PHOTOS: How a pandemic changed everything for these students

A streetdweller takes it upon herself to homeschool her grandchildren; six year olds learn to take care of themselves—school's out, but there's a lot yet to be learned

Jul 11, 2020, 08:14 IST3 min

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Ahmedabad: Ananya and Aditya Abraham, Age 6For Ananya and Aditya, six-year-old twins, everything changed as soon as the pandemic hit. Their doctor parents would leave them under the supervision of domestic help or another family member in normal times. But as the pandemic spread, their mother, Aarti Vazirani, a gynaecologist, and father Joy Abraham, a gastro-cancer surgeon, were left with no choice but to leave the children home alone.“It was one of the toughest decisions we had to make,” recalls Vazirani. "I spoke to them and explained that they had to take care of each other.” The first day was tough, second one was fun, and by the third day, they were looking forward to being home alone. Now they are left alone for around 3 to 4 hours daily, with a list of things to do, including tasks and breaks. “The tasks always get done,” says the proud mother.

Image by Forbes

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Ajmer: Shivani (who goes by her first name only), age 20Twenty-year-old Shivani runs up to the terrace with her phone and notebook. She is in the middle of an online class conducted by NGO Quest Alliance, but is facing a lag in the video. It is blistering hot, but she finds a corner with some shade, and continues taking copious notes. “If you think it’s hot, then you will feel hot. I try to focus on my classes,” says the ITI student who has almost completed her course and is waiting for exam dates to be announced.The terrace, the stairs leading up to it, and a tree outside are her favourite spots for online classes, since they have the best mobile network coverage. Shivani"s mother works at the local medical centre, and leaves soon after making breakfast for the family. Shivani takes care of the other chores, including her younger siblings’ education. When her mother’s working hours increased due to Covid-19, Shivani sacrificed a couple of her classes so that her siblings could take theirs. The data pack is expensive, but she says, “I manage”. In the same way that she manages house work and studies. “Even if I wanted to, I barely have time to watch TV."

Image by Quest Alliance

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Delhi: A Guruvardhan, 16Every morning by 7.50 am, Guruvardhan would be ready for his school bus to pick him up from Shankar Vihar in Delhi. By 1.15 pm, he would be back home. After finishing his homework, exercise and dinner, it was bedtime. A fixed routine is necessary for the student of Tamanna Special School, who has cerebral palsy with an intellectual disability. “Any change in his busy routine, and he would get behavioural issues,” says his mother A Sumathi.When the pandemic hit, his routine was completely disrupted. “He would start throwing things, bang his head against the wall, and tell us he wants to go to school. So we set up a timetable for him,” she says. The dining table was converted into his study table to attend online classes. “He loves candles, so we made some at home. He was so happy!” The upside of the pandemic is that he has started engaging more in physical activities, like playing throw-ball and football in their backyard.

Image by Madhu Kapparath

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Chennai: Miraya and Keahn Dadabhoy, aged 10 and 8The Dadabhoy children took up teaching origami via Instagram during the lockdown. I’m teaching origami to my primary school principal,” says Miraya, proudly. “She wants to try making some tougher models. But sometimes when she doesn"t get a hang of it, I tell her to learn something else till she gets a hang of those folds.”The duo has also been experimenting in the kitchen with their mother, Shefalii, a home chef. “I made sorbet the other day,” says an excited Miraya, but they do miss school. “With online classes there are always technical problems,” says Keahn, who has been learning to play bridge during the lockdown. Miraya is working on self-publishing a book on positive thoughts.

Image by Shefalii Dadabhoy