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Delhi Teacher: A picture of courage

For somebody who has to perform all his tasks with just one leg, Sidhnath Verma is a picture of grit and determination against all odds. With no hands and just one leg, Verma, 43, stood tall among 366 teachers awarded for meritorious services on Teachers Day by President Pratibha Patil, who specially came down from the dais to present him the prize.

New Delhi: For somebody who has to perform all his tasks with just one leg, Sidhnath Verma is a picture
of grit and determination against all odds. With no hands and just one leg, Verma, 43, stood tall among 366 teachers awarded for meritorious services on Teachers Day by President Pratibha Patil, who specially came down from the dais to present him the prize. Awards, however, are no measure of success for the government school teacher, who says, "A person should keep on with the hard work even after getting awards". Teaching at the Government Navin Girls` Middle School in Jabalpur for the last 18 years, his story is a tale of what dedication and determination can achieve. Born without his two hands and a leg, Verma completed his LLB, MCom and BEd after which he appeared for railway, banking and even state judicial services examinations. "I have written all my exams with my leg and even perform the basic tasks of life like eating, shaving and turning the pages of a book with my leg," he says. "I had even cleared the written test of the judicial services examinations, but they asked for five years after LLB, which I did not have at that time". Judiciary`s loss was, however, teaching`s gain as he soon started teaching English in a middle school.