The traffic signal syllabus

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Pictures are just for illustration purposes.

This is the story of a 7 year old boy Rohan, who is stuck between the right to education (RTE) act on paper and the brutal reality of his life.

Mornings for everyone are not the same. Some 7 year olds throw tantrums to get up in the morning, their mum shouting “get up beta, breakfast is on the table!”, forced to go to school and they respond annoyed and irritated “just 5 minutes more!”

Rohan’s reality is different. Living under a closed space with his father, Rohan’s day begins with unusual honking of horns, the noise of the local vendor screaming “30 rupees kilo!”. He gets up on his own owing to his responsibilities of fulfilling the target of making the said amount of money a day set by his father and making ends meet. He does not go to school or can say “just 5 minutes more!” He now has to sell Gajras on the highway.

This 7 year old has incredible grasping power and learning abilities. He has now learnt marketing, analysing human behaviour, potential customers and mental maths without even formally learning to write letters, numbers or alphabets in the first place.

It’s now a blistering 40 degree celsius heat and he waves his garlands and gajras, reading faces of the drivers through tinted windows in a fraction of second, facing neglect, avoidance and disappointment while praying that someone just stops. His prayers finally are answered when suddenly a window comes down.

source: facebook, Qissa Khawani

“How much?” asks a female driver in a saree with her son on the backseat in a school uniform.

“40, madam, this one will suit and match with your saree” — says Rohan, handing her a mogra gajra

“Too much”

“35 for you ma’am, this one is fresh indeed see how fragrant it is”

“na” , says the driver, almost speeding the car

“Last ma’am, 30, best you wont get this anywhere else!!”

She hands a 100 rupee note and her son with his eyes glued to the screen finally looks at Rohan. Rohan quickly handed over 70 rupees back, calculating the change way before the high end car could calculate the ETA.

Nobody taught Rohan how to subtract formally.

Did you too ever roll up the window just to avoid the harsh reality of others?

This is not just a story of one, but many.

Why can’t bright minds like Rohan even get an opportunity to go to school?

Infinite reasons for this. Financial constraints, distance, affording fees, documents to get an admission and the list is endless! His conditions made him focus on winning some “daal and roti” for his family rather than stressing over projects and assignments.

That is where Pehchaan The Street School comes into picture by providing free education to underprivileged children. . “Pehchaan” means ‘Identity’. Pehchaan The Street School focuses on providing Pehchaan — an identity to underprivileged children by providing them with education.

Just 50 meters away from the chaos of the main road, under the flyover in Delhi, children like Rohan build their “Pehchaan” with Pehchaan The Street School.

They are not liabilities but infact India’s “wasted potential”.

Its time to change what happens when the light turns green.

Invest in Pehchaan The Street School.

Not as charity, but unlocking minds that can one day build something the world is not yet ready for.

Learn more: https://pehchaanstreetschool.org/donation/