Kannada teacher in Marathi school serving Kannada interest for 30 years

Kannada teacher did not know Marathi and students did not know Kannada. No transport and students daily walked 8 km to school. To ass to the woes even text books were not distributed. But nothing stopped Muddappa Basappa Bilekal from teaching Kannada and encouraging people from surrounding villages too to learn Kannada. He even inspired the government to start a Kannada school there. Such is the success story of this Kannada teacher at Godhuli village, Khanapur taluk in the Dharawad-Belagavi border area.

Though Khanapur is in Karnataka, everybody spoke and studied in Marathi. When Muddappa was posted at this school, there was no place to stay. He rented a house in Alnavar, 8 km away from school. There was no transport and hence he walked.

He realised that to make the children learn Kannada he should be the first to learn Marathi, and he did so. He went from door to door asking children to come to school and convinced them that Kannadigas should learn Kannada. Gradually his efforts paid off. But Muddappa did not get any promotion because he was a Kannada teacher in a Marathi school. But did not change his attitude and continued to serve the Kannada interest.

At first, he started teaching V and VI standard students. Gradually he extended his service to students from class I to VII. Slowly the entire village started speaking in Kannada. Then Muddappa urged the villagers to demand a Kannada school at Godhuli. People responded and it is 10 years since the Government Higher Secondary Kannada School at Godhuli is established.

Today there are several officials in the government and other private sectors who were his students. They remember their teacher with pride.

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