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Fragrance of Success

Fragrance of Success

Category Archives: Promising prodigies

The youngest Headmaster in the world

19 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by fragranceofsuccess in Promising prodigies

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award, Babar Ali, Headmaster, passion, School, street kids, teaching

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.”

– Chuck Grassley

              Babar Ali is a student and teacher from Murshidabad, West Bengal. He was titled the “youngest headmaster in the world” by BBC on October 2009, at the age of sixteen.


Babar Ali

                  He was born in 1993 in the village of Gangpur. The eldest of four siblings, he had his primary education at the Bhabta Rasidiya Primary School, two kilometres from his house.  When he was nine, his father -a small-time jute trader, sent him to the Beldanga CRGS High School, about 10 kilometers away.  But Babar had to walk two kilometers to the bus stand, from where he would get the bus   to go there.

              It was this walk that changed the course of his life. While returning from school, he saw children playing in the fields and grazing cattle. When he asked them “would you like to study, if I teach you?” They happily said “yes.” Encouraged by their response, Babar started his classes on 19 Oct 2002.Initially he taught eight children including his younger sister Amina Khatun, under a guava tree in front of their one-room house. The classes are dependent on the weather, if it rains the class is cancelled. The class has to end before darkness sets in.

                   Amazingly a nine year old was teaching children between the ages of five to nine. Babar improvised a blackboard from terracotta tiles before his father contributed Rs.600 for buying some text and notebooks. Babar gets up early in the morning, and after finishing the household chores he took an auto-rickshaw which covered a part of the 10km distance to Raj Govinda School where he studied.

                   He would also organize various activities like sports, dance and music to make school more fun for the students. Babar used to ask his teacher, in the school where he studied, to give him broken pieces of chalk for his school at home. When the teacher came to know about his noble venture, she started giving him box full of chalks. 

                   Sanath Kar Principal of Beldanga SRF College inaugurated Babar’s new school in 2003 and named it Ananda Shiksha Niketan. “I hired a mike for 30, and we had a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by song and dance. I borrowed my mother’s sari to decorate the place. I also invited the local Panchayat members and village elders” said an innocent Babar.

                Babar gets partly used notebooks from the ‘raddi wala’ and distributes to the students. He gives them sweets out of his pocket money to encourage them to attend classes regularly. In 2005 Babar was invited by Amratya Sen to Shantiniketan to talk about his school. He has gone to deliver speeches in Europe and Singapore later .Babar gets his inspiration from Swami Vivekananda.

              In 2008, Babar passed class X board exams securing a first division. Even days before the exam, he was busy opening bank accounts for his students. “I gave them ten days off during my exams “he adds.Chumki Hajra who does household work in the village from six in the morning until two in the afternoon, attends Babar Ali’s school. After seven in the evening, she heads back to do more work. Chumki’s dream is to become a nurse, and Babar Ali’s classes might just make it possible.

             The 300 students are taught by 10 teachers including Babar and his sister. There is a seven member management committee comprising of village elders and retired teachers’ .Neither any salary is given to the teachers, nor any fees is charged from the students. This accounts for the popularity of the school among the economically weak sections of society.

                   Babar even approached the then sub-divisional magistrate Sabuj Barun Sarkar to be the president of his school’s governing body. At that time, he was just 13 year old, studying in class 8. Feroza Begum, headmistress of another high school in his area, became his school secretary.

                  In 2009 Babar was featured in the “Real Heroes “program of the CNN-IBN news channel. In 2012 he was featured in the TV show ‘Satya men Jayate’.He shared his story on TED Talks in Mysore. A lesson based on the life and work of Babar Ali was included in the class X NCERT textbook.

                   Babar purchased a 7,200 square feet of land for  10 lakhs donated by one of his supporters in 2013.A new building of the school was inaugurated in 2015 at Shankarpara village, three kilometers away from the previous school.

                 The state government does not give any financial aid to the school. However the annual expenditure of the school which is about five lakhs is met from donations. Babar graduated with BA (Honours) in English and went on to do MA (English Literature). “I believe that if you are passionate about something then you can achieve anything. Age, finances, other hurdles, they just don’t matter and eventually everything works out,” he concludes.

A child laborer all set to become a doctor

17 Saturday May 2014

Posted by fragranceofsuccess in Promising prodigies

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“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

Jesse Owens

                     After his father abandoned his family, a ten year old Murthy Murugan had to drop out of school and go to work, carrying bricks on his head at a construction site to earn money to feed his mother and siblings. But he never gave up his dream of becoming a doctor.Murthy says his dream is to become the best doctor he can be. ‘I want to specialize in radiology and serve in my village. I’m going to carry forward the help I received.’Murthy’s mother was helped to give her son options.Murthy Murugan places his stethoscope on the patient’s chest. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt over which he has donned a doctor’s white coat, he is deep in concentration as he examines him. The 21-year-old takes the pulse of the elderly man who is suffering from a severe cough before turning to his professor, a senior doctor, who has been observing him all along. “From the symptoms that he exhibits it is clear he is suffering from severe congestion in the chest,’’ says Murthy confidently. “He may need to be started on a course of antibiotics.’ The professor checks the patient, makes some notes in a diary and turns to Murthy. “You’re right, but I want you to do a more detailed examination and report to me,’’ he says. Murthy is pleased that his diagnosis is correct. After all, in two years he will qualify to be a doctor – something he 
never dreamt could happen when 
he was a 10-year-old working on a construction site to feed his family.

Murthy Murugan  doctor

Murthy Murugan with his mother

Living in the impoverished village of Kailayapuram of the Dharmapuri district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Murthy’s day would begin at 6am. After a quick bath in the common bathroom that served 
twenty other shacks, Murthy would gobble down his breakfast – leftover rice from the previous night with some homemade lime pickle. If there was any food remaining, he would pack it into a cheap plastic lunch box for his midday meal. Then, slipping into a pair of worn rubber slippers, he would walk to a building construction site, more than a kilometer away, where he carried bricks on his head or mixed cement in the searing sun before staggering home exhausted with Rs80 tightly clenched in his fist – his wages for the day’s back-breaking work, which he would hand over to his mother Palaniammal to feed him and his siblings, three-year-old brother Bhoopalan and six-year-old sister Brindavanam.“I had to go out and earn after my father abandoned us,” Murthy says. “My mother and siblings would have had no food if I did not work. We had no one to help us.’’

Murthy believed – wrongly – that his was a happy family. “My father Kumaran Murugan and mother Palaniammal looked after us well,’’ he says. His parents were construction workers who together earned about Rs200 per day. Their dream was to give their children a good education and Murthy was enrolled in the local government school, which provided free education up to class X.Happily for everyone, Murthy was more than a good student. At the top of his class, he appeared to be all set to become a doctor. Then one day, when the ten year old Murthy returned home from school he got the shocking news that his father had deserted the family. “My parents used to have occasional fights but one day, my father just left home,” he says. Unknown to the children, their parents hadn’t been getting on for some time. Kumaran told his wife that he was going to a far off city in search of better work but she guessed that it was only an excuse 
for leaving them.

Murthy continued school for another week before his mother told him that unless he too earned some money, they would all go hungry. Although she continued working her wages were not enough to support the family. “I loved school and studies,” says Murthy. “But I knew if I didn’t bring home some money, my young siblings would starve. As the eldest child, the burden of looking after the family was now mine.”The next day, Murthy left school and became one of the 12.6 million child laborers in India. Initially, his mother got him a job at the construction site where she worked. But the small boy wasn’t strong enough to carry out the grueling physical labor, so he became a carpenter’s apprentice instead. He worked there for four months but he quickly realized he was not cut out for the job. “It was tough work,” he says. “Carrying logs of wood, marking and cutting them into precise shapes were difficult. I would almost always get it wrong and as a result, my wages would be cut. After most twelve hour work days 
I would return home empty-handed. “I was very upset and felt I was a failure because I could not help my family in any way. My mother’s wages were barely enough to bring food for all of us and several days we went to bed hungry.”

Realizing a job at the construction site was Murthy’s only chance to bring home some extra money; his mother brought him back to the site and begged the supervisor to employ him again. “We would all go to the site together. My sister and brother would play amidst the sand while my mother and I would carry bricks, cement or stones,” he says. It was grueling work for little pay, but when combined with his mother’s income, the family could at least have two meals a day. “My hands used to get blistered and cut carrying the heavy bricks and metal rods, but I knew there was no other option,’’ he says.

However, Murthy did not resign himself to becoming another faceless statistic among the millions of child laborers. “I missed going to school. I missed learning new things. I was also afraid I would forget whatever I’d learnt so far so I decided to read whatever I could lay my hands on.”Murthy would grab any scrap of paper, discarded newspapers, and old magazines to take home to read at night. Most nights he took to hanging out at the local tea shop so he could pick up newspapers and magazines left behind by the customers and read them in the pale light of the street lamp.“Murthy became such a fixture 
at the tea shop that some customers would actually hand over the day’s newspaper or a magazine for the boy to read,” says Palanisamy, the tea shop owner. “He would also do some odd jobs and pick up some extra money too.”

He carried on like this for another year, with his dream of an education and becoming a doctor fading fast. Just then the Tamil Nadu government launched a drive against child labor in the state, effectively preventing any child under the age of fourteen from working. Twelve-and-a-half-year old Murthy lost his job. “It was a tough time,” says 
Murthy. “We did not know what to do. My mother thought of sending me away to Bangalore, a huge city 
in the neighboring state of 
Karnataka where the chances of being 
caught working were less so I could earn and send money home. Although 
I was sad at the prospect of leaving my family and going away to a new strange town, I convinced myself that perhaps I would be able to provide 
a better life for my family. “There was no news from my father and I knew I had to do all could to look after the family.’’

Fortunately, as he was preparing to pack his bags and head to the city, two men – Shiva Kumar and Kuberan – visited the family. Representatives of the government working on the National Child Labor Project (NCLP), they were going from house to house to check on children below fourteen who weren’t attending school. “When they heard I was forced to drop out, they chided my mother for not approaching the government authorities and seeking their help. “They said it was not too late and that they would provide my mother with some options, which could help me go back to school,’’ says Murthy.Palaniammal was given a grant of Rs10, 000 to buy a cow. The cow would provide more than four liters of milk a day and by selling the milk at around Rs30 a liter, the family could make ends meet. “We were not expected to repay it as long as I was going to school.”

It was the best gift Murthy could have received. “I was elated. I was so looking forward to going to school and studying. I couldn’t thank them enough.’ He was given classes to help him catch up with all the lessons he’d missed at a non-formal school run by the National Child Labor Project near his village, one of 24 schools in the district. The bridge schools also provide vocational training, midday meals and healthcare facilities with one doctor and a team of nurses overlooking a group of 20 schools. Every student also receives a stipend of Rs150 every month, which is put into a bank account opened in the child’s name and can be withdrawn only by the child themselves when he or she is enrolled into a regular school.Murthy worked hard and in less than two years, he was re-admitted to his old school, along with his old classmates, in Class VIII.

“I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I loved getting back to school, meeting my old friends, interacting with teachers and learning new subjects. My mother was happy because I was studying and we were living on the money made from selling milk. I used to study hard, staying up late into the night.”The hard work paid off – he sailed through his class X exams. But convinced he wouldn’t be able to afford college education, Murthy didn’t bother to go to school to pick up his results. His school authorities however, were pleasantly surprised to find the boy had scored more than 90 per cent and had come first in the entire district. Puzzled that he had not come to claim his marks, they set off for his home to congratulate him in person. They found him at a construction site, carrying bricks on his head. Since he was over 14, he could go to work and Murthy wanted to help his mother. “I was excited and happy when the officials told me about my results but almost immediately realized that it was pointless because I could not study further because we were too poor,” he recalls.

Nevertheless, when the district authorities held a function in the village to congratulate him he went along. “Everyone was happy, especially my mother. When it was my turn to say a few words, I asked the authorities if they would help me study further,” says Murthy. Again NLCP stepped in and prevailed upon a private college, Sri Vijay Vidyalaya, to waive the tuition and hostel fees for Murthy’s undergraduate studies. After clearing the exams with excellent marks, Murthy then applied to the Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College in Salem district, where he was selected on merit. A local doctor, Uma Maheswari, read about his achievements in a local newspaper, and came forward to fund his medical studies.

Today Murthy’s day still begins at 6am. After breakfast at the hostel canteen, he has a packed schedule starting at 8am.Hospital visits and practical lessons make up the first part of the day, when he meets patients, checks their blood pressure, and learn to give injections. After lunch his time is devoted to theory classes where the second-year medical student is learning about the intricacies of the human body. Assignments, presentations and submission of project papers keep him busy late into the night. “I still cannot believe that I will become 
a doctor in two years,’’ he says. “I have to thank everybody for this – my mother, the NLCP officials, my college teachers.

“My dream? To become the best doctor. I want to specialize in radiology and serve in my village and I am going to ensure I carry forward the help I received by helping as many poor children as I can,’’ he says. “One day, I’d also like to meet my father – if only to tell him that his son, who was once a construction worker, is now a doctor.”

Youngest Animation lecturer in the world

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by fragranceofsuccess in Promising prodigies

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Aman Rehman, child prodigies, Dehradun

“Chess, like mathematics and music, is a nursery for child prodigies.”

Jamie Murphy

                     Computers have brought about sweeping changes in the lives of all of us. Things which were un imaginable are now becoming a reality. It is a common belief that one has to be trained to become a trainer or a teacher. This belief has now been shattered in India by a child prodigy Aman Rehman of Dehradun. When children of his age were playing with toy computers, an eight year old Aman was teaching adult students how to make computer-generated animated films at College of Interactive arts at Dehradun. He has created a record of sorts by becoming the world’s youngest college lecturer.

His father, an illiterate scooter-mechanic who supports his wife and three children on about Rs 6000 a month, had struggled to buy a second-hand computer for their older son, and Aman was fascinated by it, watching his brother’s every move on the cursor.   By the time he was three-and-a-half; he had mastered his first animation programme and made a film with dancing alphabet letters. He received Doctor of Honors’ from the Pen International University, Colombo, in November 2012.He has created 1000 animation movies till September2013.

aman computer animation

“I am having a small workshop, but as my child was interested in animation so we never tried to hamper his interest. Later many people acclaimed his talent, our Chief Minister B C Khanduri gifted him a laptop, later our President and Governor of Uttaranchal also awarded him,” said Mohammed Rehman, father of Aman.     Following his friends’ advice, his father took Aman to Dehra Dun’s College of Interactive Arts. However, after a week of intense lobbying, Rehman persuaded the college to watch his child on a computer which convinced them to offer him a place. Within five months he had written his own software programme. His family believes he may be the world’s youngest college lecturer and has now applied to Guinness Book of World Records to recognize his achievement.

When asked how much time he devoted on computers, Aman said: “Whenever I am having holidays, I make it a point that I should work on computer for at least eight hours. And usually I work on the computer for four hours, because I have to complete my homework also. I can work on many soft wares like Adobe, Flash, Firework, Dream Weaver, Maya, 3D Max, after affects and many others. “Aman can comfortably work on eighteen soft wares. He has also completed his animation course in span of three months, which is usually completed by others in fifteen months.” Presently I am making projects on black hole, aliens and water conservation,” said the whiz kid. His voice is slight and high-pitched and he is barely taller than the lectern. He studies in a local Christian school during the day, attends lectures at the College for Interactive Arts in the evening and teaches there once a week. He has abandoned friends and all other sport activities to focus on his IT passion.

There are some impressive animation videos made by Aman, which have been uploaded on the you tube. I have chosen two of them, the first one was about the importance of voting made for the Election Commission http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRguqlDAIBE and the second one was about spreading awareness about TB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6gAjILExe4

His animation journey started at the tender age of three.Aman has received recognitions from coveted Indian personalities including famous Indian Cricketers, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar. He has been honored by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri BL Khanduri and Congress party President Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who presented him a laptop and agreed to pay his school fees until he is eighteen. His father has turned down an offer for him to take on a paid consultancy for an Australian firm, so he can focus on his studies. He was presented with a “Proud child” award by the former Honorable President of India, Smt.Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, in 2012.

 

M.Sc in Microbiology at 13 years

30 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by fragranceofsuccess in Promising prodigies

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“A wise girl knows her limits; a smart girl knows that she has none.”

― Marilyn Monroe

The 13-year old wonder girl first shot into the spotlight in 2007 when she broke all past records to become the youngest matriculate in the country.At seven, she made it to the Limca Book of Records. Sushma had beaten none other than her own brother Shailendra, who had passed the Uttar Pradesh High School examination at the age of nine.

While Shailendra is pursuing MCA in Bangalore, Sushma is in her first year MSc in Microbiology at the central government-run Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow, whose Vice Chancellor S B Sobti has gone out of his way to exempt her from paying tuition fee. Other education expenses will be borne by Sulabh International, a leading Indian NGO working for the impoverished. Realizing Sushma’s poor financial health, Sulabh’s chief Dr Bindeshwari Pathak announced a grant of Rs 8, 00,000 towards higher education of the child prodigy.

sushma 13 yr

Interestingly Sushma hails from a family of illiterates; her father being a daily wage earner and her mother an illiterate lady. “Sushma’s mother never went to school, but I have cleared Class VIII”, asserts her father Tej Bahadur who is a class IV employee at St Meera’s Inter College in Lucknow’s Alambagh area, the same institute where Sushma completed her class XII. Although she lives in a single-room tenement, she’s least daunted by her financial or social odds. “We don’t have a television at home. My only pastime is to play with my two-year old sister Ananya,” she says.

Ever since she grew confident of charting her own career, she wanted to pursue medicine. “I always dreamed of becoming a doctor,” she says. At the age of 10 after completing her class 12, she took the Combined Pre-Medical Test for admission to the MBBS course, but her result was withheld because the authorities found her to be underage. Finally she chose Microbiology for her under graduation.

She doesn’t hide her disappointment when asked about her medical dreams. “Let them not grant me admission to MBBS if I am underage, but if they could let me know whether I touched the qualifying level or not; because that would give me an idea as to where I stand in terms of fulfilling my dream to become a doctor”, pleads the 13-year old .

When asked “What were your feelings when you cleared your class X at age seven?”she said “I was very happy. I did not score too well, I got 69 per cent, but I was overjoyed that I could still make it and compete with people almost twice my age. I was happy for my family. My teachers and classmates were very supportive since the start. Without their help I could not have managed it alone.”

Sushma does not consider herself as an exceptional student. She neither felt the need for any coaching nor could afford it.The school knew about her financial condition and was not charging any fee from her. The teachers at St Meera’s were always available to help and guide her.” Back home, I’d seek help from my elder brother.”she adds. She never crammed or studied under pressure. She would make a study plan and study regularly every day.

 

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