Nanda Prusty
A Jajpur teacher known as Nanda Sir who taught villagers free under a tree for 75 years, honoured with the Padma Shri at 102 in 2021.
Nanda Prusty, known in his village as “Nanda Sir”, was a teacher from Jajpur in Odisha who taught generations of children for free, from the time of independence. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of literature and education, from Odisha [1].
A grocer who could count
Prusty was born on 1 January 1919 into a family that struggled for money, and studied only up to Class 7 [2]. After he married he opened a grocery shop in his village [2]. Serving customers, he noticed that many could not work out how much money they owed [2]. He decided to rid his village of illiteracy, and began teaching children and adults [2].
The school under the tree
For 75 years he ran his school under a tree in the village [2]. Besides children, he taught grown-ups to write their names and do simple sums [2]. He was 102 when the award was announced [2].
Nanda Prusty died in December 2021 [3].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2021: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2021: citation for Nanda Prusty — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [3] Padma Shri awardee Nanda Kishore Prusty passes away, PM condoles demise — Morung Express. Accessed 24 October 2026.
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