Mumbai : For the last three decades, a 50-year-old railway employee has been doubling up as teacher for scores of needy students and children of his colleagues for the past three decades, helping them crack several competitive exams while selflessly pursuing his passion of imparting free education to all.
Anil Mahendru, who is currently working as a Chemical and Metallurgical Superintendent at Railways’ Matunga workshop, has been giving free coaching to wards of railway employees and others for over 25 years, winning respect and appreciation for his work.
“In my early days in 1980, when I myself was a student, I started taking tuitions for money to meet the expenses of my family, but when I joined Railways in 1988 and got a permanent source of income, I started to teach for free,” he said.
Railway officers and Union leaders helped Mahendru by providing sufficient space in the Railway premises to continue his noble work. An expert in Maths and Science subjects, Mahendru is also a well-known leader of Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS), a leading union in Central Railway.
Mahendru, who tied the knot with one of his pupils in college days, says he has provided free coaching to over 1,000 students, mostly children of fellow railwaymen, of which close to 800 have cracked competitive exams including those of Railway Recruitment Board National Defence Academy (NDA) and several banks.
“I feel gratified when I teach the students of my own colleagues. I know a few cases when I gave training to a few railwaymen as my official duty and later to their children as part of my hobby,” said Mahendru.
