The government of India, like every year, had conferred several people with Padma Shri Award on the Republic Day. And one among those people was Harekala Hajabba, an orange seller.
What could have an orange seller done to receive such an honour? Well, it’s something even the most financially-stable people won’t even think of doing.
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Harekala Hajabba, who has never received any kind of formal education, has received the award for building a school for the unprivileged in the village. An IFS officer had shared his story in a tweet detailing his efforts.
“Harekala Hajabba was in a line on a ration shop when authorities informed him that he got Padma Shri,” says the tweet posted by IFS officer Parveen Kaswan. “This fruit seller from Dakshin Kannada is educating poor children in his village of Newpadapu from a decade in a mosque. Doing all the efforts including spending his savings,” reads the caption further.
The reason why Hajabba decided to build a school entails yet another interesting story. He recalls that he felt “handicapped” when once a foreigner asked him the price of fruits in English.
I know this guy personally… There has been a full fledged Government school in place for a several years now, it's the Karnataka board syllabus that is taught.
— #NuclearGandhi (@theangryblue) January 26, 2020
That was the moment when he decided to start a primary school “so that the young children of my village would not go through a similar situation”.
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With his daily earings of Rs. 150 and some savings, he opened a school for 2,000. Local authorities had also helped him in the efforts.
He is the real influencer, the real hero and a deserved recipient of the recognition. M really happy to see today the country is recognizing the efforts of a common Indian in the likes of him and Tulasi Gowda ji.
— Akshay Shetty (@akkiiboye) January 26, 2020
This is the true art of giving to make education a part of their living. A real hero
— ramakrishna prasad (@luttufuttu) January 26, 2020
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A selfless unsung hero served this selfish society for a decade ???
— P R E M (@_IamPrem_) January 26, 2020
I'm really really happy that, at last he got due recognition.
I take a Bow to this Superman's Nobel deeds
