I still have my first cricket bat that I received from my father. I was very less active in outdoor activities. This was largely because my parents often isolated me to help me focus on my future. Whenever I did have some free time, I would go to the paddy fields, climb trees, sit under the shade, and enjoy the greenery, feeling at peace.
In my childhood, like every Bengali, I dreamed of becoming a poet. I would sit alone, contemplating nature and giving it a rhythm. I will never forget those feelings; they brought me eternal peace. I remember being “alone in the middle of a green field, with the sweet breeze blowing, while cows grazed nearby. I would sit under the open sky on a full moon night, marveling at the beauty of God’s creation, the galaxy filled with glittering stars and the most beautiful moon.”
I still recall the summer nights when electricity would be out for hours. We would lay on mats in the street, which marked the end of our village, with paddy fields stretching beyond. There, I experienced the sweetest winds of my life.
My daily routine began with waking up early to my parents’ calls. After waking up, my sister and I would race to brush our teeth, eager to be the first so we could enjoy the larger share of snacks that Dad had brought home the night before.
Then it was off to tuition, where I was the laziest student of all. I never enjoyed reading books, so my teacher, Koto Pisi, would hit me with a stick every day. After my mother, she was my first teacher, and I owe much of who I am today to her influence.
In school, I was often isolated. I still remember my roll number in class 1 was 23, and I later became first in the class. However, I was still the boy who got punished the most by the teacher for my spelling mistakes, a habit that persists even today!
High school was the most beautiful time of my life. I secured 8th or 9th place in the high school entrance exam and then climbed to 2nd in my class. You wouldn’t find me in class, as I would hide at the back. But when it came to mathematics, if you were in my class, it would feel like I was the only student the teacher was addressing. I would shout and debate, doing whatever it took to grab his attention.
I had a few of the best teachers in my life: Durga Sir, Soumitra Sir, and Sujan Sir. And there was my guardian, without whom I would never have become who I am today. He was the terror of the whole school, my mentor, my tuition teacher, my school teacher, and a guardian after my parents. He always aimed to make me the best, He is Suman Sir.
Today, I miss those school days, my friends, and the moments we shared during class breaks, especially hanging out with Soumitra Sir in the sports room after school.
I also cherish the lifelong friendships I formed with Salman, Goutam, Gopal, Indra, and many others.
And then there was her, I never missed classes without a reason because I was captivated by her beauty and charm.
My school did not have a science stream, so I had to switch to another school for my 11th grade. I left my school and moved to one that only had classes 11 and 12. It was one of the few schools like that in all of India.
Like the unique nature of this school, the students were also distinctive. Many were the children of drug dealers and criminals.
We would attend tuition in the morning, then head to school, as our school mandated that we attend all eight classes in a day. After finishing school, we had to go to another tuition class that was 40-50 km away from home, often reaching home around 10 or 11 at night.