Man travels 63 kms daily through dangerous terrain to teach just one student

Rajnikant Mendhe PicSameer MarkandeHeres an inspiring story of a 30yearold teacher who lives on the outskirts of Pune and travels 63 kilometres daily through a dangerous terrain just to reach a school which has just one student since last year in a village namedChandarin Punes Haveli Taluka It has just 30 houses and a population of 350 Rajnikant Mendhe has been taking this extraordinary journey for the last threeandahalf years Mendhe a native of Nagpur completed his Diploma in Education DEd in 2010 and applied for a job in Zilla Parishad school and was selected and posted thereThe BeginningIt took Mendhe three days to find the small village in Pune and coming from a city he was shocked to see it when he first came in July 2010 to teach in the ZP school which has classes till standard 4th He was appointed after the previous teacher retired and lived there for the first fourandahalf years The villagers send their children to this school till 4th standard after which they are sent to nearby schools in Pune After schooling most of them either work in the village or take up jobs in Mumbai and Surat There is just one big classroom in which students of all the classes sit and I teach everyone in turns said Mendhe The first big challenge came in September when Mendhes father Sukhshyam died in a road accident in Nagpur and he almost gave up the job but decided to stick around as he had family responsibilityMarriageJourneyAround 2015 Mendhe married Swati and they settled down in Khanapur which is 63 kms from Chandar and his adventurous journey began which starts at 5 am daily on a Hero Honda Splendor bike and he reaches the school at 730 am after a twoandahalfhour drive Describing the journey Mendhe says the road from Khanapur to Panshet which is roughly 15 kmis the best road but from Panshet to Mangaon a 36 kmstretch is through 3 mountains and is a rough stretch However the biggest challenge is while travelling from Mangaon to Chander a 12 kmride where theroad is nonexistent and there is a thick forest and snakes and animals that have posed a threat several times apart from the fact that there is a steep valley and if the bike skids there is no chance of survival During rains when its even more risky Mendhe stays in the village for a couple of days and tries to go return home at least twice a week the bike which he uses is parked at Mangaon He has kept gas and other materials in the school where he stays over in rains Mendhes school ends at 1230 pm and he reaches home by around 3330 pm dailyTeachingMendhe currently teaches just one student Yuvraj Sangle 8 who is in thesecond standard Yuvraj says Mendhe sir is a very kind teacher and teaches him on a TV Yvurajs residence is just in front of the school and the moment he sees Mendhe he rushes to the school Mendhe says Yuvraj is a bright student and his enthusiasm makes him forget about his tough travelMendhe gets all information in a pen drive and attaches it to the TV which he got for the school and imparts knowledge He teaches all the subjects apart from drawing and even plays cricket with me says Yuvraj However the future seems better as four students have enrolled for next year The school enrols students only after they turn five years Mendhe has set up a first aid kit in school and also has set up a solar power plantVillagersThe villagers dont just like Mendhe they worship him for his commitment and his helpful nature Jingabai Sangle 55 says Mendhe is very regular and is rarely absent and even for a single student he is very committed and he even helps the villagers and gets things for them While police Patil Ramchandra Sangle said that they were very fortunate to have a teacher like Mendhe sir who has been with them for the past 8 years and has helped the village get solar power which provides electricity and he even gets medicines for usExpensesThe teacher earns around Rs 25000 per month and spends nearly Rs 4500 on petrol He even spends on the stationary and other school activityWifeMendhe and his wife now have an 18month daughter and till recently Swati was not aware of the dangers her husband faces while reaching his workplace Ever since I have learned about the travel I am anxious as there is no network in the village We will try for a transfer as he has completed 8 years she addedMid Day travels to ChanderGetting to Chandar was not an easy task by any means and MidDays team faced a lot of problems initially from Panshet onward and between Mangaon and Chandar the car broke down and pushing it was of no help Finally a pickup truck came to our rescue and it went out of its way to drop us off at the villageCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates