**Bhubaneswar:** A chai-walla getting Besant Selfless Service Award-2016, an international award for social work is no small feat. But for D.Prakash Rao, this award conferred by Theosophical Order of Service was just another award and felicitation in his long list of awards. The award ceremony was held in Bhubaneswar commemorating National Conference on Theosophical Education and 3rd TOS Regional Conference. The unassuming Cuttack tea-stall owner makes sure that the children of the nearby slum dwellers get proper education, his basic aim being to train their minds towards education.
A dilapidated tea-stall on roadside at Buxi Bazar, Cuttack with an unassuming owner, serving tea to his customers, having some containers with cookies and biscuits stacked in front of him is nothing new, but this particular tea stall of D. Prakash Rao has been invaded by media persons time and again to capture the heart within the person.
“I was not able to complete my matriculation as I did not have Rs 42 to fill up my form. Always aiming to be a doctor, I had to content myself by becoming a chai-walla. But when I saw young boys and girls roaming without any aim in the nearby slum area, I wanted to make a change in their lives,” reveals D.Prakash Rao.
They used to get involved in rag-picking, begging, petty crimes, etc. To motivate them into studying I initially provided them with free milk and biscuits at my two-roomed home, where I used to teach them. Slowly and steadily, the numbers increased and now 70 children are studying in the school. My basic aim was to train their minds towards education,” he added.
These under privileged children study till class 3 in this school named Asha O Ashwasana after which he ensures that the passed out kids get enrolled in government schools for further studies. He is known not only for his love of imparting knowledge to slum children but to donate his blood every now and again.
Adjudged as the highest blood donor in whole of Asia, he has donated blood for around 209 times and platelets for 17 times.
“At 18, I was saved by an anonymous blood donor when I got paralysed for around six months years back. I had free medical aid, free food and help from the concerned hospital, so I became indebted. To pay back, I started donating blood soon after, and am still continuing,”informs a beaming Rao.
Local clubs and donors have come forward to help the 58-yr old chai walla, and he has moved undauntingly towards his goal. His daily routine involves selling tea to eke out a living and spending most of his earnings on the school, going to school to provide meals to the children, then moving to the SCB Medical for distributing free milk packets, donating blood, etc.
“My husband spends most of his time in social work. Though I am proud and happy for his deeds, still a complaint always remains at the back of my mind that he seldom does anything for me. I don’t remember getting a saree from him after all these years of marriage,” complains P. Bijayalaxmi, his wife, a staff nurse at a government hospital.
Always aimed to be a doctor when in school, he now proclaims himself to be the best tea-maker of the world. Earning Rs 600 per day on an average, he sets aside Rs 300 for his philanthropic works, and collects Rs 9000 in this way monthly. The amount goes for the salary of the four teachers he has hired for the school.
The mid day meal cooked and served runs totally on public aid as the government is not entitled to proved mid day meals to private schools.
A recipient of many awards and allocations at state as well as national level, Rao feels elated by the fact that he is the ‘chosen one’ able to serve others and has struck upon a wonderful way of righting a wrong, of changing and saving lives.
