“Ravaana hon toh pehla tuaade sabnu ek vaar milan di dilo ichha hai,” this message from Sohan Lal, a government schoolteacher at GPS Mandala, was enough to make an entire village emotional. It was not simply a farewell message, for the students, parents and villagers of Mandala, it was much more. It was the realisation that a teacher who had become an inseparable part of their lives was leaving.That day, Sohan Lal’s phone was flooded with calls and messages. Some went to his home to meet him. Students cried and asked him not to go. Parents struggled to hold back their emotions. After more than four years of sharing classrooms, conversations, celebrations and difficult days with their teacher, saying goodbye was not easy.Sohan Lal has now moved to Fatehgarh Sahib following his transfer. But in Mandala, his departure has left behind a void.From Chandigarh to MandalaWhen Sohan Lal joined GPS Mandala in 2022, settling into village life was not easy. He had come from Chandigarh, along with his wife and child, and adapting to a new environment took time. But gradually, Mandala stopped feeling like a posting and began feeling like home.He earned the trust of the villagers, built a close bond with his students and became deeply involved with the school.The school itself underwent a visible transformation. From improving its surroundings to introducing greenery and making the campus more welcoming, Sohan Lal worked to create an environment where children would feel proud to study. His teaching style, too, became a talking point.”People would often say, ‘Mandala school de bache alag hi disde hai,'” Sohan Lal recalls.For him, that was the greatest reward — children who carried themselves with confidence, and discipline.Homework rewarded with steel plates, bowlsIn his school, instead of conventional prizes, students who consistently submitted quality homework were rewarded with steel plates and bowls engraved with their names and the school’s name.Last year, 26 of the school’s 80 students were selected for the awards for their excellent work during the summer holidays, fulfilling a promise Sohan Lal had made to them. The idea had a personal connection. During his own childhood, he remembered schools rewarding students with utensils.For Sohan Lal, the initiative was not about the value of the prize. It was about making children feel that their hard work mattered.Sohan Lal stepped forward during floods of 2023, 2025Also, his relationship with Mandala was not limited to school hours. During the floods of 2023 and again in 2025, Sohan Lal was among those who stepped forward to help everyone. He helped deliver sandbags to vulnerable sites and worked alongside others as the village faced the threat of rising waters.Even now that Sohan Lal has moved to Fatehgarh Sahib, parents of the students studying in Mandala school haven’t forget him. Jaswinder Kaur, mother of Shubham, said her son was still struggling to accept that his favourite teacher had left.In a voice note sent to Sohan Lal, she broke down while telling him how difficult it was to see him go.” You should not have gone, Sir. It is very difficult for us. My son was so happy when you were here,” she said.Ravi Masih, father of Joel and Sahil, also thanked the teacher for everything he had done for the children and the school. “We will never get a teacher like him,” he said.Sohan Lal had kept news of his transfer to himself for some time because he knew it would be painful for the students and their parents. He had seen how deeply the children had become attached to him. But eventually, the day came.”I am now in Fatehgarh Sahib, closer to my parents. At their age, they need me, and I want to be near them,” he says. “But Mandala students will always be there in my heart.”