NAGAPATTINAM: Adi Vaathiyar was the moniker students gave R Anandraj, a teacher in the Natesanar Higher Secondary School in Vedaranyam. Much before corporal punishment was banned, he used to take his students to task if they fared poorly.
Having endured his treatment and landing good jobs, his students have come together to buy Anandraj a car as farewell gift when he retires on May 13.
Residents of Ayakkaranpulam fondly recall the services of Anandraj in helping students pursue their chosen subjects.
Most of his students have gone on to become government employees, doctors, engineers and chartered accountants. A quite a few of them are in white collared jobs in the US, UK and Singapore.
“The village was known for its agriculture, but now boasts locals who are in placed in high-ranking positions in the government or as white-collar employees. We owe our success to the 60-year old Anandraj who used to run a tutorial in Ayakkaranpulam in the early eighties,” said Chozhan, who now works in an MNC.
“But for the tutorial centre which he ran free of cost, we would not have become teachers, doctors or engineers. He is retiring from service on May 13. As a token of our love, we are pooling money to buy him a car,” said Jayakandasamy, a student who works alongside Anandraj in the same school.
Jayakandasamy said, “When our teacher beat us, it was painful. Now we realise he treated us the way he did only for our good and to make sure we had a bright future. We are happy to buy a car to our beloved Adi vathiyar. Many of his students are in good jobs and move around in cars, but our teacher rides a two-wheeler. Hence the decision to buy him a car.”
Anandraj, who has taught over 20,000 students, said he is not interested in receiving a car bought with the hard-earned money of his students. “Initially, I did not agree as my three sons are in good jobs. But due to the overwhelming show of love by the students, I accept their gift, but reluctantly. I was just doing my duty as teacher and helped these students. For that I was paid a salary,” he said nonchalantly.