Ratna Chaudhry at her Jamshedpur residence. Picture by Srinivas

The constant urge to learn and teach has given a new meaning to the life of Ratna Chaudhry an international trainer with the Lions Club International.

What started off as a mere interest has developed into something deeper with the lady, committed to help others to help themselves.

She has made her profession a mission in life. She is one of the nine trainers in the entire country and loves her work.

Ratna Chaudhry is also the better half of corporate communications chief, Sanjay Chaudhry. But like she advices in her workshops, she wants to be known as more than just that.

Her forte includes conducting skill sessions for adolescents, a programme for teachers and social workers.

She has been doing this for quite some years now and conducts workshops and seminars throughout the country.

Originally from a small town in Bihar she has finally settled here.

Ratna says teaching came naturally to her. ?Right from my childhood I was surrounded by academicians in my family. I always knew I would be a teacher.?

It was the several teaching assignments that she later took up, that exposed her to the numerous problems that the ?generation gap? created both among the adolescents and the adults.

She studied the problems and decided that she wanted to comprehend the situation better. That was when she joined the programme offered by Lion Club. At that time she was in Sphiya College in Mumbai.

?The best part of this training is that it can be implemented everywhere, even in a non-school background,? says Ratna.

?I conduct three-day workshops, where we have a set curriculum. We conduct seminars on ?positive youth development? with school teachers and social workers. Our basic aim is to equip the teachers so that they can implement the module in their respective schools,? explains Ratna.

The Lions Quest Programme as it is titled, is mainly targeted at young adolescents and is perhaps the only one of its kind.

?There are various programmes for either children or late teens, but so far very little work has been done for children between 10 to 15. This is the age, when children need maximum support. This module has been especially designed keeping in mind the requirements of the specific age-group,? says Ratna.

She points out that the prime focus of the programme is to make people self-reliant and helping them to find a focus in life.

?I have noticed that people understand themselves and their emotions better after the programme. We have also noticed there have been improvements in their familial and social relationships as well,? she adds.

A masters in English from Indraprastha College, Delhi Ratna says she always knew that she wanted to be a teacher.

Her passion for helping others and working with people has always dictated her choice of jobs.

She has worked with Education Media Research Centre (EMRC) in Calcutta and has also written scripts and given voice-overs for various interactive and educational radio programmes.

It was on her friend?s request in Calcutta that Ratna decided to make learning English easier for people in rural areas.

Thus her book titled ?Teaching English to Children from Vernacular Background? was born in 2004.

Ratna says: ?This book deals with the process of learning the language. I had to be absolutely phonetically correct as far as the contents are concerned.?

A mother of two she has two grown up children working outside the city.

This leaves her ample time to pursue her love for teaching. And that is not all. The lady is equally passionate about the arts.

?I always want to learn new things. Every year I picked up something new. That is how I learnt the process of block printing. Now it is one of my best stress busters,? says Ratna.

?I want to get back to learning music which I had to leave because of my hectic schedule.?

These days she also takes out time to help out Tilothu Mahila Mandal, an NGO set up by her mother at her native place.

But whatever this lady does her greatest love of her life is to provide a platform to everybody and enable them to be self-reliant in life.

Ratna says that the difference that she has noticed after these sessions is that: ?Most ladies are able to come out of a rigid cocoon and are able to have an identity beyond their husband?s name which invariably gives a boost to their confidence.?

But with her kitty full of myriad activities she is plans all her days keeping optimum utilisation of time in mind.

?I always try to plan out a regime and see to it that my workshops do not suffer,? she emphasises.

It is obvious when one talks to her that the Lions Quest workshops are definitely closer to her heart.

?It is now more than just a job or a mere hobby. I can say that I am more involved than committed to do this,? smiles Ratna.

?It would not have been possible without my husbands support. He believed more in my potential than I ever did. So he encouraged me to go ahead and do something he always knew I would be good at.? smiles Ratna.

Nilanjana Ghosh

Choudhury.