Reverential mastermoshai_

Reverential mastermoshai_

*Remarkable story of a retired teacher from Bengal who could not stop teaching!*

“The day I got my postgraduate degree, I didn’t waste a minute – I rushed back to my village, Ausgrum in Bengal to become a teacher.?

Yes, I had higher salary offers from schools in bigger towns, but for me, the 169 Rs. I was offered at my school village meant everything.

I was hungry to teach the students from my village who needed a good teacher the most.

And I taught at my school for 39 years and only retired because I’d hit my ‘retirement age’– 60, what a ridiculous concept!

So there I was at 60, retired and expected to spend my years drinking sugary tea and whiling away my time on the charpoy!?

But I was restless, I didn’t want to retire and kept asking myself, ‘What shall I do now?’ A few days later, I got the answer.

One morning, around 6:30 AM, I saw 3 young girls enter my house.?

I was shocked when they told me they’d cycled for over 23 kms to see the mastermoshai who’d retired!?

They were young tribal girls who were desperate to learn; with folded hands they asked,..

?‘Mastermoshai, will you teach us?’?

I immediately agreed and said, ..

‘I can teach you, but you will have to pay my school fees for the whole year – are you ready to pay?’

They said, ‘Yes, Mastermoshai, we will manage the money somehow.’

So I said, ..

‘Yes, my fee is Rupee 1 for the whole year!’

They were so happy, they hugged me and said, ..

‘We will pay you 1 Rupee and 4 chocolates also!’

I was elated!?

So, after they left, I put on my dhoti and went straight back to my school and requested them to give me a classroom to teach…they refused.?

But I wasn’t going to stop – I had years of teaching left in me.

?So I went back home, cleaned my verandah and decided to start teaching there.?

That was in 2004 – my pathshala started with those 3 girls and today we have over 3000 students per year, most of whom are young tribal girls.?

My day still starts at 6 AM with a walk around the village and then I open my doors to students coming from all over – some of the girls walk for 20 plus kilometres!; I have so much to learn from them!

Over the years, *my students have gone on to become professors, heads of departments and IT professionals* – they always call me and give me the good news and as always, I ask them to please give me some chocolates!

And *last year*, when *I won the Padmashree*, my phone didn’t stop ringing; the whole village celebrated with me – it was a happy day, but I still didn’t allow my students to bunk class!

And my doors are open to all – come visit me and my pathshala anytime; our village is beautiful and all my students are bright – I am sure you can learn something from them!

So that’s my story – I am a simple teacher from Bengal who enjoys his tea and evening naps on his charpoy.?

The highlight of my life is being called Mastermoshai – I want to teach until my last breath; it’s what I was put on this planet to do!”

Source: _Facebook post