In a world when people are struggling to make ends meet, seeing altruistic people who give back to the society in exchange for nothing sounds like something out of a fairy tale. Seventy eight-year-old Sujit Chattopadhyay is a retired West Bengal schoolteacher who has taught over 350 pupils. His school’s fee is only Rs. 2.
However, in the Ausgram hamlet of West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman region, a real-life hero Chattopadhyay, lovingly known as Master Moshai by the underprivileged children, conducts a one-of-a-kind school.
Even on Sundays, Chattopadhyay is not interested in taking a break. His courtyard is teeming with children who gather around him for his company.
Former principal of Ramnagar Uccha Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Chattopadhyay has dedicated his post-retirement life to empowering poor students. His one-of-a-kind school, the ‘Sadai Fakirer Pathshala’ (Eternal Fakir’s School), has been operating in his Ausgram house since 2004.
The Pathshala functions in a very disciplinary way. It begins at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Chattopadhyay curated the curriculum for the secondary students and degree courses. All the courses are in Bengali for the undergraduate students. About 80 percent of the students who visit the Pathshala belong to lower-middle-class backgrounds.
According to Chattopadhyay, “after my retirement, I had a lot of free time and was trying to find out what to do with those ‘long hours’. I didn’t want to sit idle. And what was going on in my mind is that I wanted to give back to society in the best way”.
Chattopadhyay’s journey began when three girls showed up at his house one day. Despite living 20 kilometres away, the three girls came barefoot and expressed their desire to study from the retired instructor. Thus began the Sadai Fakirer Pathshala’s journey, which has grown to enrol more than 350 children. The Pathshala also has an attendance-keeping system and periodic PTA meetings too.
However, since Master Moshai’s Pathshala began, the students who passed out from here felt the need to impose a fee structure for enrolling the students here. Chattopadhyay is a man with a magnanimous heart, he only charges a Rs.2 fee from the kids.
“The payments are mostly a sign of respect for the teacher,” says one student.
“These students are from low-income households. Many members of their families are first-generation students. They can’t afford to drive for hours every day to go to a decent schools. So I do my best to assist them as much as possible,” says the kind-hearted Master Moshai.
His nephew, Utsav, helps him in dealing with the activities.
“While looking for teaching jobs, I suddenly realised that I have a school running in my home itself. I have always had immense respect for jethu (uncle) and thought of being a part of this beautiful endeavour. So I joined him and assist him as much as possible.” says Utsav.
Chattopadhyay is the recipient of Dr (Mrs) N.B. O’Brien Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award at Nazrul Mancha.
Half of his pension is still spent on his students. Chattopadhyay claims that his heavily subsidised tuition prices have left him with no regrets.
President Ram Nath Kovind awarded Chattopadhyay the Padma Shri award in November 2021, in recognition of his contributions.
The Padma Shri awardee’s career as a teacher spanned three decades, and he remained a student’s favourite thanks to his impassioned pedagogy that goes beyond plain instructions.
In addition, he is a major proponent of socio-environmental consciousness and has sought to instil in communities in the hinterland the notions of social equality and a sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Master Moshai is still the go-to guy in his village for a variety of reasons. He noticed a neighbour crying in 2015 because she couldn’t afford treatment for her son, who had just been diagnosed with thalassemia. Chattopadhyay then asked his students to donate half of the money generated for their annual picnic to the boy’s medical expenses. They agreed, and each year they have raised up to Rs 35,000. So far, he has assisted about 60 thalassemic children in and around the village. He has aggressively pressurised the government to make education easily accessible to poor people.
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