New Delhi: With most children often dreading Monday mornings — the start of the week — this time was different for a lot of them. A 16-year-old Rishab Dixit had not spoken to his school friend Jatin since the Covid induced lockdown was imposed in March.
With the Delhi government paving the way for schools in the city to re-open after a hiatus of 10 months, children flocked to their respective schools, most of whom had missed their classroom friends.
The usual late riser, Rishab, hurried to school and was in fact one of the first few to reach to meet his friends. "I missed the classroom a lot, we used to have a lot of fun sitting at the last bench with my bench partner Jatin."
His friend too had arrived early for the same reason. Jatin's father, a watchman in Connaught Place somehow survived the lockdown but lost his job soon after as the showroom closed its doors permanently. "My employer paid half salary for two months and then he shut down the shop once the lockdown was lifted. I used to sleep on the floor there and protect the store but nobody has protected me since," Jatin's father, Virendar said, adding that he is not entirely confident of his son coming to school so soon.
"He insisted so I let him come, I think it is better if they come after the vaccination drive is over. If they could do without coming for so long, why not a few more months," Virendar said. Meanwhile, Jatin used his neighbour's computer system to attend online classes for the last 10 months and wondered how his friend was doing.
Rishab's father, an auto driver, also lost his job during the lockdown and is still struggling to provide for his family. "We had a phone but we had to sell it off, times were hard for us," he said.
"The problem with online class is," he says, "if I do not understand something, I have to wait and ask the next day but in the classroom, I can ask immediately and get my doubts cleared." Sometimes even if he doesn't know how to solve a mathematical problem, he learns it by watching his peers, he whispered.
A student of the School of Excellence in the Kichripur area of East Delhi, Rishab could not stay in touch with his friends let alone meet them. For him, the school reopening is a blessing and the first outing that he has had in 10 months.
The two friends want to be doctors when they grow up. Rishab being a little more specific about taking the heart surgeon's path while Jatin is yet to decide.
"It feels very nice to be back, online education is not the same. I am not scared of Corona. I want to come and learn here," Jatin said.
As two friends met and caught up in the classroom and talked about the virus and the vaccine, the corridor echoed with the laughter and sounds of students once again.