“Root of the education is bitter but the fruit is sweet” no one would know about it better than Kado. The fatigue of having to toddle to the school, fever of unending exams, the torture of having to burn the midnight oil, dozing in classes and the stern rigors are hard to endure, few even give up on the way but many endure it with utmost determination and commitment, because deep inside everyone knows it pays later.
“Root of the education is bitter but the fruit is sweet” no one would know about it better than Kado
Kado in the tender age of 12 is negotiating the lazily meandering footpath along the steep mountain. His school bag, full of books, pulls him back. His black naughty boy school shoe is all soiled, indication of how many times he has trudged that same footpath.
He is on his way to the primary school in his village, almost 5 kilometers away. He has to make sure he is in the school before morning social work starts; else he gets penalized. Unlike the students who reside nearby, he has no time to play on the way or throw stones on the birds. He is almost late and has hardly any time left to even stand and stare.
Fortunately, by the time he reaches the school, students have just congregated for the routine surrounding cleaning work and he is just there on the nick of time. The pearls of perspiration on his forehead are still fresh and he silently joins his mates in the Druk House."But the fatigue of having walked a long distance to school seems to overpower him and drag him to sleep"
Soon, he is in the class, trying desperately to listen to the lecture from the teachers. But the fatigue of having walked a long distance to school seems to overpower him and drag him to sleep.
Earlier that morning, he had woken up at the first crack of the rooster. In absence of electricity, his mother cooked him breakfast in the illumination of the kerosene-fed lamp. The time seems to race and when he is hardly done with dressing, it is already his time to start the journey. The journey on foot takes him almost three hours, through the jungle infested with leeches in summer and the wild animals too. Yet, his tiny legs make the committed steps towards the brighter future, hoping to receive himself good education and serve as an officer in civil service.
The burst of the bell woke him and his class teacher had already left, lucky that he wasn’t detected sleeping. The sleep bothers him for the whole day and finally the bell rings to call the day off and announce the classes are over. But for Kado, it is not over yet. He has another two hours journey to run down the mountain to his home after attending the evening prayer. Back at home, he has to spare the helping hands to his parents. The pigs in the sty have to be fed; the cattle have to be tethered.
Left with the last atom of energy, he goes to sleep looking forward to a cozy and comfortable life in the future. “Sweat more now to bleed less later.”
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