Dash in the Dark

The corridor was dark as we locked the door and moved towards the elevator. The security guards slept on chairs just inside the gate, the bedsheets covering their faces. We pulled up to the gate and turned off the ignition. In a few minutes, Aparna's friends appeared and quietly got into the car. Daylight stealthily advanced on us as we sped on the Outer Ring Road towards the school. The girls discussed possible exam questions as they geared up for the early morning examination. A stream of cars poured into the uneven parking lot and dropped off students at the gate. The medley of colorful outfits that walked sleepily into the school building made it looked more like a morning party than an exam day.

Parents sheepishly pulled out of the parking lot, looking a little guilty as if they had committed a crime in broad daylight. We had received word from teachers asking us to bring the children to school to take their exams which had been postponed by more than 2 weeks. School buses would not ply. We had to arrange for transport ourselves. So we planned to carpool and I had to take the early morning drop-off slot.

The current state of school closure in Hyderabad following the agitation for a separate Telangana state has made the pursuit of education an undercover operation. There seems to be no end to the fear mentality that has pervaded school managements. It is one thing to accommodate a couple of exams at an unearthly hour but what about regular school schedules? When do we put the children back on track? Do we even care about how this impacts children of all ages, not just the children in higher classes who have board exams and competitive tests lined up? Putting education as an "essential" service does not seen to feature in the minds of politicians who are busy safeguarding their positions and tenures. Already normal life has been thrown out of gear on a variety of levels, whether it is public transport, road and rail safety and other administrative problems that are piling up.

I wonder what will be left for the inheritors of the new state, if it comes up - stones and ashes, a lethargic workforce, a ruined economy and a younger generation that does not know what the next day holds in store for them.

While we wait for things to sort themselves out, I know what I will be doing tomorrow. Engaging in another undercover operation with "Project Sunrise Carpool".