Mayurbhanj District

Our state-assigned guide could not make up his mind whether he was more concerned about wildlife of holdups on the route to the school

Massive anthills abound the fields here - mostly government land that tribals are allowed to use for grass cultivation

With no government bus services reaching these villages, privately run jeeps shuttle back and forth, crammed with people

The front entrance to the Goaldia Upper Primary School, Mayurbhanj, in a mainly tribal part of the district

The main office of the school, with a tower and TV antenna attached

Obedient Class 3 students make on their own while the teacher shuttles busily from class to class - here 3 teachers to 7 classes

Due to a room shortage, Classes 2 and 5 were combined. The older students got the benches

In this case, both the students were aggressive high achievers and shared computer time well. Usually one student dominates.

Teacher Braj (left) was the only teacher for that day for sevel classes - he had two teaching assistants. VEC BK Rana to the right

Kids take a break to sneak out and take a look at what is going on

The Shiksha Sanchalak (Teacher's Assistant) has a graduate degree, better than most head teachers in other states

A makeshift iron rod acts as the bell for the school

For a school with resources as limited as this, the children were extremely well at ease with using computers

The school has among the rare cases of children reasonably proficient at Linux OS use and no conception of Windows

Lopa Jena interviews an aggressive young lady who made it a point to get mouse control each time she sat on the computer

This shy young lady knew most of the material, but would sit to one side because more aggressive friends would handle the mouse

A few of the kids were comfortable using Open Office, though the general use of computers was only for learning of existing subjects

The material for the schools in Orissa is provided both by Azim Premji Foundation and OPEPA, content made by EDUCOMP

The children had figured out how to skip the introductory message from the Orissa government, and get straight to the games

Kids watch the visitors touring their school from within classes run mostly by monitors

Large trees are a common stops, though the general trend is stop when needed, unless the needy has a seat somewhere deep inside

There is one crop of paddy a year here

To protect us from both the wildlife and the disenchanted tribals, the state provided an escort vehicle

A tribal homes, many have a thorn shrub fence to keep away wild animals

The fare is the same for everyone, regardless of the quality of the ride

Going through a thickly forested area to get to the school, a forest rumoured to have tigers

This parent rides a cycle, which she holds and walks along, while her son sits on the seat, and the carrier takes groceries

Swapan Rana, a graduate of the local school now has a small jewellery business - a common occupation among the non-tribal residents here

Here, a tyre on the top of the car makes for a moderately cozy coshion through the bumpy ride through broken tar roads

Yoga positions handy here as goods, people, cattle all pile into eight square feet built up - some floor space index lessons for builders.

Notice the driver is half out of the car - there are other cases, in which the driver seats one person to his right, halfway out of the car

Narrow gauge rail on our way to school two (notice ahead the government escort jeep which came through tribal areas with us)

The Rahal Gope Upper Primary Nodal School, Baripada - with much better infrastructure and facilities than the Goaldia school

A water tank and filter installed by the local Rotary club

In contrast the pump is all the tribal school has, and the water has a rust/metallic feeling, inappropriate for drinking

This school had better resources, but a difficult time sharing and allocating the resources well - here, a crowd gathers around a comp.

A scene of Baripada, the largest town in Mayurbhanj

Grandsons - a Marwari trader's fast food store in Baripada is widely considered among the best eating places in the town