Nanda Sir shuts down his school on earth to teach gods in heaven
By Akshay Rout/Swagatika Bhutia
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 7: Nanda Prusty, fondly called Nanda Sir, the centenarian teacher of Kantira village in Odisha’s Jajpur district, on Tuesday left for his heavenly abode, leaving thousands of people, including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik and senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra, in tears.
The entire Odisha mourned his death.
Nanda Sir, 104, was recently awarded Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind for his selfless effort to educate children of his village for decades without charging any fees.
“For us, Nanda Sir has not died. He left his earthly home for heaven to teach the gods. He was no less than god for his selfless and spirited service to the poor,” said villager of Kantira, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Nanda Sir was admitted to Sum Hospital at Kalinga Nagar on November 30 after he suddenly collapsed complaining of uneasiness. Later, he tested positive for Covid-19 at the hospital. His family later took him to the Jajpur district headquarters hospital and Tata Covid hospital for further treatment. However, when his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the Sum Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he breathed his last.
Though Nanda Sir could study till Class 7 owing to his family’s poor financial condition, he continued imparting education to primary school students in his area at his ‘Chatashali,’ a village level voluntary private tuition centre).
At the Padma Award ceremony, Nanda Sir was seen blessings the President. All dignitaries present at the ceremony were awestruck when the citation of the centenarian teacher was read out outlining his selfless service to the society.
Photograph: Nanda Prusty receiving Padma Shri Award from President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on November 9.
