Uday Public School

If you go down to Mala Colony in Pilibhit, you will find Uday Public School. We are right by the Kanja Haraia area, and you can actually hear the trains passing by since the Mala Railway Station is so close. Sometimes the whole building vibrates a little when a heavy goods train goes through, but we are all used to it now. The school is a simple structure, nothing too big or modern. We have a courtyard where the children stand for the morning prayer, and the sun hits it directly, so it gets warm fast. Most of the kids come from the surrounding colonies and walk here through the dusty paths. We have some old maps hanging in the rooms that are a bit faded at the edges. The teachers use chalk on the blackboards, and there is always a layer of white dust on the ledges. Life here moves at a slower pace than in the big cities. We don't have high-tech gadgets; we just use books and pencils. During the monsoon, the ground gets a bit muddy, and we have to remind the students to wipe their feet before coming inside. It is just a local school trying to do its bit for the neighborhood. We know most of the parents by face because we see them every day at the gate or at the market near the station. We keep our old wooden clock in the office to stay on time.