Koraput: Prafulla Kumar Pathi, the headmaster of Lamataput Upper Primary School in Koraput district, has earned the moniker of “dancing teacher” for his unconventional method of teaching students through song and dance.
Pathi recently won the internet after a video of his unique teaching method went viral on social media.
The “dancing teacher” has again become the talk of the town, but for a more tragic reason. He has built a crematorium in the memory of his dead son.
His son, Asutosh, had died while trekking with friends on a mountain in Himachal Pradesh on May 1, 2018. He died due to paucity of oxygen.
An avid trekker, Asutosh was employed as a software engineer at TCS, Bhubaneswar. His marriage was also fixed. But then tragedy struck, leaving Pathi and his wife Arnnapurna Satpathy heartbroken.
To preserve the memory of his son, Pathi undertook the initiative of building the crematorium named ‘Asutosh Saba Mandap’.
However, seeing Pathi dancing, singing and swaying his hips along with students in the tribal-dominated area, one would hardly discern the gloom and tears that has beset his family.
“Prafulla sir’s way of teaching attracts students to attend school, especially those who are not regular. He is trying to make the process of learning more interesting. But his inner turmoil to overcome his son’s death is never reflected when he is takes classes,” said a resident of Lamataput.
He has been teaching the students in his unique style since 2008, when he was employed with Sarva Sikshya Abhiyaan as resource person.
