A 5-km forest trek every day: This 55-year-old teacher does it for just one student

For 13 years, Jivan Mithari has walked 5 km through dense forest every day to reach his school, where a single student waits for him. The 55-year-old teacher has braved rain, rough terrain and encounters with wild animals along the way. Yet none of it has weakened his commitment to teaching. He continues to make the journey every single day.

Mithari teaches at the Zilla Parishad school in Kawaltek Dhangarwada, a remote hamlet in Gaganbawada taluka of Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, near the Sindhudurg border.

The school is located 2.5 km from the nearest motorable road, leaving Mithari to walk the distance to and from school every day. Mithari joined the school on July 26, 2013, and has continued to teach there ever since.A TRANSFER THAT BECAME A COMMITMENT

Mithari’s decision to move to the remote school began almost as a challenge. Before his transfer, he served as chairman of the Kolhapur District Primary Teachers’ Cooperative Bank.

He recalled fellow teachers saying that influential people generally managed to get postings at well-connected schools, while others were left with difficult and far-flung assignments.

Mithari told PTI that he responded simply, saying, “I said I will go.” He applied for a transfer and chose the remote school. Thirteen years later, he is still there.

The school was once much busier. Kawaltek Dhangarwada and neighbouring Anandur Dhangarwada were home to around 70 to 100 families. After 2000, however, families began moving towards Kolhapur city in search of work and better livelihoods.

As the hamlet emptied, the number of school-going children also fell.

This year, only one student is officially enrolled, Class 3 student Swara Bodake. Her younger sister, who is not yet old enough for formal schooling, also attends classes because the hamlet has no anganwadi. She is expected to enter Class 1 next year.

The falling enrolment has not changed Mithari’s sense of responsibility. He believes that having fewer students does not lessen his duty as a teacher and that he must continue doing his work.THE FOREST JOURNEY

The 5-km journey to school is not without risks. The route cuts through forest where gaurs, leopards and other wildlife are frequently seen. Mithari has encountered gaurs on his way, and villagers have taught him how to respond depending on whether an animal is alone or moving in a herd.

He says the journey also comes with an understanding that he is entering the animals’ territory.

On one occasion, a leopard killed a young bullock near the settlement. Forest officials later installed a trap camera and captured hundreds of images of the animal. Mithari was advised not to stop or sit anywhere along the route while travelling to and from school.

The encounters can still frighten him. He admits that he is human and does feel scared, but after so many years, the journey has become a habit.THE NEAREST SCHOOL IS 11 KM AWAY

For the children of the hamlet, the alternative is hardly practical. The nearest school at Dhundawade is nearly 5.5 km away. For young children, that would mean travelling almost 11 km every day, a particularly difficult prospect during the monsoon.

The community largely depends on small-scale farming, firewood collection and forest produce such as jamun and karvand. Farmers use double fencing to protect their crops from frequent visits by gaurs.

In such a remote settlement, school remains an important link to education.'I HAVE TO KEEP DOING MY WORK'

Mithari will retire in May 2029. After years of making the forest trek, he says the daily walk has also become a form of exercise. But he believes the school needs a compound wall to improve the safety and security of the children.

For now, his routine remains unchanged: a 5-km walk through the forest, a classroom at the end of it, and one student waiting to learn.