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This 'Santa Claus' nurtures young Dalit minds |
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Written by Correspondent
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Tuesday, 14 July 2009 |
 Ahmedabad: He is nicknamed 'Santa Claus' in the Dalit neighbourhood of Bhudarpura in Amabawadi area. Every evening, 150 children for the last 13 years keep their 5.30 pm appointment with Kamal Parmar (62), as if he were the Pied Piper. All of them queue up first to prove to 'Kamalsaab' that they have learned their tables well - at lightning speed.
Children love studying, playing, and most of all knowing about their country, being part of a democracy and what is it like being an Indian. For all these years, despite suffering losses in his welding business, Kamal has invested most of his energy in teaching children belonging to municipal schools - who are generally prejudiced to be weak in studies. He is also a defining example for even the education department in his innovative and practical methods of teaching.
"Once, I stopped a group of children coming out of a nearby municipal school who had taken their examinations to ask about their examination. They claimed they had all scored a hundred. I quizzed them only to know that they had copied their question paper. I stopped everything that day and realised it was a vocation. Not everyone gets such opportunity. I called them the next day and held a class," said Kamal.
Although Kamal is just a seventh grader himself, his fundamentals are strong. A principal feature of his class is that it is interactive. Bhavini Chavda (17) said, "I came to this class when I was six and have not missed a single day. I have learnt the essence of sharing knowledge, to be compassionate with those who are weak and to be a self-reliant citizen."
"Most of my former students who are in college or in 10th standards come every day to teach the younger ones. Majority of these children have parents who are drunk or do not bother about their kids,” he added. Half way through the class, he treats kids to bhakri, dal and chana dal curry, which he cooks. Donors also sponsor the day's food sometimes. Even the menu for the day is written in English and some students talk to each other in English. (Source: The Times of India, 14 July 2009, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Ahmedabad-This-Santa-Claus-nurtures-young-Dalit-minds/articleshow/4773980.cms ) |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 August 2009 )
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