| Great Personalities |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
MADANA MOHANA MALAVIYA |
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| A New SchoolSome of the boys of Madana Mohan's age used to attend schools where
English was taught. He saw this and he also wanted to learn English. The English schools
charges heavy fees. Could a poor family pay such heavy fees to send their boy to such a
school? However, where there is a will, there is a way. Vrajanath understood the son's
wish. At the mention of the high fees to be paid to the school, Madana Mohana's mother
Moona Devi pledged her gold bangle with a rich man, Lala Gayaprasad and got the money. The
father admitted the boy to the school.
'Gordon Sahib' was a teacher in the English school. He was very strict as strict as in an army. The pupils had to be in the school in time if they were not in time they were punished. In Madana Mohan's house, fresh food was never ready for him in time to attend the school. He had, therefore, to eat food cooked the previous day and run to the school. So pathetic was the condition of his family at that time. Although times were hard the boy Madana Mohana did not lose heart. Within a few days he stood out as the best boy of his class in the pronunciation and writing of English. So he became his teacher's favorite student. The boy did not even have a place at home where he could study comfortably. A classmate, Ganga Prasad by name, lived just a few paces from the house. Immediately after sunset Madana Mohana used to walk with an oil lamp to the house of his classmate and study there. He would return in the morning. This was his daily routine in those days. On his return from school he would exercise without fail. He was the first where service and discipline were needed. He was devoted to the study of music. He learnt to play on the flute and the sitar. In the Morning and the evenings his father taught him to sing the songs of Meera and Suradas. So, inspite of poverty, the boy spent happy days. |
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