Centenarian Nanda Kishore Prusty of Odisha, a Class 7 pass out who has been teaching children as well as elders around his home in Kantira village of Jajpur district, was awarded the Padma Shri on the eve of Republic Day on Monday.
Nanda Kishore Prusty (HT Photo )
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“Nanda Mastre” (Nanda Master) as he is known in his village in chromite-rich Sukinda block of Jajpur district, may perhaps be the last man who has kept the tradition of “chatashali” (a non-formal school for primary education in Odisha) alive. At the break of dawn, children gather around the modest home of the 102-year-old man to learn Odia alphabets and a bit of mathematics. Elders who could not attend school during their childhood come to his home at 6 pm to learn how to sign their names.
As a young boy, being sent to his maternal uncle’s place in Jajpur district helped him to study till class 7. Soon after his uncle arranged a job for him at Cuttack. But his father was reluctant and made him stay with him to help him out in farming. India was still not a free country then.
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Prusty took it upon himself the job of spreading literacy. “I would find children loafing around. They were all illiterate. Since I did not have much work, I started teaching them under a tree. There was no school then. Initially, I had to run after them, but soon they started coming,” he said.
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Prusty took it upon himself the job of spreading literacy. “I would find children loafing around. They were all illiterate. Since I did not have much work, I started teaching them under a tree. There was no school then. Initially, I had to run after them, but soon they started coming,” he said.
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What endeared him to others was his refusal to charge money from his students. Even more than 70 years after he started teaching, he does not take money. “I liked children and teaching. I wanted the kids to grow up and become good human beings. Money was never my concern" said Prusty, who claims to have taught at least three generations from the same family.
Kantira now has schools and colleges nearby, but villagers still send their kids to Prusty for learning the alphabets and arithmetic. “I will continue teaching the children as long as my health permits,” said Prusty.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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