T is for Teacher

“Your Aim In Life”, “Career You Want to Pursue” etc. are some topics on which every student has written an essay at-least once in his/her life time. For me, this topic was repeated almost every year from standard fifth to standard 10^th. Every year, I wrote that I want to become a teacher.

Yes, as a child, I wanted to become a teacher, may be because my mother was a teacher once. I even used to play teacher-teacher game all alone with my toys and imaginary students on a wall. I have even got some scolding for ruining the walls turning them into blackboard.

As I grew up, I have no idea why I did not want to become a teacher then. But today, I so want to change my profile and get into soft-skills or corporate trainings. So ideally, I am back to my first choice – a form of teaching only.

Before I move ahead with his post, I want to sincerely thank all my teachers throughout my life. It’s all because of them that I am currently writing this. A major part of myself must also have been a reflection of learning I have had all my life.

Once again if we dig into history and look for renowned teachers, A long list of males come up – Chanakya, Siddhartha Gautama, Lord Krishna top the list. Among all male brigade, one woman very clearly stands out. Although, I have already dedicated the post with Mothers to her, I cannot resist myself from writing again about her.

Savitribai Jyotirao Phule

Born in 1831 to a family of farmers, Savitribai was married at the age of 9 to a 13 year old boy Jyotirao Phule. The lady along with her husband went on to become the social reformers and strongly supported education for women – which was not considered ideal during those times. She is one of the noble personalities who struggled against the caste system and other social evils against women prevailing in the early India.

She did not have any children of her own but that did not stop her from being a mother. As the part of their fight for widows, Savtibai’s husband Jyotirao pregnant lady (widows specially pregnant used to either commit suicide r kill their new born babies for the fear of cruel practices running in society) from committing suicide, promising her to give her child his name after it was born. The lady gave birth to a boy known as Yashwant who went on to become a doctor in future.

With the strong support of her husband, the noble lady opened first ever all-girls’ school Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848. Savitribai thus became the first female teacher of the first women's school in India. The opening of school attracted many criticisms and outrage from society and the lady with heart of gold was badly abused for her courage. She was even pelted with stones, rotten eggs, tomatoes and cow dung while on her way to school. None of this could stop her from her mission and she continued her struggle. By the end of an year, there were five more schools for girls opened across Pune.

Personally, Savitribai was a poet and is also as the founder of modern poetry. Books of her poems were published posthumously, Kavya Phule (1934) and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (1982). Below is the extract one of her poems:

Go, Get Education

Be self-reliant, be industrious

Work, gather wisdom and riches,

All gets lost without knowledge

We become animal without wisdom,

Sit idle no more, go, get education

End misery of the oppressed and forsaken,

You’ve got a golden chance to learn

So learn and break the chains of caste.

Throw away the Brahman’s scriptures fast.

Read some more at - http://drambedkarbooks.com/2015/01/03/few-poems-by-savitribai-phule/

One of the best tributes to her:

In 2014, the University of Pune was renamed as Savitribai Phule Pune University in her honour.

Last but not the least; the lady is of the few who got got a stamp released in their honour –

Savitribai actually lived to serve and died on 10 March 1987 by the worldwide Third Pandemic of the bubonic plagu – She conracted the disease while personally serving the patients along with her son.

Below is one of the videos in Hindi I could find about the respectable lady:

Image and information sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitribai_Phule

http://drambedkarbooks.com/2011/09/03/first-lady-teacher-of-india-savitribai-phule/

This post is written as a part of April 2015 A to Z Challenge. My theme for this year is Women In A to Z Professions. Click at the link to check other professions women have excelled in and their respective links.