Bhubaneswar: Padma Shri awardee and Centenarian Teacher from Odisha, Nanda Prusty (fondly called Nanda Sir) passed away in a private hospital in here on Tuesday. He had been admitted in a Bhubaneswar on November 30 after testing positive for Covid- 19.
Nanda Prusty has been conferred the Padma Shri award for his contributions in the field of education. A teacher and a social reformer by heart, this centenarian had dedicated almost seven decades of his life for free teaching to the poor and unprivileged children of his own and near-by villages.
Coming from the Jajpur district of Odisha, he had to leave education after class 7th. Later, his maternal uncle got him a job opportunity in Cuttack but his father disapproved, so the young Nanda, stayed back at village and helped his aging father in farming. But, his earnest love for education made him a preacher a teacher and a torch-bearer of his his village.
He refuses any support from the government and also from the Sarpanch of Bartanda village for a proper Class-room teaching comforts. He continued with his open and old-tree shed Chatasali of his own. Prusty, a resident of Kantira village in Sukinda block, had been admitted to a hospital in Kalinga Nagar area of Jajpur district on November 30 complaining of uneasiness. He tested positive for Covid at the hospital. His family later took him to the Jajpur district headquarters hospital and Tata Covid hospital for further treatment. However, when his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to a private Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he breathed his last today. As per hospital sources, the resolvent and God’s own disciple at the age of 104, Nanda Sir, has breathed his last at 1.18 PM on Tuesday afternoon. People from all corners of Odisha, Political leaders, and well-wishers are sending condolences for the departed soul.
