Meet a retired school teacher who uses dolls to make math and science easy for students

English, Mathematics and Science are the three subjects that students, especially the ones studying in government schools, find difficult to fully understand. Audio/ visual aids and other innovative methods are used in various schools to help children easily understand these subjects. But a retired government school teacher in Koppala uses dolls and toys to teach students about various theorems, science formulae and even grammar. 65-year-old Shyamanna Kulkarni was teaching Mathematics and Science in various government schools of Karnataka until retirement. When he was a little boy, he was fascinated by dolls that could move on their own. Later after growing up he studied how such dolls function and thought it to be the best way to attract school-going children. He started collecting dolls and explaining various scientific occurrences through them.

How does gravity work when a vehicle moves uphill, how should we calculate the exact pressure points to know the velocity, how about the Pythagoras theorem? Kulkarni answers all these questions and many more through beautiful narratives played out through his dolls. And just like that, the topics that usually exasperate students become fun tales that are etched in their minds with minimal effort. “Memorising or imagining numbers is never easy for kids. Most children drop out of school easily when they are bombarded with these theorems or equations. Though these are very necessary in the curriculum, not understanding these tough topics eases their decision to drop out and work in fields or other petty jobs rather than coming to school. This tendency is very high in government schools in villages. Hence I took it as a challenge to teach those children. Dolls helped me greatly” says Kulkarni. “When the teacher at school said animals balance through their tail, I didn’t understand it. But when Kulkarni master’s toy tiger moved around moving his tail, he explained how the tail of the tiger is similar to our arms while climbing a hill. I understood it immediately. Now, I remember the toy whenever that question comes in exams and I write down the answer easily. Similarly, with the gravity concept, his crane toy made me understand the whole thing very neatly. I have clearly understood how gravitational force works” said Mohan, a student who visits Kulkarni’s home to get help with his lessons.

Kulkarni’s liking for toys is well-known in the surrounding areas. Whenever there is any new model of a toy in the shops, the first call goes to him. He has a huge collection of various toys worth Rs 17 lakh, collected over 2 decades. A native of Hunagunda of Bagalkote district, he has now settled in Kushtagi of Koppala district with his family. He has Rs 12 lakh worth of dolls that help to teach English and Mathematics and around 4.5 lakh worth of dolls related to science. He has set up a separate space for these dolls. He is well known as Gombe Master meaning Doll Teacher in Kannada. Several teachers also visit him seeking help in learning easier methods to teach tough topics.