Purusottam Thakur

Ruchi Varshneya

Translator

medium_dsc05627-1.jpg

small_dsc05627-1.jpg

thumbnail_dsc05627-1.jpg

dsc05627-1.jpg

The Primary Girls School in Loharsi
village, around five kilometres from Dhamtari in central Chhattisgarh’s Raipur
district, is special. A quick glance from the outside speaks of its age: the
girth of the
 
 peepal
 
 tree on the premises hints at a probable 80 to 90 years. Once you go inside and
meet the students, you encounter their present and see their energy – and experience
the vibrancy of the school. The school was established in 1918, nearly three decades before Independence. In the 96 years since, the school has carefully maintained a register with the names of all its students. Neelima Netam, a teacher at the school, said that they found an old termite-infested register in a wooden box, with information about the teachers and students right from the year the school was established. They put a new cover on the register and are trying to conserve such documents, which are a rich source for studying the school’s history.

We looked at a few documents from the
collection, such as the &#39;Promotion Book’. A few parts had been eaten away by
termites, obscuring a few names and some information, but the rest of the
content is clear. A pen dipped in an ink bottle has been used to record the
details – the letters are big and in a beautiful handwriting. 
 These were some of the names – Baneen
Bai Telin, Sona Bai Costin, Durpat Bai Loharin, Ramsir Bai Kalarin, Sughandheen
Bai Gondin – with the castes clearly mentioned. This may be because the
handwritten register is unlike the one used after it, which was printed and had
separate columns for name, guardian and the caste of the student.The records also list the prevailing subjects all those decades ago. For example, literature studies included conversation, story, drama, prose, expression, vocabulary, poetry, dictation, signature, and copy writing. Maths encompassed counting, operations, currency, simple measurements, writing style, multiplication tables, written and verbal addition and subtraction. Jyotish Vishwas, school teacher says, &quot;At that time, continuous comprehensive evaluation was common.&quot;

The register also shows that many girls
quit the school when they reached puberty. This is documented as a reason for
their leaving. Reasons such as migration or poverty are also mentioned. At that
time, besides Loharsi, girls from Aamdi and Mujgahan villages also came to
study here.  The old documents provide insights into the society of that time. The register for 1918 says that the name of the institution was initially Daughters’ School and it was later changed to Girls Primary School. There were 64 girls in 1918, while today the total student count is 74, of which one is scheduled caste, 12 are from scheduled tribes and 21 are from backward classes. The school has three teachers.

dsc05533-1.jpg

Not only is its past interesting, the present of the school looks bright and hopeful too. During the midday meal, the teachers and girls together discuss various issues; the girls seem to be close to the teachers and share a friendly relationship. The students have learnt several group songs that they sing together, in Hindi as well as Chhattisgarhi. Coloured pictures of birds and animals adorn the classroom walls. Teacher Jyotish Vishwas has painted them. He says, &quot;The pictures are based on the text books and help the students read, write, learn and think. Most importantly, the students and teachers are all involved in painting the pictures together.&quot;

Sunil Kumar Yadu is the head teacher at present. He said that he would like to see more and more of his students move to the Navodaya School and they are preparing them for this step forward.  The oldest building of the school needs repair or perhaps a new building that allows for more open space. Still, it is heartening to get a glimpse of the school’s history and the enthusiasm of the students and the teachers. Many students are from poor families and do not have footwear. But their attitude speaks of the laurels they will one day bring to the name of their school.

Translated from Hindi
by Ruchi Varshneya.

Making history, heading for a hundred

ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਦੇ ਵਰਕਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਰਜ਼ ਕੰਨਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਇਮਰੀ ਸਕੂਲ

நூற்றாண்டுகளை எட்டி, வரலாறு படைக்கிறது.

শতবর্ষ পেরিয়ে ইতিহাস গড়েছে এক স্কুল

ଶହେ ବର୍ଷରେ ପାଦ ଦେବ ଐତିହାସିକ ବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ

इतिहास घडवत, शंभरीकडे वाटचाल

ایک اسکول جس نے تاریخ کے صفحات کو سجا رکھا ہے

इतिहास के पन्नों में दर्ज प्राथमिक शाला

Loharsi

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


ଆସନ୍ତୁ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ପରିଚିତ କରାଇବା

ପରୀକୁ ସ୍ୱାଗତ

ଆମର ସମସ୍ତ ବିଷୟବସ୍ତୁ ସବୁବେଳେ ବ୍ୟବହାର ପାଇଁ ମାଗଣାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ରହିବ। ଯଦି ଆମର କାମ ଆପଣଙ୍କୁ ଭଲ ଲାଗୁଛି, ଆପଣ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଭାବରେ ଆମକୁ ସହଯୋଗ କରିପାରିବେ କିମ୍ବା ଆମ କାମ ପାଇଁ ଆର୍ଥିକ ଅନୁଦାନ ପ୍ରଦାନ କରି ଆମକୁ ସାହାଯ୍ୟ କରିପାରିବେ।

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Making history, heading for a hundred

A primary school for girls in Chhattisgarh nears a century of service

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit