AHMEDABAD: Children of Marida village near Nadiad lovingly call him Abdul Chacha, a retired school teacher who is also known for his teaching and the life lessons he gives to his students.

In a rare gesture, this teacher, Abdul Vora, constructed goddess Saraswati temple within the village school premises for the children to be inspired. “I am a teacher first and everything else later. For me, my children are my inspiration and theirs is goddess Saraswati. So the temple,” says Vora, who had served as a teacher in the Hindu-dominated village for nearly three decades.

Vora put a large amount of his savings in the construction of the temple. “The temple took five years to be constructed. Many villagers also contributed whatever they could,’’ says Vora.

It does not end there. Vora even taught children how to perform pooja at the temple. “The temple project was initiated by Abdul Saheb and later residents of the village joined in,” says a teacher at the school.

Vora was inspired by the Saraswati temple in Kathlal while he was training in a PTC college there. “I had always wished that I build one temple for the village too,” says Vora.

Vora was born in Andhari village near Nadiad and his family was among the three Muslim families there.

“I have always got respect from every individual in this village. I served as a teacher here and would like to serve its people,” says Vora. Vora’s eldest son Sajid Vora was shot dead by unidentified goons in Nadiad town recently.

