This Teacher Climbs 'Sholay Hill' Every Morning To Search For His Students And Bring Them Back To School!

The rocky hills of Sholay near Ramanagara hold an interesting story, and two teachers play key roles in this real-life account.

TOI

When the government decided to set up a school near Ramadevara Betta - on the fringes of Ramanagara town, about 50km from Bengaluru, and made more famous by the 1975 Bollywood drama, Sholay - some 16 years ago, little did it realize that teachers' work would extend beyond the principles of pedagogy.

The school was established to bring the children of a minority tribe called Iruliga into mainstream schooling. The foothills is home to about 70 Iruliga families, which fan out in 350 acres of the forest land around the Betta in a massive hunt for beehives. Their children, too, go in different directions, some trekking the treacherous hill, for the riches.

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Some children sprawl themselves out in front of Ram temple atop the hill, seeking alms. Others choose to spend the night on top of the hill, which is considered the country's second biggest vulture sanctuary and is also a favourite destination of trekkers, especially from Bengaluru.

The school with headmistress Jayamma and teacher Nagaraju has to bring Iruliga students from far and wide to start the day. Thus, the search for students begins every day. After arriving at the school by 9.30am, Jayamma goes student-hunting in every lane of the Iruliga colony. An anganwadi teacher, identified as Susheela, helps Jayamma in locating girl students. Jayamma's colleague Nagaraj's job is least liked by his fraternity: Every day, he climbs over 300 steps of the hill to fetch students to the classroom. The school has 36 students in classes I to V. Besides classrooms, it has a kitchen, toilets and a bathroom. Jayamma joined the school four years ago, and Nagaraju has been there since its inception.

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Bringing students to the school is half the story. Since the children are from tribal families, very few have a regular bath or a haircut. Between them, women teachers pick up a pair of scissors or a bar of soap and bucket of water to give students a fresh look and make them school-ready.

A bathroom was attached to the school at a cost of Rs 40,000 after Nagaraju made a request to philanthropists. The students are given a bath thrice a week in the school.

Nagaraju, who knows the Betta terrain intimately, admits it's very tiring to climb the hill every day to bring students to the school. "But students' future is at stake here. If we don't prod them to study, then they may end up like their parents as daily-wage workers. It's our duty to guide these children into schools," he says.