Babar Ali is an inspirational story based on true events, written by Indian author and entrepreneur Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma. The story explores themes such as poverty, education, and the power of action.
Babar Ali By Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma
Summary of Babar Ali By Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma
The story revolves around 16-year-old Babar Ali. He is the principal of Anand Shiksha Niketan School. Babar Ali is the youngest principal in the world and provides free education to hundreds of students around his family’s home. Babar Ali is a man who lives not only for himself but also for others. He wants to bring positive change to the world and works hard to achieve it. At the beginning of the story, the author describes Babar Ali’s daily routine.
He wakes up at 7 a.m. and begins his day with household chores. After completing his household chores, Babar leaves for school. To reach school, he first takes an auto rickshaw and then walks 5 kilometers to reach the school. His school is called Kasimbazar Raj Govinda Sundari Vidyapeeth.
Babar is a slender, well-built, smart, and intelligent boy and wears a blue and white uniform. Babar is the first in his family to receive a proper education. While teenagers would rush to the field after school to play cricket and football, Babar Ali attended an afternoon school where he was the headmaster of 800 students.
In the following story, the author describes Babar Ali’s school. His school was called Anand Shiksha Niketan. The condition of Babar’s school was very poor, and students studied under the open sky. The author describes Babar Ali as a privileged person.
There are two reasons for this: first, Babar Ali was one of those students who had the opportunity to attend school and receive an education. Second, Babar Ali was the son of Nasiruddin Sheikh, a jute seller. His father believed that education was the true religion of humanity. Initially, Babar Ali’s business was supported by his father’s income. This meant that Babar Ali received support from his father throughout his schooling.
Education at the school was free, yet many families were unable to support their children because, while education was free, uniforms and books were not. Therefore, many boys began working at a young age to help their families financially. They worked as mechanics, laborers, grass cutters, and cattle herders to support their families. Girls worked as maids in the homes of wealthy villagers. For these reasons, Babar Ali decided to provide free education to underprivileged students.
Anand Shiksha Niketan School began as a game. When Babar Ali was 9 years old, he would play school games with his friends. His friends had never attended school, so he wanted to be a student, learning mathematics through school games. But soon, it became a reality.
Anand Shiksha Niketan School was founded with 8 students. It gradually grew, and over the next 9 years, the school grew from 8 students to 220 students, and a total of 800 students.
Subsequently, the school began receiving government and private support. The school now has 10 volunteer teachers teaching from grades 1 to 8. Ananda Shiksha Niketan School is now registered and recognized by the West Bengal state government. This means that Ananda Shiksha Niketan students are now eligible to transfer to other local high schools.
Following these recognitions, Babar Ali became the youngest teacher at the age of 16. Children from the village and surrounding villages come to Babar Ali’s afternoon school after finishing their work until noon.
The story now includes a new female character, Tulu Rani Hazra, a fish seller who supports Babar Ali’s initiative. Wherever Tulu Rani goes to sell her fish, she meets parents who have stopped sending their children to school. She persuades them to send their children back to school. She also recruits new students to the school. Tulu Rani has already recruited approximately 80 students.
Nine of the teaching staff were high school students. Dabrita Bhattacharya was the most educated of them all. She went to college in Berhampur. Ananda Shiksha Niketan School doesn’t have a school building; students attend classes outdoors. They also provide midday meals. Initially, the rice for the midday meals came from Babar Ali’s father’s fields.
But now it is managed by social workers and the West Bengal government. Ananda Shiksha Niketan’s teachers are students themselves, and there’s no generation gap between them. This is an advantage because it helps them capture students’ attention. It has fostered friendly relationships between teachers and students. They also provide free textbooks to students from grades one to five.
In the story, we learn how a 16-year-old boy transformed the lives of children in his village. Babar Ali not only changed the lives of his village children, but also those of children in surrounding villages.