GADAG: At 5.30 in the morning, 94-year-old Tungabai Panthar is up and about. She goes for a walk in her garden, makes breakfast, tidies up the house and finishes other chores. By the time she leaves home for the bus stop at 8.45am to catch a bus to her school where she works as a kitchen supervisor, she would have put in three hours of work.
At a time when even middle-aged people start complaining of lifestyle diseases and professional burnout, or begin longing for early retirement, Tungabai is an inspiration to many. Not only does the Gadag resident stay healthy without popping any pills, she also continues to enjoy her job at a school.Tungabai travels 5 km every day by school bus to reach Chikkatti School, where her work as a supervisor involves taking care of the kitchen. She is known as ‘Mercury ajji’ because she still walks fast and is mercurial in everything she does. She cuts vegetables, helps the other three workers in the kitchen make rotis, guides them in fulfilling other duties, and waters plants. She comes to school with others at 9am and returns home at 4.30pm, a schedule she has been following for 18 years.
It’s not that she had any free time earlier. Tungabai, after all, has been working for a total of about 71 years now. She retired as a teacher at the age of 55 from Dabali School in Shirahatti in 1980. Then she joined some small companies and did odd jobs. It was in 2000 that she joined Chikkatti School as a supervisor.
“I come to school because I hate sitting idle at home,” Tungabai says, talking about how when she started looking for a job after retirement, many people rejected her, saying they would not give work to an old woman. “But S Y Chikkatti, the founder of the school, asked me to take care of the kitchen here. I am happy here. I am a retired teacher but not tired,” she says.Tungabai, who was born in Gadag in 1925, studied till Class 10. She got a job in 1948 based on her Hindi Rastrabhasha certificate and worked as a teacher, teaching all the six subjects to students — from class 3 to 6.
Tungabai lost her husband three years after marriage, after which she lived alone in Shirahatti. After her retirement, she has been staying with her sister in Gadag. She walks 300m from her house to MG Circle to wait for the school bus. Her daily lunch comprises one roti with a vegetable and sprouts. She walks without any aid.
“People usually say villagers are strong, but I say I am stronger even now. I work at home as well as school. If I don’t have any work, I find something to do, and engage in cleaning activity, which keeps me active. I never practised daily walks or yoga, and I have never been on a diet,” she says. “I love reading fiction and newspapers but for the last one year, I have not been able to read clearly because of my weakening eyesight.”
Tungabai is an inspiration to everyone around her. Tara Ballary, who works with Tungabai, says, “Ajji is very active. She is never late for the bus and rarely misses school. She talks about the problems in her area, advises children and talks with all of us in the bus. She is so jovial that it’s difficult to imagine that she is 94 now.” School founder Chikkatti is also happy to have her around. “It’s amazing to see her work like a young person,” he says. “I ask her to take rest and just guide others while sitting, but she says she wants to work to keep herself busy and not for salary. She is a moral support to us.”
Learning English
We were blessed to have learnt English grammar from Gururaj Joshi, a famous teacher, recalls Tungabai. After she joined school in Shirahatti she was assigned to teach English to class 3 to 6 students. But she found it tough as she did not know proper grammar, so she decided to learn English in her free time after school hours Talking about her favourite teacher, she says Joshi’s son, Bhimsen Joshi, became a legendary Indian vocalist and fondly remembers her time spent with him.
Mobile Phones
The one thing she is most worried about now is the mobile phone. “I regret not having good eyes to read novels now. I miss reading books. They develop our personality so much, but now students kill all their time on mobile phones. I don’t have any Facebook or WhatsApp account, but I have heard about it and never tried to understand it.”