School days:
Nitish did his matriculation from Ganesh High School of Bakhtiyarpur. Nitish Kumar's teachers say that he was always a very intelligent student. They always thought that he will become an engineer someday but they never imagined that he will go on to become the Chief Minister of the state.
Nitish Kumar's father was a Gandhian and was very close to Anugrah Narayan Singh, the then Congress heavyweight in Bihar. He was interested in politics since his childhood. When the news of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri ‘s death broke out, Nitish rushed to his teacher to share the news.
There is an interesting story relating to Nitish Kumar's matriculation examination. In mathematics paper, the invigilator snatched papers from his hands the moment time was over. Due to the strict approach of the invigilator, Nitish could not score 100 marks in mathematics and he always regretted it. After becoming the Chief Minister of Bihar, he amended the examination rules under which an examinee was to get 15 minutes extra after stipulated time so that no other student had to face the same disappointment that Nitish had faced during his matriculation exam.
Saroj Kumar, the childhood friend of Nitish Kumar, recalls an interesting story of their school days. Nitish and Saroj had to cross a railway station but unfortunately there was no foot over bridge. They decided to cross the station from under a standing freight train. The train suddenly started moving while Nitish and Saroj were still under it. Somehow the two friends saved their lives. When Nitish Kumar became Railway Minister, he got a foot over bridge constructed at that place.
Apart from books, Nitish Kumar had deep interest in films as well. He was a big fan of Raj Kapoor. Among heroines, Vaijanti Mala was his favourite.
Nitish has done a lot for his ancestral village. Today the village boasts of road, school, hospital, ITI centre and even a modern shooting range.
