She's a 27-year-old wife and mother, nothing unusual in that. But, this young woman, variously called didi, apa, ma'am and bhabhi, is one of Jharia's best-loved teachers despite her not yet having a single degree.
Meet Shabnam Khatoon, wife of motor mechanic Abdul Gaffar and educated only up to Class VII, but who has been teaching over 100 children for free in the courtyard of her Chouthai Kulhi locality home on Dhanbad-Sindri Road in Jharia since the past two years.
Children apart, a handful of poor illiterate women of various adjoining localities of Chouthai Kulhi, including Upper Kulhi, Horiladih, Bhagabandh, Bhalgora, Thana More, Shamsher Nagar and Baniahir also come to learn alphabets and counting from Shabnam, again free of cost.
Daughter of a well-known Jharia businessman, Shabnam fell in love with Gaffar while she was in school and went against her parents to marry him, but poverty prevented her from continuing her education after Class VII.
"Money constraints prevented me from pursuing formal education when I came to my in-laws' house. But, I've always loved studies. So, I read books and newspapers and whatever came within reach to keep my mind from rusting," Shabnam said.
A couple of years ago, from the newspaper, she came to know about a Jharia society named Samadhan that imparted free education to poor children on terraces and open parks.
"I visited Jharia's children park during a Samadhan class where I was so impressed that I decided I must teach children too. Society founder Chandan Singh agreed to send nearby children to my house. Now, over 100 children come to study from 8am to 5pm in batches," said the wife and mother, who described herself a "teacher and learner".
Though educated up to Class VII, she said she could "comfortably" teach Hindi and Urdu medium students up to Class X. And now, she is planning to appear for Class X exam of Jharkhand Academic Council next year.
"I got confidence to teach when I started overseeing the studies of my son when he joined school," she added, referring to Hasnain Raza, now seven and a student of nearby Little Rose School.
And, she doesn't forget to thank husband Gaffar. "He's not educated but helps me in everything I do," she said. "He even accompanies me to rallies under Samadhan's banner to make the masses aware of the importance of education."
Gaffar agreed that progress without education was impossible. "Every social vice, from crime to drug addiction to female foeticide is in some way linked to the lack of education. That's why I feel Shabnam is doing the right thing by spreading education in society. I'm proud of my wife."
Her students feel the same. Eleven-year-old Sandhya Kumari, daughter of Bablu Pandey, a daily wager in Jharia, walks up to Shabnam's home every day to study. "If ma'am wasn't here, I couldn't have studied as I know my father doesn't have money," she said.
