When Ananta Kishore Rout retired after 33 years of teaching at a school in Odisha's Kendrapara district, the entire village came together on Saturday to honour him, especially for reducing the dropout rate.

Students washed his feet in public as a gesture of respect towards him amidst beating of drums.

The Koilipur village in Rajnagar block wore a festive look as Rout, who retired on August 31, participated in a procession that covered five km on Saturday on the eve of Teachers' Day, villager Basant Mallick said.

The Tetelenga primary school, of which Rout was the headmaster, earlier witnessed large scale dropout rate. Rout made it a point to visit the doorsteps of villagers to convince them to send their wards to school, remarked villager Bira Kishore Jena. This led to a remarkable drop in absenteeism in the school, he said.

"“Ananta sir is our motivation and ideal role model. He helped many poor students like me,” said Akhil Das, who is now a teacher in Rajnagar. Rout not only taught hundreds of students during his three-decade-old career but also shaped their lives," recalled Bishnu Charan Das, a local resident.

"“Many of his pupils have attained professional success in various walks of life. It was he who had imbibed the value of education in them,”" said Sarbeswar Rath, a teacher of the school.

Rout said the students knew he expected them to do their very best and they did not disappoint him. "“Even after retirement, I want to teach children in my house till the last breath,”" he added.