Riya Hirwani
XII A
The blinking cursor…thoughts getting digitalised
Earthlings often took it for granted,
For never did they understand its value,
Until now that it is temporarily unfortunate,
A cry of pain was only what I could hear!
It was two years ago, they carried bags, really heavy as I could make out, they called it their school bags; went to this building, they called it their BK Birla Public School; read these huge books; played at the playground and probably it was their favourite place in that whole area. I never understood why was that playground and that one extra PT period so important to them, it brought a lovely smile on each child’s face. One tiffin box belonged to the entire class, that seat beside a friend was more important than the one near the window, that day without a friend was so upsetting, that one substitution in the day was better than any other lecture and that building was more like a home to them.
Surprisingly, one sudden day, no child came to that building, no bells, no noise, absolutely nothing. After a few days, I saw that all these children who went to their school, sat at their homes in front of these differently sized boxes which they called their laptops, computers, mobile phones, tablets and what not! I never saw that expression on their faces as it was that day. All with mixed emotions. After that day, they never met their friends, never played at the grounds, just stayed at home.
But, that building, their school, had taught them to never give up and make the best of what they had. The children took these words very seriously, they mastered using those differently sized boxes and helped their teachers learn it as well. Gradually, I could see them getting accustomed to it. They started to come up with amazingly awesome ideas. Those lectures started to attract these children. I could see each child taking a little more effort each day. With the help of their teachers, they showered rainbows of thoughts and made their teachers and the school proud. The students ideated and lead projects and awareness programmes that could help the suffering in their world, donated things, created digital arts, did exciting new courses and most importantly with the help of their teachers, principal and other staff, they successfully organised all their school functions and programmes online, on those differently sized boxes, digitally. Ergo, I could see their cursor blinking and their thoughts digitalised!
Earthlings often teach me,
To never stop trying,
For even in this unpropitious situation,
A laughter of success is only that I can feel!
(This blog is written from the perspective of an alien who is fascinated by the entire idea of a school which is only built on Earth and no other planet.)