Jungle boy passes CBSE exam to make history

He belongs to that community which has become a part of history. But, the  sixteen-year-old primitive boy broke the barriers of  age -old customs of his society to carve a niche of his own.

Olake, a young member of the nearly extinct “Great Andamanese” tribal community, literally walked out of his jungle life to become the first boy from his community to pass the CBSE exam, that too, with flying colours.

 Olake belongs to the sparsely populated Great Andamanese tribal community (Population is just 52- according to 2001 census)  –— a  group of ten tribes of which seven are already extinct and three are on the verge of extinction.

They live deep inside the jungles of  Strait Island —  a small island of 6.01 sq km located 5.5 km east of Baratang Island in Great Andaman.

Olake who scored 76 per cent in the CBSE examination this year from Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya in Port Blair candidly admitted that it was because of his teachers, who continuously guided and taught him, and his aunt Riya Devi with whom he stayed in the island capital, he was able to achieve this feat.

“We had a school in our island but it had classes only  up to  eighth standard. We were not allowed to go out of the forests and so most of the students couldn’t continue their studies after that,” Olake told Deccan Herald over the phone from his aunt’s residence in Port Blair.

Timely help

“As I was eager to study,  King Zirake gave me the opportunity to come to Port Blair and continue my studies. I came to Port Blair and got admission in Class V of Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya,” an elated Olake said.

“When I came to Port Blair I knew nothing and without my aunt’s help it would not have been possible for me to carry on with my studies. She has not only given me shelter but has also provided everything which I need. She took all possible care so that I can concentrate on my studies only,” Olake, whose father works in the urban development department in Strait Island, said.

“I am thankful to all my teachers particularly our principal Bijoy Kumar and our former secretary Sripad Deshpande, who had given me all possible assistance. I never had any problem,” Olake who is fluent in both English and Hindi, said.

“Olake has made us proud. When he first came to our school, it was a challenge for us and it was part of our efforts to bring the entire community from the morass of primitive prejudices to the world of knowledge... from the world of ignorance to the world of enlightenment,” Principal of Vivekananda Kendriya Vidyalaya Bijoy Kumar said.

Riya Devi, who works at the husbandry department in Port Blair, said: “Olake’s mother died five years ago and so there was no one to take care of him. He was good at studies. So, I thought of giving him all possible assistance to help him grow up as a right human being.”

When asked about his ambition in life, this apparently simple boy blushed and said:  “I want to be a civil engineer and so I have taken science in the next level.”