Abdul Mallik

At 9 am on a weekday, Abdul Mallik is busy wading through neck-high water, a tyre-tube around his waist, his tiffin box and shoes held in one hand above the muddy river.

It’s hardly the average morning commute, but for this 40-year-old teacher, it’s all in a day’s work.

This is what it takes Mr Mallik to get to the primary school where he has been employed for 20 years in a village in the Malappuram district of Kerala.
“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 says, after he emerges from the river 15 minutes later.

As he arrives at his classroom, a bunch of excited students surround him with their offerings of cards and letters for Teacher’s Day.