60-year-old porter who guides foreigners with his English diction

Shivdas Gupta, the 60-year-old porter, has gone beyond the norm by learning English and guiding foreigners who arrive at Gaya junction, railway station.

Gaya: Non-Hindi or Bhojpuri speakers, especially foreigners who arrive at Gaya junction railway station heave a sigh of relief after talking to 60-year-old porter, Shivdas Gupta. After scrambling over the linguistic barrier, Gupta's English words come to their rescue. Gupta manages to guide travellers with his self-taught English.

Gupta's zeal in learning new languages turned out to be the saviour for passersby. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Gupta said "I am a human first, then a porter. It is my duty to help people." Quite passionately, he said in English, " Work is worship...Duty is god. Always try to do your duty." He also said that inspiration comes from one's own thoughts. "Once you set an aim, you will work for it. My instigation enabled me to do this," he said.

When asked how he learnt the language, he said that he learnt it from children who were studying English. He picked up small words, asked them for translation. Slowly, he learnt about verbs, usage of words and grammar. He learnt to read, write and speak English, Bhojpuri of his own will. "With my broken English, I help people. People will be confused about train number, coach position and I help them with my knowledge," he said. When he speaks in English, elated travellers smile at him and ask for clarifications.

Another porter Ashok Paswan said that Gupta is a great help for all. When people ask them anything, they run in a frenzy to Gupta and he solves it with ease, said Paswan. Gupta basks in glory as he reads the English newspaper with pride. The elder man who set no bar for age in learning is a model to behold and inspired.