The year was 1974. It had been two years of taking up my government job as a primary school teacher in Kathigra village which is situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district. I was 20-years-old back then and our school had two ponds around it — one at the entrance and the other in the backyard. The students used to fill their inkpots with the water from the pond although they were strictly instructed not to venture into the pond in the backyard because it was deep and slippery.
However, students often sneaked out towards the backyard as children have this tendency to do what is clearly been disallowed.
One day, while I was sitting in a class checking my students’ answer sheets, I saw two of my students entering the classroom with a suspicious look in their eyes. They were whispering something amongst each other and looked tense. I tried to eavesdrop into their conversation and after following the exchange of a few sentences, I got alarmed.
I patiently waited for the details to be divulged and suddenly one of the students asked the other one — “Is she inside? Drowned? — to which the other child replied in affirmative.
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It was enough information for me spring into action. I rushed towards the pond at the entrance and found nothing suspicious over there. My worst fears were now taking shape. I ran towards the pond in the backyard where I found the footmarks of a child which were spread in a manner which clearly manifested that the child had slipped on the slippery mud.
Other teachers also rushed towards the pond after seeing me run towards it. Without wasting a second, I jumped into the pond and began looking for the child. To my horror, the depth of the pond was enough to drown me as well. I was also slipping towards the deeper portion of the pond. After a while, my arm brushed with the head of a child. I sensed that she is stuck inside the pond in an upright position. I tried my best to pull her out and after much effort, I succeeded in extracting her out of the pond. She was unconscious but after I rubbed her face and patted her head, she gained consciousness and could talk.
I did not scold her but tried to make the child feel safe and secured. She shared with me that she was en route to her relative’s house when she slipped on the mud and drowned in the pond. By that time, entire village had reached the spot and people were praising me for my good deed. The child’s father was also present at the pond’s periphery and he was teary eyed upon seeing her only child alive.
The villagers were elated. They said that they’ll approach the administration to award me for my bravery but I was satisfied with my work. What bigger award for a teacher than the feeling of accomplishment after saving her student’s life. It is a moment from my teaching career which I will cherish forever.
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