Teacher Portrait – Mr Reji

Mr Reji was born and brought up in a village at the banks of Kabini river, surrounded by forests and hills in the Wayanad district of Kerala. Mr Reji encountered a French journalist who had been staying in China for a long period during an expedition to the Himalayas, which sparked his passion for the Chinese language. Being interested in language since childhood, this led to a Masters in Chinese, with a gold medal from Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies of JNU, Delhi. Since then, Mr Reji has been actively involved in projects and taught Chinese. We reached out to Mr Reji to learn more about his history and his time at TISB. 

I look forward to changing the general perspective of Chinese as one of the most difficult languages to one of the most fun and satisfying languages to learn – Mr Reji, Chinese teacher, Head of Chinese Department 

Mr Reji’s first career was in the Indian Air Force, as an Aircrafts Instrument System specialist. However, after finishing his Masters in Chinese, he embarked on a new career as an official interpreter and translator for a research project of the book “Bodhidharma Retold”, extensively travelling and interacting with experts in China for three months. Later he taught in the Centre for Global languages of Bangalore University and managed the project “India in Chinese Media” in the National Institute of Advanced Studies.  

In 2018, Mr Reji started working at TISB, a place that he enjoys because of the beautiful and spacious campus, friendly and helpful colleagues, and, of course, all the enthusiastic students. He explains what he is most proud of with his work: “Seeing my students changing their approach to study itself and becoming more scientific and systematic after taking up Chinese. Also seeing the gleam in their eyes when they are able to effectively communicate in Chinese.” 

Mr Reji explains that being the most widely spoken language in the world, with over 1.2 billion native speakers, and with China as an emerging superpower and the second largest economy in the world, being able to communicate in Chinese makes a difference in business deals and travel experiences to China. “It also gives you an opportunity to delve into the rich culture, history and literature of this ancient civilization”, says Mr Reji, and further explains how the language develops the brain and creative thinking, as it is non-phonetic, pictographic and a logo-syllabic writing system. 

A quick Q&A with Mr Reji 

What is your favourite food? 
I am not very particular about food, other than that it should be healthy vegetarian food. But I still like to relish the “Masala Dosa” of Indian Coffee House whenever I am in Kerala. 

What is your favourite music? 
Country music, especially of John Denver, Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Lobo etc. Western Classical (Guitar, violin), Hindustani Flute. 

What is your favourite book and movie? 
Book: “The Seventh Scroll” by Wilbur Smith. Movie: The Gods Must be Crazy (1).  

What is your favourite animal?  
Tiger. 

What is your favourite colour? 
Lilac. 

What is your favourite hobby? 
I have many hobbies like drawing, painting, music, reading, learning new languages, practicing traditional martial arts as well as adventure sports like rock climbing, trekking, mountaineering, scuba diving, hang gliding etc. But what I most enjoy is trekking in the Himalayas, because it connects my body, mind and spirit deeply with the nature and I come back rejuvenated every time.