On a cool, breezy morning, a man in his early 50s paces on Ganga ghat in Patna. With a cordless mic in his hand, he’s addressing a group of students who listen to him with rapt attention. This is a scene that plays out every day at Kali Ghat and Gandhi Ghat in Patna, where former IAS officer Arun Kumar teaches UPSC aspirants in this open-air classroom, all for free. Arun, who is nothing short of a messiah
for his students, became an internet sensation when a video of him teaching went viral in July.
It all began when Arun’s social-activist wife, Ritu Jaiswal, shared with him a clip of hundreds of UPSC aspirants studying by themselves at the ghats. She felt these students could do well with his hands-on knowledge. Arun, who was already providing free tuitions to children at his place, took her suggestion and started the riverfront classes in May 2022.
As the news spread, his class strength grew with, youngsters coming from as far as Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Currently he has over 500 students under his tutelage. The former civil servant’s journey can be traced back to his humble growing-up years in Singhwahini village, 93 km from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
His adolescence was spent with his father listening to BBC radio. Reminiscing those days, he says, “While listening to the radio, my father used to educate me about the current affairs. The seeds of passion to acquire knowledge and share it with others were sown then.” Arun joined the Central Vigilance Commission in Delhi in 1994, after clearing the UPSC exam.
In 2018, he voluntarily retired as Commissioner, Departmental Enquiry, to become a full-time teacher. Starting off with less than 20 students––kin of friends and ex- colleagues––the number has been increasing steadily, even more so after his video went viral. “In 2020, during the lockdown, I taught 15 students at my home and even provided them lodging,” says the proud mentor, adding that last year, three of his students cleared the mains exam.
Arun also runs Magnusias.com, an online academy offering UPSC coaching. The unconventional classroom, however, he reserves for hundreds of aspirants with limited means, who flock to his gurukul to acquire equal parts knowledge and inspiration.