Lockdown effect: Bengal teacher makes tent on tree to take online classes

A teacher in West Bengal's Bankhura district has set up a bamboo structure on a neem tree to take online classes for his students. The teacher said that his students are very supportive and their attendance is also high.

Kolkata (West Bengal): A 35-year old West Bengal teacher is taking online classes by setting up a bamboo structure to teach his students during lockdown in Bankura district.

Every morning, Pati climbs up the neem tree next to his house and stations himself on a makeshift wooden platform tied to its branches to teach history to his students.

Pati, who teaches at two educational institutions in Bengal namely Adamas and RICE University doesn't find the chore tiring.

"I have temporarily shifted from my Kolkata residence to Ahanda, which is a part of the state's Jangalmalal area, to be with my family in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Taking online classes is difficult because of the poor internet. So I had to look for a solution," he said.

Pati takes food and water with him to the tree-top platform, made of bamboo, gunny sacks and hay, on days when he has to conduct two to three classes at a stretch.

"Sometimes the heat and the urge to pee bother me, but I am trying to adjust... sometimes storms and thundershower damage the platform, but I try and fix it the next day. Under no circumstances I would want my students to be inconvenienced," he told the reporters.

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The attendance is usually high for his classes, said Pati with a broad smile.

Asked about response from students, he said, "My students keep boosting my confidence. They have always been very supportive. They assured me that they would put in their best efforts to score well in my paper," he said.

Pati explained that villagers often build 'machan' (makeshift watchtower) on tree-tops during the harvest season to keep an eye on elephants straying into their fields.

"It is a common practice here. I sought help from some of my friends and together we set up the bamboo platform for my classes," he said.

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Samit Ray, the chancellor of Adamas University, said the institute was proud of Pati.

He has been very sincere about his work from the start. He is shining example of how to surmount obstacles with hard work and willpower, he added.(WITH INPUTS FROM PTI)