Rathnam School

If you ever find yourself walking down Siddavatam Road near Vinayaka Nagar, you’ll see our gate for Rathnam School. It’s a busy little corner of the world. I remember when the road out front wasn't paved as well as it is now, and we used to get so much dust in the front office. It’s better now, but the noise of the bikes going past never really stops. Inside, the hallways are narrow and the kids are always bumping into each other between classes. We have a lot of stairs, which keeps everyone’s legs tired by the end of the week. My favorite part of the day is early morning before the bell rings, when it’s just a few of us drinking tea and getting the registers ready. The classrooms are filled with old wooden benches that have names scratched into them from years ago. We don’t try to hide that the building is old. It has its quirks, like the door in the back that sticks during the rainy season. Everyone just knows to give it a hard kick to get it open. Parents come by often to talk about their kids, usually just standing in the shade of the porch because the office gets too crowded. It’s a simple life here, just teaching and making sure nobody gets hurt on the playground. We’ve been part of this community for a long time now and we know everyone.