JAJPUR: A 104-year-old man from Odisha has been teaching children under a tree without charging a single penny for over 75 years now.
Nanda Prasty, the old teacher, teaches not only little children but also the elderly at night.
He suggests kids be sent to primary schools after completing class 4 to further complete their education. His passion for teaching has led him to a 75 years hiatus from earning a professional livelihood. Instead, he preferred educating young kids from the Jajpur district.
The old man hails from Bartanda village and the sarpanch has requested him to avail government assistance to create an infrastructure from where he can continue teaching with comfort but the request has constantly been denied. He prefers to sit under an old tree and continue his job.
"I used to work on the farmlands and saw that there were many people in our village who were illiterate. They were not even able to sign their names and were limited to thumb impressions. I called them just to teach them how to sign but many showed interest and started to read the Bhagavad Gita. I now teach the great-grandchildren of the students of my first batch," Prasty said.
The Bartanda sarpanch says, "He has been teaching for the last 75 years. He refuses any support from the government as teaching is his passion. But we've decided to build a facility where he can teach children in comfort."
Extreme weather conditions have also not deterred the old man's passion as he continues to teach irrespective of the chilly weather, rain, or hot winds, the village sarpanch said.
Keeping in mind his old age, the village panchayat has decided to build a teaching facility and request the aging man to continue his service in peace.