MY SCHOOL CHUMS

            Most of my school classmates were  impish, inquisitive and adventurous. Our school days at Raikia were boisterous, but memorable. We would make the best use of the leisure hours , holidays and weekend time by climbing hills in Jamapenu  forest regions where the fabled the Basantisagar dam is located. We would climb fig trees to eat the sweet figs and jamun trees to munch the luscious berries or  aim at birds with our catapults and turn somersaults into the blue water of the dam. We wished then that time was not so fast and hurried to take leave  from our company. Our return to our respective homes in the late afternoon ,tired and nervous, had a different  story .True, the daylight escaped from us, the setting sun bade us goodbye, but we could hardly escape from the scolding of our angry fathers and sometimes the cane-wielding hands of mothers.

            Anyway, the freedom that we enjoyed in our school life really gave us a golden period. Our School Vijaya High School, Raikia  was established by the Catholic Missionaries in the late 1950s and was one of the best schools in the tribal belt of Kandhamal . Be that as it may, our classmates were unique in their qualities, eccentricities and temperament. They are unforgettable in my life.

( Writer - Dr. Pradeep Kumar Nayak )