Gowthama Buddha Higher Secondary School

If you head down the Main Road in Irumbilikurichi, you will find Gowthama Buddha Higher Secondary School at number 53. It is a busy spot because the road is one of the main ways people get through the town. Our school has been standing here for quite a while, and the walls show it in a few places where the plaster has worn down. We have a lot of students coming in every morning, and the front gate is always a bit of a crowded mess around eight o'clock. The classrooms are basic, with old wooden desks that have seen many years of use. We don't have a lot of extra space, so we use every corner of the building for something, whether it is storing sports gear or keeping old library books. The teachers here are mostly locals who have lived in Irumbilikurichi their whole lives. We don't go in for big speeches or fancy events; we just follow the state curriculum and try to keep the fans running when it gets humid. You can hear the market nearby and the buses shifting gears as they go past the front door. Sometimes the goats from the neighborhood wander near the entrance, and we have to shoo them away. It is just a normal, everyday school where things happen at a steady pace. We take care of the students and make sure the place stays open, even when the monsoon rains make the yard a bit muddy.