Originally reported and written in December 2022, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

Hailing from Pamohi village in Assam’s Kamrup district, Uttam Teron’s life was carefree and purposeless just a couple of decades ago. He would spend days roaming around the village with his friends. Once in a while, he would collect and sell firewood. But a turning point came in his life when he spotted kids playing with water and mud during one of his trekking trips.

“These children should be at school,” thought Uttam.

“I saw what life they were leading disconnected from the mainstream, so I asked their parents to send those children to my home. I turned the cowshed in my home into a classroom and started teaching them for free. My mother would cook for these children,” recalls the 47-year-old.

With just four children, Rs 800 in his pocket, and a cowshed with bamboo walls for a classroom, Uttam established a non-profit school ‘Parijat Academy’ in 2003. Today, the school imparts education to nearly 400 children with the help of 22 trained teachers.

The school is named after the parijat flower — a reference to the innocence and delicacy of children, who need to be nurtured into better human beings.

Backbencher to teacher

The BSc graduate was influenced by many career choices, but becoming a teacher was never his primary choice. Uttam, who was once a backbencher in his class, says, “I tried my hands at learning yoga, and I wanted to excel at dancing like Mithun Da and Govinda.........

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