Shekh Raunak Fatima is a 9th-standard student in Z.P.Girls High School, Kuppam and she is the leader of her class. She was born in Gujarat and lived there for 12 years before shifting to Kuppam 3 years ago. She learnt to speak Telugu, one of the local languages, in a year. However, she finds reading and writing the language challenging. 

She takes an interest in political science and science; science is her favourite subject in school. “Science includes a range of interesting topics. I enjoy astronomy the most because I love gazing at stars and the moon. I want to know about the universe. Biology and physics interest me too. By studying science, I understand the logic that runs the world. Science is also a subject that I understand easily,” she says. “Maths is easy but getting one step wrong makes the entire sum a mess. It is a very serious subject,” she laughs. 

Raunak wants to be a scientist and invent easily affordable devices for people. “Many don’t have the money to afford things that make their lives easy. Also, in Kuppam, many lack basic social values. Some ill-treat women. I believe that I can make their lives easier with science,” she says. “I want to encourage equality between men and women. These days, many men are involved in domestic violence. The women cannot even call the police. I know of some such stories from my own classmates,” she adds.

On 26th November 2023, Constitution Day, the school authorities conducted a play on elections in India. There were three parties and each were given a party symbol. “My party’s symbol was a lotus. The other symbols were a rose and a lily. Everyone got the right to vote. We all made Aadhar Cards and Voter IDs for two days. We put in a lot of effort and enjoyed it thoroughly,” Raunak elaborates. “Everyone cast their votes and I got the highest number of votes. I loved the activity,” she adds. 

During her free time, Raunak sleeps and does art and craft. Her eyes light up when she talks about Southeast Asian dramas, Avengers and anime as well. “In anime, I like Naruto as he never underestimates anyone. He knows who he is and he can see what others are. He is confident and stands strong against all adversities,” she explains her favourite character from an anime series delightfully.  

“We also get mid-day meals here; I enjoy Thursdays and Saturdays the most. Saturday's menu has vegetable curry and rice and it’s extremely spicy. That makes me relish it even more. The curry has bottle gourd, potato and beans. On Thursdays, we get lemon rice and tomato curry,” says Raunak, describing the mid-day meals she receives in her school from Akshaya Patra. “I must say that what I get at school is better than what I eat at home. At home, my mother adds too many spices which I can’t eat,” she adds. 

Raunak lives with her parents, siblings and two cats. “I love animals but my mother only allowed cats. If I bring dogs, she will throw me out,” she laughs. “My father is a mechanic and my mother is a housewife. But we are also planning to venture into animal farming. We are planning to rear goats and hens for now,” she says.