A Teacher Swims Through A River To Reach Students On Time

By R. Siva Kumar - 17 Aug '15 10:03AM

A T Abdul Mallik is an amazing teacher. Since 1992, he has left no stone unturned to reach school on time. Including walking---and swimming through a river.

Having taught a Muslim Lower Primary School at Padinjattumuri in Malappuram district of Kerala since 1992, he found that initially, he would be late for school when he changed two buses and walked about two kilometers, in order to reach school in three hours, according to thelogicalindian.

To save time, he just decided to swim across river Kadalundipuzha everyday. It took him 10 minutes from his house to reach the riverbank and three minutes to walk to school after he crossed the river. As he is earning Rs 25,000 ($400) a month, he managed to save Rs 30 ($0.50) a day.

As soon as he reached the river, he would wrap his clothes in a plastic cover and swim across the river with the plastic cover above his head. On the other side, he would wear his clothes again and then walk across to the school.

"If I go by bus, it takes me three hours to cover the 12-kilometre distance, but swimming through the river is easier, faster and I reach school on time," he said, once he came out of the river in 15 minutes, according to ndtv.

"I haven't had any problem so far," he added.

As he is a "staunch environmentalist and a swimming enthusiast", he hopes that his students would learn the right lessons from him.

Last year, on Teachers' Day (5th September), he was appreciated by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa. Another mental health doctor from England lauded his efforts and donated him a fiberglass boat.

But in the last 19 years, he has finished swimming a length that was calculated to be equivalent to the English Channel, and can total upto about 700 kilometres in 35 years!