Kozhikode: “Every time the starter’s pistol goes off, it takes me right back to my village. There was a time when the sound of gunfire was just a part of everyday life,” says C H Wahid Ahmed, standing at the Medical College ground here, his voice tinged with the lingering dread of memories back home.

Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Wahid has just clinched a silver medal in the junior boys’ discus throw at the district school athletics meet, representing Karanthur Markaz Higher Secondary School, where he is a Class 9 student.

Wahid comes from Kalaban, a village hugging the border in Kashmir’s Poonch district, where his parents, Nisar Ahmed and Majidabi, still reside. Back in Kalaban, sitting inside their home, cross-border shelling and gunfire were once an inescapable reality. What he cherishes most about his new life in Kerala, Wahid says, is the peace.

He is among 40 students from Kashmir currently studying at Markaz HSS on scholarships. This year, six of them, including Wahid, qualified to compete at the district athletic championship.