Triveni Tirth U B Vidhyalay

Out here in Mahuva, things move a bit slower than in the big cities. Our school is part of the local landscape in Bhavnagar, and we like it that way. The building is simple, painted a light color that has faded over the years under the Gujarat sun. We have a lot of trees around the edge of the property, which helps keep the air feeling a little cooler during the hot afternoons. You can hear the birds chirping through the open windows while the teachers are talking. It is a very normal place with regular people. We do not have a high-tech lab or anything like that, but we have enough books and chalk to get the job done. The students come from the surrounding farms and the town itself. They bring their lunches in metal tins and sit under the trees to eat. We spend a lot of time making sure the kids actually understand what they are reading. It is not always easy, especially when it is harvest time and some of them have to help out at home. We just try to be a steady part of their lives. The gate needs a bit of oil because it squeaks every time someone enters, but we never seem to get around to it. It is just a busy, dusty, honest school where everyone knows each other’s names. We stay busy with the daily routine of lessons and exams.