Sun Shine Senior Secondary School

Out here in Bhuna, life moves at its own pace. The school is a familiar sight for anyone living in this part of Fatehabad. It is not tucked away; it is right there where the local roads meet. We have a plain building that has seen a lot of Haryana summers. The walls are thick to keep out the heat, but in June, it is still a struggle to stay cool. You can see the fields not too far off, and during harvest time, the air smells like dry grass and dust. We have students coming in from all the nearby villages. Most of them walk or cycle, and they leave their bikes in a big heap near the back fence. The classrooms are simple. We use chalkboards mostly, and the white dust gets on everything, especially the teachers' clothes. We have a small office where we keep all the paper records in heavy steel almirahs. Sometimes the power goes out for an hour or two, and we just open the windows and keep going with the lesson. It is a practical kind of place. We do not have fancy carpets or glass walls. It is just bricks, benches, and a lot of books. The bell is a heavy piece of metal that someone hits with a hammer to mark the periods. It is loud enough to be heard across the street. We are just local people teaching local kids and getting through the day.