BIHAR: A schoolteacher in Bihar’s Gaya may be short in height, but it does not stop her from giving wings to her ambition to serve people. At three feet, Rita Rani, 52, stands taller than anyone not only in the school where she works as a teacher but also in the society she lives in.
At Government Middle School, Dhanawa, in Gaya district, while her style of teaching has made her popular among students, her social work has earned her respect in society.
Maintaining a balance between the job and social work is not an easy task, but Rani has found it with confidence. Come the Pitripaksha Mela, when thousands of devotees’ throng Gaya to offer pind daan to their ancestors, Rani can be seen arranging wheelchairs for the physically challenged and the aged who cannot move to the ghats of the Falgu river and the famous Vishnupad temple. She provides wheelchair service to the needy at her own cost.
Before joining the government school in 2010, Rani used to teach at a school for special children.
“It was an arduous task to deal with children with special needs, as their behaviour is not consistent. But, I used to teach them with the affection of a mother despite being single,” she says. It was because of her active involvement in social activities that she was honoured with the Bihar Gaurav Award in Patna about two years back. She was also rewarded by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his padyatra in Gaya earlier this year.
Born as the fourth among six siblings of a police officer Balkrishna Prasad, Rani had to fight against all odds at s tender age. “My father did whatever he could do for any possible treatment for limb enlargement. He even took me abroad, but destiny had something else in store for me,” she says.
After completing the bachelor’s degree from Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Rani wanted to become an officer like her father. But dwarfism made her abandon her wish and pushed her to pursue a career as a teacher. Initially students avoided her in the class for being short in height. But they soon realised her abilities and started attending classes. She had to face similar kind of situation at the government school in Dhanawa.
Soon children became fond of her teaching style. Raveena Kumari, a Class VIII student, said, “Rita ma’am teaches us very well. She explains things in such a way that even weak student can understand the concepts.”
Rani received many proposals for marriage, but she turned them down to pursue her passion. Her stature may be small, but she has become a beacon of hope for people with physical disabilities.
