For his entire life, 65-year-old Trilochan Naik of Odisha’s Dhenkanal district has waited to achieve educational milestones, exercising the patience of his heart and mind.
Forty-one attempts spanning over two decades to pass Class X, 13 bids in 14 years to clear Class XII and three years each for graduation and law degrees, the educational journey of this sexagenarian over six decades is remarkable in itself.
But wait, Mr. Naik is not done yet. He is set to join the Master of Law course next year, and before his next academic mission begins, he has enrolled himself as a member of Odisha State Bar Council this March and begun practising law in the Dhenkanal court.
“I was not good at studies, but I was a firm believer of ‘never say die’. I also believe that society looks down upon a person who is not educated. And it prompts me to go for earning educational degrees, no matter how many years it takes,” said Mr. Naik, who farms for living.
He first appeared for the Matriculation examination from the Banasingh High School in Dhenkanal district in 1972. He could not clear it and sat for the supplementary examination in the same year, but failed again.
As Mr. Naik was unsuccessful over his next 15 attempts, teachers at the Banasingh High School became irritated with having to fill up his forms twice a year and refused to do so.
Not disheartened by their harsh words, he enrolled himself in a correspondence course to clear the Matriculation exam.
“I was taking my studies very seriously. I used to go for tuition classes 3 km away from home. But I was clueless as I found myself short of pass marks in individual subjects after every examination. I kept on trying even as I was busy in my marital life,” Mr. Naik narrated. In 1992, he finally cleared Matriculation. By that time, he had appeared 41 times for the exam.
In 1997, he took admission in the Dhenkanal Government College’s Humanities stream for the Plus Two programme when his older son enrolled in the same college for his Bachelor’s degree.
“Once, my son threatened to drop out from the college upon stumbling across me in the same college campus. My wife also castigated me. I had to convince both of them on how important pursuing education was for me,” said the man.
It took 14 years for Mr. Naik to clear Class XII examination in 2011. Subsequently, he took admission in the Dhenkanal Evening College for graduation. This time, he did not falter and cleared it in one attempt in 2014.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mr. Naik successfully completed his law degree. He could not afford to lose any more years and enrolled in the Odisha State Bar Council, and now proudly flashes his Bar council membership certificate.
“My uncle and I will pursue the Master in Law programme next year,” Bikash Ranjan Naik, his 31-year-old nephew, said.
Mr. Naik was married in 1975, three years after he appeared for the Matriculation examination for the first time. His wife passed away four years ago.
Of his two sons, his older has graduated and works as a Gaon Sathi, assisting in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). His younger son has passed Class XII and is a worker in a steel plant.
Mr. Naik continues to earn a living from agriculture production and he also has a cashew plantation.
