As I waited on the porch of the Khatun family in Sayedpur village, I noticed cement bags sewn together and put up in the open space of the front porch to block the cold winter breeze. But the absence of toilets piqued my curiosity and I asked some of the women standing nearby that if they have to go to the toilet urgently in the middle of the night what do they do? “We relieve ourselves somewhere nearby, sometimes in the bushes and later shovel them away,” said a woman who was cradling a baby in her arms.

Finally, Rozina came and took me for a walk in the fields. Rozina studies in class eleven and has taken up arts. She animatedly told me about a school play she is participating in. “Our headmaster told us that we will be competing with two other schools in a drama competition. The school which wins will go to the Zilla,” she said. What will happen after that she had no clue. We walked through the paddy fields which now hosted the remnants of once thriving paddy plants to a stream which overflows during the monsoon. She then showed me a small waterfall.

In the previous meeting, she had expressed a wish to become a teacher. But today she sounded uncertain about being able to continue her education. “We are five siblings. My father is a daily wage labourer and earns Rs 130 a day. Each month my education expenses alone cost up to Rs 200. My parents want me to start working now,” she said. She had various options to consider. “I am a madhyamik pass and can apply for a teacher at a primary school. Sometimes the panchayat requires a person to manually upgrade the BPL list. I have a fair handwriting and will get Rs 2 per name,” she adds.

Rozina assured me that she will appear for her class twelve exams and take a decision after that. I hope she will choose wisely.