In unprecedented times like these, amidst the coronavirus lockdown when business isn't as usual, people are finding creative yet effective ways to get business as close to 'usual' as possible. For instance, Subrata Pati is conducting his daily classes from the top of a neem tree in his village

The history teacher is giving lessons to his students from his native Ahanda village in West Bengalâs Bankura district, which is about 200 km away from Kolkata, on seminal importance that shaped civilizations and conquests by kings and generals

© BCCL

Subrata Pati teaches at two educational institutes in Kolkata. However, taking online classes has been a struggle from his native village. In fact, his phone screen has been frozen in the past while taking these classes, exasperated, as he was about to give up, he was struck by the innovative idea of climbing a tree to see if a change of altitude made a difference in catching network on his phone, and it, in fact, did make a difference.

For Subrata Pati, this was the beginning of a new routine. Every morning, the 35-year-old man climbs up the neem tree next to his house and settles in on a makeshift wooden platform tied to its branches that makes hours of teaching more comfortable whilst sitting on the tree. Then, he receives an uninterrupted signal on his phone which he uses to teach his students with.

© BCCL

âI have temporarily shifted from my Kolkata residence to Ahanda, which is a part of the stateâs Jangalmalal area, to be with my family in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. That done, I couldnât have shrugged off my responsibility as a teacher. The Internet network here is mostly patchy, so I had to look for a solution,â said the history teacher at Adamas University and RICE Education.

He also makes it a point to take food and water with him to the tree-top, made of bamboo, gunny sacks, and hay.

âSometimes the heat and the urge to pee bother me, but I am trying to adjust... sometimes storms and thundershower damage the platform, but I try and fix it the next day. Under no circumstances I would want my students to be inconvenienced,â he told PTI.

âThe students keep boosting my confidence. They have always been very supportive. They assured me that they would put in their best efforts to score well in my paper,â he told Hindustan Times.

People are applauding him for 'taking education to new heights', quite literally.

Good to see that somebody is taking education to new heights in India :p

â Gallimimus (@Gallim1mus) April 21, 2020

At least, we have internet in the age of lockdown.

Digital India ð¤·ð»

â MeEr (@MeEr93736930) April 21, 2020

People also think that he should be awarded for his efforts.

He should be encouraged and awarded for his efforts.

â rao_sh AISSMSCOP (@aissmscop) April 21, 2020

And some people saw the opportunity to make fun of the situation as well.

#CoronavirusLockdown | Teacher climbs tree for internet connectivity to teach students during lockdownhttps://t.co/5pH1rfu0DW pic.twitter.com/GhsxXuyjrA

â Hindustan Times (@htTweets) April 21, 2020

Regardless, we're glad his students aren't missing out on history lessons.

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