Farm caretaker’s son creates legacy of inspiration
Imrongkumba Aier
Mokokchung, May 6
During his younger years, the idea of staying in a hostel or taking private tuitions were far-off dreams while growing up with his parents in a hut in Tzurangkong valley in Mokokchung district. His parents could hardly manage to provide a square meal a day from their meager income as caretakers of the farm, leave alone seek quality education from some private schools.
But his thirst for knowledge was insatiable from a young age. Meet seventeen year old student Buddhiman, son of a peasant – and now the top-5 ranker of the prestigious list from the Nagaland Board of School Education’s High School Leaving Certificate examinations for 2015. The teenager has now a story to tell that is by all and every means, inspiring.
Interacting with Eastern Mirror at an exclusive face-to-face on Wednesday, the soft spoken and humble Buddhiman said he understood his parents’ economic conditions, and refused to demand academic pursuit in private institutions.
Buddhiman is the eldest of four siblings in the family. His father works as a caretaker of a farm and his mother is a housewife. His father has also been working as a seasonal foreman of a brick kiln for the past three years.
His life was hard. However, Buddhiman was contented to be studying kindergarten (class-A and class-B) in a labor school in Longtho along with children of BRTF laborers. Thereafter, his parents sent him to government primary school in Chungtiayimsen where he studied till class-IV, the highest education that the school could provide. After that, he enrolled in class-V in the government high school of Tzurangkong.
And he studied.
“My health is poor, and I could not toil hard or help my father in the fields, so I diverted my energies to studies,” said the young intelligent student.
His mother, Menna Chetri, beaming with pride at her son’s success, disclosed that she and her husband could not even provide admission and paper fees. But their son’s determination inspired them to help in whatever way they could thus far. “We will give our best effort for our children’s education,” said the proud mother.
The headmistress of the government high school of Tzurangkong, Taliangla, said Buddhiman was very disciplined and punctual. “He was the first student to reach the school and clean his classroom and the bench he sat on. He asked questions for every doubt in his mind. He even spent his recess hours studying inside his classroom.” He studied so hard that his friends sometimes used to mock him that he would go mad.
Promise to a former headmistress
When asked what his motivation to succeeding was, Buddhiman cited an incident and a former teacher: “In 2011, I had a resolution with my headmistress to become a topper one day; from that day on, I put more effort in my studies,” said Buddhiman.
That headmistress who served the government school of Tzurangkong was during 2011: Temjennaro who is now promoted and serving elsewhere in Nagaland.
He has only one message now. He has achieved his dream, and he will be going to Kohima Science College, and he is aspiring to become a mechanical engineer.
In this competitive world, when a rickshaw puller’s son can become an IAS officer, when a tea seller could become the prime minister of India, then one can only pray more that the story of Buddhiman would not stop but climb higher heights.
