Who says only Brahmins or upper caste people could become teachers? My father who attended primary school in the village, the only one in the village, was run in the house of the teacher...named Mohit Guruji. He lived in the back portion of the house with his family. He charged no fees... there was no CONCEPT of charging any fees... during early 1920s or even during our time ( till we reached 8th class... it began with 4 annas a month... I was exempted from it throughout school and college on ground of merits) This Mohit Guruji was the sole teacher teaching all classes... Admission was open to all castes and communities... He went from door to door asking parents to send their children to his school... He was NOT a Brahmin... but a caste known as Kaandoo which has the traditional occupation of roasting grains in a huge earthen pot placed under fire to heat the sand in it .. the grains to be roasted would be thrown into the pot along with the hot sands to produce crisp hot roasted grains of various kinds... He did NOT receive any funds from any government or other sources... The sole occasion was the Ganesh Chaturthi ( known as Chak-Channa) when Guruji along with all school children would go round the entire village from door to door singing songs in the praise of Mother Saraswati and the virtues of learning.... They would pause before each house but NEVER ask for anything... If the household gave something on its own, mostly foodgrains or whatever else they would feel like, it was collected on a sheet of cloth, everything mixed up ( to be sorted out at the end) . The kids would be producing music by striking two colourful sticks called Gulli-danda ( much like the dandiyaa in Gujarat and Maharashtra.. but much shorter in length,... no dancing or striking it with the Gulli-danda in other childrens hands... each struck the Gulli-danda in his own hands, the one in left hand striking the one in the right hand...... The purpose was not collection of funds but to spread awareness of the importance of education ....though villagers deemed it their moral duty to give whatever they could afford, irrespective of the fact whether or not any kid from the family was going to school. The Guruji did farming for a living.... teaching was not for the sake of a living. Selling education was a TABOO!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 06:42:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015