ONGOLE: Adding uniqueness to his teaching methodologies, the 40-year-old S Venkata Veeroji Rao is using coins and currency notes as an effective way to teach history to the children, creating knowledgeable citizens.
Veeroji Rao is working as a Hindi teacher at a private school in Markapur town of Prakasam district. His family migrated to Markapur a few decades ago from Maharashtra owing to his father’s transfers as a government employee.
After completing his Hindi teacher training, Veeroji Rao tested his luck through District Selection Committee (DSC) exam twice, however, he was denied a post as the norms deemed him a non-local candidate. Later, Veeroji Rao settled as a Hindi teacher in 2003 at a private school situated in Markapur town.
When he was taking a class for 6th standard students, he came across a lesson titled ‘Rupaya Ki Atma Katha’ (Rupee’s own story) in which a rupee coin tells children about its history. The coin explains how it came to existence, and metamorphosed its look and size in various countries from Animal Skin, Copper, Silver and Gold coins shapes with various sizes and many more. Out of his teacher’s instinct, Veeroji used a coin from his pocket to teach the lesson. When the lesson was over, he realised the effectiveness of the technique and started using coins as a teaching tool, complementing his skills.
Striving through the new found path, Veeroji Rao learnt about ‘Numismatics’, the study of coins, currency units and collection of rare coins. Following which, it became an expensive hobby for him to collect various coins and currency notes belonging to various countries. He started collecting coins from then and he currently has around 200 coins and 50 currency notes of various countries and different times.
In his collection, an East India Company’s half-anna from 1616 is the oldest coin and a Vietnamese 50,000 Dollars note is the highest denomination currency. There are Indian, American, British, Bangladesi, Srilankan, Australian, Japanese, German, Bhutan, Jamaica, Soudi Arabia, Nepal, Afghanistan coins and currency notes in his collection. Previously, Veeroji Rao used to hold exhibitions of his coins and currency collection for school children in his house on Sundays and other holidays. He even conducted a few similar programmes in other schools of Markapur town, garnering applause from all age groups.
School children displayed immense interest in knowing the stories of the coins and archaeological details of their location and time of mint. Veeroji Rao derived immense satisfaction from the activity of building students’ curiosity. However, it all faded when some of the coins and notes were found missing after exhibitions. Currently, he is explaining the tales of these coins to the school children who knock his doors, asking about various historical incidents including the Indian Independence movement, World War-I, World War-II, Blue, Green, and White Revolutions, formation of United Nations Organization (UNO) etc., with reference to the corresponding year coins/ currency notes.
“After the ‘Rupaya Ki Aatma Katha’ lesson, I recognised the effectiveness teaching with age-old coins and currency notes. Though I spent most of my earnings on this costly hobby, it gives me immense pleasure when I explain to the children and students about the historical significance, cultural traditions, geographical, topographical, and civilization specialities of various parts of the world using my coins and currency notes. I’ll continue this hobby forever to preserve our history and the age-old civilization proof for the future generations” he told TNIE.