72-year-old joins std VII to pursue literature dream

‘CHOSE EDUCATION INSTEAD OF VISITING TEMPLES’ Vinamrata.Borwankar@timesgroup.com Mumbai: While spectacles and missing teeth are a common sight in classrooms, inside a hallway at Mumbai’s St Xavier’s Night School, you could spot grey hair too. For, at the age of 72, Mukund Chari has gone back to school to give his English literature degree dream a chance. The Grant Road resident retired as a security guard and had studied in a Marathi medium school in the 1950s. “Thrilled that I had finished Class XI, I went to a college in south Mumbai to seek admission. I wanted to study literature. But I was told the education would all be in English. I wasn’t confident of being able to cope with it since my schooling was in Marathi. I went back home disappointed and shut that chapter,” recalls Chari in his still-not-soperfect English; he is busy picking up the language at his new school. Chari had to join Class VII as he must learn English from scratch. Soon after the episode with the college principal, Chari lost his parents and had to take up jobs to support his family. “But there was one thing that always lingered at the back of my mind. I wanted a master’s degree in English literature. I haven’t read Shakespeare but I hear it is great,” he said. It was during an evening trip to Crawford Market earlier this year that he saw a group of boys in uniform, which gave him the idea of going back to school. “I feel very incomplete that I couldn’t pursue a degree because I wasn’t able to speak English. I think I have only a few years to live and I want to fix that. Instead of just spending my days visiting temples like my friends do, I picked school,” said the septuagenarian. Chari’s teachers are delighted to find him attend class regularly. “He is as enthusiastic as the young ones. In fact, he climbs up the stairs with the rest of the young boys in spite of us offering him to use the lift,” said school head, Ajit Dave.

Source: Times of India, 10/09/2018