Hyderabad: Hardships and hurdles are many for teachers trying to accomplish their job in the country’s rural areas and they have to come up with unique ways to get past them. Here’s a teacher in Andhra Pradesh who has to take a daily horse-ride to reach his place of work.
As roads leading to the government-run Surlapalem Primary School at Gemmali village of Vishakhapatnam district are too bad for a smooth journey by bus, car or two-wheeler, villagers got Gamparai Venkataramana, the teacher, a horse to ride on and impart lessons to his students.
Traveling to these remote areas does not only involve long rough rides through hills and valleys, there is also the danger of coming across wild animals. Venkataramana has to travel for about 19km through hillocks and slopes to reach the school and make a similar arduous journey back home in the evening.
Gamparai Venkataramana with his students at the school.
After seeing the teacher’s plight as well as dedication towards his students, villagers decided to rid him of his hardship and collected Rs 9,000 to buy him a horse. They also take care of his diet and other requirements. “We saw how much he struggles to ensure a bright future for our children. Hence, we bought a horse for him,” said Pangi Sitaram, a local.
However, initially it was not an easy proposal for the town-bred teacher. He was not used to riding horses like many others in the area. He had to learn it from villagers. “I like to teach these children and am ready face all challenges to accomplish my job. The villagers bought me the horse to lessen my trouble. However, there are many other teachers and government employees to struggle to reach their place of work. The state should at least provide proper roads to villages,” said Venkataramana.