At the end of standard eight exams, I stood first in my class and so I was awarded Bishop Mar James Kurialasserry scholarship. The school fees were seven rupees per month and the scholarship awarded was fifty percent of the school fees. So I paid only three rupees fifty paisa as fees every month.

Students strike has become a part of school life in Kerala. Every political party in Kerala has its own student wing organization. The first student organization of Kerala is the Kerala Students Union KSU established in 1957. It came into prominence with the famous 'Orana Samaram' a strike for travel concessions for students in buses and boats owned by the Government. Most of the strikes now are for political reasons rather than the welfare of the students. When a student organization had called for a general strike, the educational system of Kerala is paralyzed. A group of students belonging to that particular organization would move from class to class forcing other students to abandon their classes and join them in solidarity. Sometimes such strikes would lead to a violent fight among students. In my schooldays the communication system was so poor that only when we reach the school or during normal lessons would come to know about the strike and were forced to leave the school. The agitation would also lead to a bandh (strike) where all the buses, the only transport system available at that time would be grounded. Some buses were vandalized provoking the police to lathi charge. Then we had to walk back to our homes, some students up to 15 to 20Km. Even though our parents were worried about such strikes, we were happy to enjoy a free holiday. Then the boys from my neighborhood would gather on the side lane and convert it into a playing field as there were no vehicles moving on the lane. We would play country football and the ball was made of old clothes and strings. Since the ball would not bounce it was a slow game. The road was not tarmacked and so our bodies were full of dust and dirt. Sometimes the neighbors would shout at us as the dust was carried to their houses by the wind.