ANANTAPUR: Gulbarga Alla Bakash, a postman from Puttaparthi in Anantapur district, who is nearing his retirement, made his life mission to instil patriotism among schoolchildren. He makes it a point to provide portraits of national leaders to the students and schools, so that children will learn about the sacrifices of those great leaders who strived for the freedom and progress of the nation.
At a time when the national leaders and freedom fighters are increasingly remembered only during their birth or death anniversaries, even by the policy makers, leave alone common man, this small-time postal department employee’s efforts are being appreciated by one and all.
Alla Bakash has been distributing portraits and photos of freedom fighters and national leaders like BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarvepalle Radhakrishna, Jhansi Lakshmi Bai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu among others. It is not just that, he makes it a point to explain about those leaders and their contribution to the nation.
He has been helping the government schools in Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam and Kothacheruvu. He also provides textbooks, notebooks and other stationery along with footwear and school bags to those in need. Impressed by his efforts, a few others also joined his endeavour by financially assisting him. It only made this patriotic postal employee provide furniture, water purifiers etc., to the government schools in these three mandals. It would not be wrong to say that he is the most ‘unforgettable’ person to the students and staff of those schools.
If one thinks that he is rich, so he is taking up such programmes, they would be wrong. For he earns only Rs 13,000 per month on ‘No Work, No Pay’ basis. He never took a leave and every month keeps Rs 1,800 to Rs 3,000 for his social work. In his efforts, his wife Shami Munnisa and three sons —Sheikshavali, Shashavali and Shameer Basha—all small-time employees or self-employed support him.
“Though I would like to expand the activity to other parts, my job being ‘No Work, No Pay’ I could not do it and limited myself to a few places. I am 60-year-old now and will be in service for another five years. I will continue what I am doing,” he said. Also a part-time astrologer, he spends everything he earns from it on his social service. He also asks his customers to donate the amount to government schools. He was the man behind Lord Ganesha temple at Puttaparthi postal office. He says he is proud to have been born in Puttaparthi.
Sending the right message
In 1984, Alla Bakash joined the postal department for a salary of Rs 420. At that time, he decided that he did not want underprivileged children to suffer like him and do his bit for them. He cultivated a habit of keeping a small portion of his salary aside to help the schoolchildren in need. In due course, observing that patriotism is missing in the children, he decided to instil patriotism among them and explain the contribution of great leaders
The man with a golden heart
Sharing his inspiration for the social work he took up, Alla Bakash said when he was a little boy, he struggled to get educated. He did not even possess a school uniform. “In 1981, I failed in class X. I did not even have money to clear the backlog. My teacher Naganna paid my exam fee and I cleared the exam. I was touched by my teacher’s largesse,” he said