My father is a Government Officer and our family moved to new cities with his transfers.
As a result, I went to six schools even before my 6th grade! Each of these schools
offered me excellent chances to mix with people from different ethnics, cultures,
local languages and what not!
Rajendrapur Cantonment Board School, Gazipur
[1989-'90]
We were living at the Cotton Seed Improvement farm, located in a place called 'gorgoria
bazaar', some 20 odd KM drive from Gazipur. This beatiful school was 7 KM from our
home and since we didn't own a private vehicle, I actually went through home schooling
with the exception that I would show up on the exams and grabbed one of the top
seats!
One little memory I still carry about that school. Although, home schooled, I always
attended the school exams. And during my 2nd grade final exams, my parents hired
my uncle (I call him 'Chhoto Mama') to ride me all these 7 KMs up and down so that
I could sit for the exams amid a strike. My parents, ever caring, would make a seat
for me with a few folds of a towel on the cycle's rod and keep praying to Allah
until I came back!
Shirir Chala Govt. Primary School, Gazipur
[1991 Jan - Aug]
As I got into 3rd grade, my parents felt I should no more be home schooled and they
took me to this school. This school had a nick name called 'Bagher Bazaar School'
(the school near the market of tigers)!
So, for the first time in my life, I started going school daily, with a few other
senior ones from the government quarters. A 20 minute on foot trip on the highways.
And you better believe, this school had walls made of muds! No electric fan, no
good desk and chair... A whole new group of friends, mostly coming from nearby villages
with a grand collection of horror stories!
Banarupa Govt. Primary School, Rangamati
[1992 - 1993]
Just when I have made a few friends at school, my father got promoted to Chief Cotton
Dev. Officer and a transfer to Rangamati. This was a twist, yes rightly said, a
twist! I didn't even understand the local language!
This school is probably the most naturally beatuiful primary school in the country.
I walked along the greens, had to trek a small hilly road and then I reached my
school, on the bank of the Kaptai Lake, with my home just on the other side. Despite
being one of the thousands of govt. primary schools, this school stands out of the
crowd with its high quality teaching. Soon after getting admitted, I made a number
of close friends. Maxim, one of the friends, asked me to taste his tiffin as he
brought a rosted chicken. As soon as I just swallowed the first piece... the whole
class started shouting... "its a frog's rost"
Rangamati Govt. High School, Rangamati
[1994 Jan - Apr]
Now that I crossed the primary education, I got an admission to this school. You
already see, my stay was so little in this beautiful and huge sized school on the
hills. I feel really bad that I do not have any remarkable memory about this school
other than the fact that I was taking the school bus service for the first time
in my life. And these little trips helped me to enrich my knowledge of elderly matters
as I was over-hearing my seniors!
Bibekananda High School, Tangail
[1994 Oct - Dec]
To be honest, I was actually out of school for most of the year 1994 as I got admitted
to Shahid Pre-Cadet Coaching Center with the target to get admitted to a Cadet College
for the high school years. I just appeared at the final exams in this school and
I still feel lucky that I passed on the Arabic exam! Had I scored only a single
number less, this could well be the first exam where I failed!