Savitribai Phule, a social reformer, educationalist and poet was born on 3rd January 1831 in Naigaon village in Satara District, Maharashtra. She and her husband – Jyotirao Phule fought relentlessly to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on gender and caste. They founded one of the first modern school for girls in India in Pune and always insisted that education should give one the ability to choose between right and wrong and between truth and untruth.
A pioneering feminist, Savitribai played a critical role in empowering and educating women and challenged regressive social conventions by performing her husband’s last rites. Her published works include anthology of poems titled ‘Kavya Phule’ (1854), ‘Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar’ (1892), and a poem entitled ‘Go, Get Education’. She passed away on 10th March 1897 in Pune.
‘The Greatest Wealth’ is a simple but evocative poem which exhorts one to study hard and get educated because knowledge is wealth.
Early in the morning, Perform your ambulation, Having become clean and tidy, Pay your respects to parents and elders. Remembering the name of God, Immerse yourself in studies, Waste not these precious days, by insisting on going home. Study hard, get educated, Treat knowledge as your God, Diligently take advantage of it, Concentrating with all your heart. Knowledge is wealth, Greater than all riches, Wise is considered he, Who acquires it.
