When the students of Ramakrishna Mission HSS in Kerala's Kozhikode district returned after the Christmas holidays, they had a special gift awaiting them.
Manoj Kumar, their Malayalam teacher, had purchased and kept ready 2,500 copies of 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth', the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. The staunch Gandhian ensured every student of Class V to X got a copy of the great book.
Manoj Kumar's 23-year-long teaching career is coming to an end at the end of this academic year. The autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi was his parting gift to the students as he firmly believes life of the the great man can inspire and lead younger generations in the right path.
"His words illuminated my life. My entire life has revolved around that idea since," The New Indian Express (TNIE) quoted Manoj as saying.
The teacher ordered Malayalam version of 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth' in bulk for the students. He had a strong reason to do so. “Gandhiji told us to dream in our own language, so I distributed books translated to our mother tongue, Malayalam," he told the daily.
After the books were delivered to his house in Balussery in December by Gujarat's Navjeevan Trust, Manoj Kumar reportedly spend the Christmas holidays dividing them according to the strength of each class. He also attached a personal note for the pupils inside each copy.