Author: Aditi Lahiry
” Hello Mrs Aditi , please pick Hriijoy from school. He has mild cold, but looking at the current situation ,we would suggest you to make him stay at home. “This was a call which I received from my son’s school on the 13th of March 2020. It was the last day that he attended his physical school during his PP2. His graduation was held a month later virtually. Gradually that year , we all got habituated to the concept of online school . We literally learnt to sit and attend classes with our children. With the number of positive cases on the rise ,the pandemic had spread its terror in full swing. My son Hriijoy would ask me regularly ” Mumma when will I go to school? When can I ride the yellow bus and finally go to school?” I used to look at him and reply saying that soon these times will change. Then came the year 2021 and like the other parents I too was hopeful that at least this year the schools will reopen . But unfortunately things took another turn as the pandemic took a new shape all together.
In April my husband Amartya too tested positive. We isolated him and took precautions. Soon vaccinations started but we were back to maintaining the same rules . As a result , online classes begun in a full swing for the second year too. By the end of September we were vaccinated and for the first time in two years travelled to Kolkata. Hriijoy continued his online classes from there. By January 2022 we were hopeful that schools were going offline from the middle of February. Hriijoy’s happiness knew no bounds. Like all the other children of his class ,he too began to attend school. The re opening of schools have us all a new hope that ” Tough times don’t last forever” or every cloud has a silver lining. Although , Hriijoy has not started going to school by bus , he is happy like other children in his class ,to meet all his friends and teachers. Going back to this routine has given us all a lot of relief along with the spark of hope that difficult times are temporary phases of life . They come to teach us many valuable lessons. We should stay strong and accept the change. The re opening of schools has helped many children go back to their normal routine . It is helping us all lead a disciplined and systematic lifestyle.
