’-a club which had the best chefs around the world and where very few had made it. And did he find his love of the life ?After all a woman does make a man push hard and make his life better. You bet he did find a girl who was the right match for him and pushed him to be a better version of himself. Thus, what had seemed an impossible dream did end up becoming a reality. And that is how dreams did come true for our hero.

    Continue reading →: When dreams come true…(The Conclusion)

Hello,

I’m Roshani

Welcome to The Expression Hub! I’m Roshani, who loves to express herself through the medium of writing. This blog is my little corner of the internet where I dive deep into the world of movies, books, and web series—reviewing, analyzing, and sometimes just ranting about the stories that make us laugh, cry, and question everything.

Beyond reviews, you’ll also find my personal musings—random thoughts, life reflections, and the occasional deep dive into the things that inspire me. Think of this as a space where art meets emotion, and where honest opinions matter more than star ratings.

Join me as we explore incredible stories together, one post at a time. Have a recommendation? Let’s talk—I’m always up for discovering something new!

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