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My school life was truly beautiful. I started going to school when I was just 3 or 4 years old—without even being officially admitted. The school was Sumura Primary High School. My elder sister and brother used to go there and seeing them going to school, I also wanted to go there. If they didn’t take me along, I would cry. The next day, I started leaving the house early—before they could stop me—just so I could go with them.
In this way, I attended school unofficially for nearly two years, sitting in classes for free. Finally, in 1999, I got officially admitted. I started Class 1 in 2001, Class 2 in 2002, and continued my journey year by year. I completed my matriculation in 2010 and passed my intermediate (+2) in 2012.
I studied from Class 1 to Class 5 at Sumura Primary School. At that time, the school in our village only went up to Class 5. When I got admitted, the headmaster was Divakara Naik, who used to come from Gopalpur. The assistant teacher was Ashit Xess. Both teachers were very supportive and caring when it came to my education.
Once, I got into trouble for being mischievous and was punished by Divakara Sir with a wooden scale—it broke while hitting me! As for Ashit Sir, he didn’t hold back either when I misbehaved, but that’s probably because he was like family—he was my distant maternal uncle (Restedaria mamu).
Despite the mischief, I was a topper student when it came to reading and writing. One day, Ashit Sir looked at my homework and asked, “Whose handwriting is this?” He thought it was my elder brother’s work. When I said it was mine, he didn’t believe me. The next day, he gave us another homework assignment and tested me again in class. I proved myself by writing on the blackboard—and he was finally convinced.
My education continued like this, and those years from Class 1 to Class 5 became truly unforgettable. During that time, all the children from our village used to walk to school together. My village is Banjikachhar, which is about 4 kilometers from Sumura. Around 5–6 of us would walk that distance every day to attend Sumura Primary School.
We all carried school bags made from cement sacks, the kind that are now commonly found in Grocery Market. Along with that, we carried an extra cement sack to sit on at school. We also took a plate with us for the mid-day meal provided at school, and of course, our notebooks and textbooks.