Inspiration
Read How & Why This Postman Is Delivering Value To School Kids
What a beautiful retirement plan.
Meet Gulbarga Alla Bakash, a postman from Puttaparthi in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. As he is nearing his retirement, he’s decided to create value through his work among the school-going children of his district. In order to teach them patriotism, he’s distributing portraits of national leaders among the little learners so they can discover about their sacrifices.
These leaders that Bakash chooses had fought for India’s freedom and overall progress. This list includes the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sarvepalle Radhakrishna and Sarojini Naidu.
Bakash thinks it’s good to teach them young and develop their minds as change-makers of tomorrow.
Not just this, this kind and thoughtful postman also helps government schools in Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam and Kothacheruvu with textbooks, school uniform and accessories for kids belonging to low-income families. All this is compromised under his mere salary of Rs. 13,000 a month.
He tells New Indian Express, “Though I would like to expand the activity to other parts, my job being ‘No Work, No Pay’ I could not do it and limited myself to a few places. I am 60-year-old now and will be in service for another five years. I will continue what I am doing.”
Wondering where his inspiration to do all this social work comes from? He says when he was a little boy, he struggled to get educated. “In 1981, I failed in class X. I did not even have money to clear the backlog. My teacher, Naganna, paid my exam fee and I cleared the exam. I was touched by my teacher’s largesse.”
John Wooden’s words – I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession – still hold true today.