The Doon Dhruva Public School

This place is located out in Manduwala, near Suddhowala, which is a bit of a drive from the center of Dehradun. You have to go via Premnagar to get here. Because we’re a bit out of the way, it’s a bit quieter than the schools in the city. There are plenty of trees around, and you can see the hills if the weather is clear enough. The school is spread out a bit, with different sections for the younger and older kids. We have a gravel path that leads up to the main office, and it’s always a bit of a crunch under your feet. The classrooms are basic, with wooden desks and windows that look out onto the greenery. We don't have a lot of high-tech gadgets; it’s mostly just books and chalk. The mornings are usually cool, but it warms up by the afternoon when the buses arrive to take everyone home. It’s a long route for some of the drivers, so we have to be organized. The staff usually brings their own tiffins and we eat together in the small break room. It’s a very regular life here, nothing like what you see in the movies. We just try to keep the kids focused on their studies and make sure the building stays in one piece. Sometimes the monkeys come around the trees, but we just leave them be and focus on the lessons.