Category: Lok Issues

‘Class 10 & 12 Students Staring At Uncertain Future’

By LokMarg

Swapnil Pal, who gave Class 10 board exams in March, is anxious about his future but lauds the role of teachers for continuing to take (online) classes. Pal says these teachers are also Corona warriors

I just gave my Class 10 Boards and what a year it has been. Everyone except Class 10 and Class 12 students have their regular online classes going on and yet the students of these two classes are staring at an uncertain future. Our education is on hold for the time being. The only semblance of certainty and structure in our education right now comes from the online Engineering coaching classes conducted by an institute called Scholar’s Den.

Even though we have adapted to online classes now, there’s a certain feeling of learning in classroom. One learns while having fun with friends. The engineering entrance syllabus is quite a handful and friends help one break the monotony. Also, there is a sense of camaraderie. Now we are all studying alone in our homes.

ALSO READ: ‘Anxiety In Students, But Online Mischiefs Continue’

We are around 60 students in one class and classes are conducted through Zoom. Every day around 1.5 GB data gets used to attend the classes and the rest for assignments. Only a little data is left if one wants to play games or watch videos. Our classes are conducted between 3 pm to 8 pm and in the mornings we are supposed to complete our assignments given in these classes.

The teachers are also getting used to new ways of teaching. Many of them are still themselves learning about handling technology perfectly. A few days ago our one and half hours Inorganic Chemistry class got cancelled because of a technical glitch. One didn’t when the glitch would be solved so we didn’t really know what to do. Then other problems occur too, like user id and password not matching when tests are about to happen. I was locked out of a test recently because it happened with me. I wish I had been able to take that test, but it is ok, one needs to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances and glitches in these times.

ALSO READ: ‘Few Smartphones, So We Used SMS, Voice Data’

The group feeling isn’t there, that we are all preparing for these exams together, but we make up for it by sometimes calling each other when we get time between classes and assignments. I divide my time between topics wisely and make sure to ask questions if we don’t understand anything. We have something known as DCC (Doubt Clearing Classes) everyday in breaks between online classes and we are encouraged to clarify the minutest of our doubts before moving on to the next chapter or topic. That’s something that has helped us students a lot. While studying on my own also I ask myself if I have really understood the topic and can explain it to someone else easily.

I don’t know when schools will reopen and we will be able to get admissions in Class 11, but I am sure of one thing that our education won’t stop. There are so many people working to set things straight, especially we see news of so many teachers working dedicatedly. Teachers can also be called corona warriors. They are fighting to keep ignorance at bay and are fighting to keep hope in the future alive.

Boycott China

Watch – ‘I Will Never Stock Or Sell Chinese Ware Hereto’

By LokMarg

With blood of 20 soldiers on China hands, the call to boycott Chinese products finds favour with common Indians. LokMarg speaks to a cross-section of people from shopkeepers to working professionals, who display a growing anti-China sentiment in the country

Yoga

‘Online Yoga Helped People Keep Calm Amid Lockdown’

By LokMarg

Poonam Singh, a Yoga instructor from New Delhi, had to suspend her classes after the virus outbreak. However, with help from her son, she launched online sessions to beat the lockdown blues

I have been teaching Yoga since 2006, and I have taught Yoga across groups, from pregnant women at hospitals, the elderly, even children. As co-founder of Yog Manthan, I wish to take Yoga to the masses across forums.

Then in March, due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, I had to suspend my classes.  However, it also made most entrepreneurs adapt and improvise their operations. My 23-year-old son suggested that I should get going with online classes. With his help, I set up an online yoga class platform; within a week after Holi my sessions were back on track.

ALSO READ: ‘How I Turned The Tables On Lockdown’

I must disclose that many women approached me that lockdown was getting to their nerves and they needed Yoga classes to see through the stay-indoors period. There are news reports that domestic discords are on the rise; people are on a short fuse. So I consider yoga classes as my contribution to the fight against Coronavirus.

I teach two online batches during weekdays hold meditation and chanting sessions on weekends. For the classes, I use Google Duo which allows 12 people at a time while on weekends I use Zoom which can accommodate larger groups.

One added benefit of online classes is that earlier people who couldn’t drive and come to my classes early morning to take classes can now do it from the comforts of their home. However, it is difficult to teach people the exact correct poses online if they are going wrong posture wise. It is said:  Sadhe to Yog, nahi to jeevan bhar ka rog (If one is able to do it well, Yoga is super-beneficial, but wrong postures can negate these benefits).

WATCH: ‘Online Coaching Is Temporary Option’

In the pre-corona world I could simply walk over to the student and ask them to maybe straighten their backs a little more or to lift their chin up correctly or breathe correctly. But I take really good care and watch my students carefully and teach them the current postures. I wish we can go back to real-life classes because in Yoga the guru-shishya parampara is very important, one needs to have complete faith in the guru’s teachings.

You would be surprised to know that my own two kids haven’t learnt Yoga from me. And I don’t believe in forcing them. Force karna Yog nahi hai (You can’t force someone to practise Yoga). Learn Yoga only if you are truly inspired to learn it, for it requires consistency and self-discipline.

And I would also like to mention here when personal hygiene is being given paramount importance in these pandemic situation, that Yoga has something known as Shat karma (six actions) that focus on hygiene before any asanas are done. These process cleanse our respiratory and internal systems. As the International Yoga day approaches on June 21, I would urge people to take a deep breath and think about reaping the benefits that Yoga provides, be it offline or online. Even after the whole thing subsides and we can get back to teaching Yoga normally to large groups of people, I don’t think I will stop taking online classes. It has its own merits.

Online Classes

‘Anxiety In Students, But Online Mischiefs Continue’

By LokMarg

Parth Kamra, a Class 12 student in Delhi, says even though there is worry among students about their term, Coronavirus hasn’t been able to stop classroom mischiefs

Currently, I am in Class 12 studying Commerce and our batch is right in the middle of major confusion and uncertainty caused by Coronavirus. There is much anxiety over the fate of our term amid the reopening of schools. Yet, neither our education nor our mischief has stopped. Be the classroom real or virtual, children always find ways to pull a trick or two and keep the class in high spirits.

Our generation is so adept at technology that we find solutions to almost anything. Our teachers recognise this. They say: “Beta, we might not be as good as you when it comes to technology but we are getting there, slowly and steadily. Every day, we are reading and learning more about online classes.”

Meanwhile, until the teachers manage to keep up the pace with students when it comes to technology, we hear so many funny stories all around. One of my classmates told me how she recently managed to attend the classes of another school using their password for Zoom (a web meeting zone). Once inside the (virtual) classroom, she had a little fun with the female teacher conducting the class, by asking her a series of silly questions and taking her by surprise. Before the lady teacher could realise the reality, my friend left the class. Poof!

ALSO READ: ‘We Used Voice Data For e-Classes’

Right after the first lockdown was announced in March, our teachers used to teach us using the Google Classroom app and we simply used to take notes. Later, we shifted to classes on Zoom but it took at least four days to get things right. The students were quicker to find their way around Zoom. A few of us would simply split their screen and use social media on one side while the teacher would be teaching.

Some would simply put the teacher on mute or would just log in their attendance and go away. Some would keep changing their usernames so that the teacher wouldn’t know who is who. So one day the teacher would find that none other than “Narendra Modi” was attending her classes while on other days there would be Katrina Kaif in the classroom.

ALSO READ: ‘Online Classes, Pubg… Lockdown Is Cool’

In the last case, the teacher figured out and shifted the classes to Google Meet (another web meeting application). Her, one cannot just make up any username and one can login only by using valid email IDs.

However, our tuition classes still run on Zoom, and students are having fun there. The teacher there too has disabled chats and one can send messages only to the teacher for getting one’s queries cleared.

While most of us are having fun, we haven’t lost touch with the real situation ahead of us. We hope our schools reopen soon after the summer vacations end. Interacting in real life is always way more interesting and fun than in the online world.

Janta Delivery

‘Creating Jobs, Making Profit & Keeping People Safe’

By LokMarg

Shiv Bansal, 25, a finance professional in Bengaluru, went to Siliguri to look after his parents when Covid-19 struck. In a week, he launched a start-up

I was born and brought up in Siliguri, West Bengal. But after my honours graduation from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, I took up a job in Bengaluru with an investment bank. When the Covid-19 broke out and a lockdown was imposed, I lost no time in travelling to my native place to see my parents are not inconvenienced during this crisis; both are above 60.

I had been asked to work from home, and therefore Siliguri was as good as Bengaluru with the help of an internet network. Being at home for three days during the lockdown, I realised that procuring essential groceries was a difficult task in towns like Siliguri.

This happened when my parents asked me to get groceries from the local kirana store. Used to online delivery apps, I looked for home delivery services in my location on the Internet but, to my surprise, I couldn’t find any.

ALSO READ:  ‘How I Turned (Dining) Tables On Lockdown’

I made a list of things to buy and went to the local grocery store. There I found myself surrounded by a small crowd of buyers who had laid seize to the small shop, completely defeating the purpose of social distancing and putting the buyers at a contagion risk.

This is where the idea of a hyperlocal home delivery system popped up in my head. I searched the internet and news sites to find out that multiple delivery agents in Siliguri had been dealing with unemployment due to reduced food orders. Many were contemplating going back to their villages. 

This is where I saw an opportunity. The skilled manpower was available and so was the demand for home delivery. I only needed to setup a network with logistics. I seized the moment.

I pulled together a five-member team and sorted out operations. I named this start-up Janta Delivery, a hyperlocal doorstep service that would take care of the last-mile logistics of groceries and other essentials.

ALSO READ: ‘My Kids Turned Chefs During Lockdown’

In small towns, the network of kirana stores is very strong. People have confidence in the quality of products supplied by their selected stores in their locality. Hence, to source our supply we collaborated with a few famous stores of the town who had the goodwill of the residents here in terms of the quality.

The model is quite simple. Customers place their order by sending a WhatsApp text on a number (+91-76022-50045, in our case) or through our website. Once the order is received, it is sent to the respective store and our team coordinates with them for order preparation. Once the order is prepared, the nearest delivery agent is informed to pick up the order along with the bill and pays for it upfront.

The agent then reaches the customer, hands over the bill made by the network store, receives the payment along with a ₹50 delivery charge and hands over the ordered items to the customer. All the coordination is done over phone calls or Whatsapp texts. 

We are currently doing more than 40 orders per day. We expect this to increase as the word spreads and those who wish to stay indoors during the pandemic join our customers list. The best part is I can handle the team along with my assigned work-from-home assignments.

No, so far I have not thought about any future plans once the things return to normal. But, right now my team is focused on keeping the current operations smooth so that we can meet the needs of people in Siliguri and keep them safe. The work is monetarily rewarding as well as fulfilling. My aspiration in life is to use my skills and experience to solve problems that improve people’s lives. I love plugging existing gaps to build sustainable solutions.

Smartphones

‘Few Smartphones, So We Used Voice Data For e-Class’

By LokMarg

Anuj Agarwal, the principal of a government inter college in Uttar Pradesh, says not all his students had smartphones at home. So, he devised new ways to conduct e-classes

I have been in the teaching profession for nearly 12 years now and I wish to take education to the outermost fringes of society. I teach Social Sciences and English, and I want to impart knowledge to anyone who is curious and dedicated. However, when the Coronavirus struck and schools, colleges were shut down, it acted as a sudden dampener to my purpose.

Our government college, at Manpur in Moradabad, was established recently as the first inter college in the area. We were in the middle of fine-tuning paraphernalia when the virus outbreak happened. Since it was such an unprecedented crisis, it took us some time to figure things out.

Most of our students come from underprivileged background who either do not have smartphones or cannot buy expensive data plans. Nor could we allow them to huddle around a single smartphone for classes because of social distancing norms. We therefore realised we needed to innovate to be able to continue teaching them via distance learning methods.

ALSO READ: ‘Teaching My Daughter In Lockdown’

You will be surprised with what solutions small-town India can come up with to overcome hurdles. Video calls hog data. So we decided to break down school curriculum chapters into smaller topics, and then converted them into voice data.

Next, we disseminated the same chapters via various mediums. To explain some subjects, we made videos on the topic and put them up on public platform like YouTube. We ensured these videos were of short-duration. Those who had access to a basic smartphone and a basic data plan, could opt for the video format.

For those who could not access videos on their phone, we made small audio clips of a few minutes each. These audio clips were sent through both WhatsApp and as normal voice recordings. We also used standard SMS services to send written material. This didn’t require any internet connection or downloading.

Plus, we told our students that we were available on call to clarify any doubt they might have on a particular topic. It’s ok if a student can’t see us, at least they can hear us and learn. So basically we prepared the same knowledge into different formats.

Agarwal believes teachers also learn from students.

What prepared me for this was the fact that I had been a part of both Skill India and Digital India programmes of the government. Thus, I understood the technical aspects of e-learning.

ALSO READ: ‘Online Classes, Pubg And Web Series…’

Our students have classes from 8 am to 2 pm. We have around 60 students in our college and seven-eight teachers, and we keep brainstorming about how we can make learning more accessible. Since I serve as both the Principal as well as the Social Sciences teacher, I ensure that the children can come up to me regarding any query they have about the subject. I have kept some time aside to answer their queries related to Coronavirus or any other important social issues. Many a time students surprise me with their ideas. Some of them who have access to smart phones at times send us some interesting links and we learn from them.

Thankfully the electricity situation in UP has improved so the students face no problem in keeping their phones charged for classes.

A lot of people are currently praising the Kerala government’s idea of taking education to children who don’t have access to internet through television, but very few know that the HRD ministry had already taken this initiative like SWAYAM Prabha.

For many years (2008-2014), I was involved in teaching children of manual scavengers. Teaching is a deeply fulfilling task and Coronavirus has taught us the importance of being well-informed and adaptive in the face of uncertainty.

Quarantine At NDA

Locked Down At Seventeen

By LokMarg

Lt Gen (Retd) Ike Singha reminisces his first quarantine at National Defence Academy in 1974 due to chicken pox and the bonding between the grounded batchmates

We were first time quarantined in May-June 1974, at National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, in Kilo Squadron, the reigning champion Squadron, towards the very end of our first term. One flank of the ground floor consisting of freshers was segregated for three weeks because one of us had been detected with chicken pox. Life at the academy starts early at 5 AM and is so hectic that by lights-out time at 10.30 PM, we used to fall flat on the bed; off to sleep within a minute, and were dead to the world till 5 AM.

Our quarantine meant that we were confined to our rooms, called cabins in NDA, based on the Naval tradition; and did not have to attend drill, physical training, riding, swimming, academic classes and sports activities. We were served meals in our flank itself. Unlike the present lockdown, we did not have to sweep our rooms and wash our clothes. All facilities were extended to us after taking due precautions. In fact, it was one great holiday during which twelve of us bonded exceedingly well. Till now, when we are all grandfathers, we are closer to each other than the other batchmates.

ALSO READ: ‘How I Turned The Tables On Lockdown’

As first termers, it was a blessing in disguise, as we could rest and recoup while no seniors could punish or rag us. We got a sadistic pleasure in staying up in the bed while listening to announcements for morning muster followed by the NDA prayer before the entire squadron, but for the dirty dozen, marched off on their bicycles for a long, gruelling and treacherous day ahead.

We generally missed our bed tea and only surfaced in our pyjamas for breakfast. It seemed that the term break which was a month away, had already started for us! We played dumb charades and also did jamming as there were one or two good singers amongst us. Three of us had cleared the first tier of drill square test taken by the Subedar Major of the Academy. The second stage was more stringent as the Adjutant in his test dropped half the candidates who had cleared stage one. We were thrilled to see our name in the pass list in spite of missing the Adjutant’s test!

ALSO READ: ‘Lockdown Made My Kids Prospective Chefs’

There was the flip side to the lockdown as well. The seniors would quietly sneak into our corridor and give us their set of eleven brass buttons each, which needed to be polished for the white patrol to be worn on Passing Out Parade. Each one of us landed up with four to five sets of these brass buttons. Some seniors also borrowed our rain capes and cycles and we were not sure in what shape they would be returned. Some academically weak seniors gave us notes to be copied from their brighter course mates. Seniors ensured all these encounters were done in a clandestine manner as special operations!

There were occasional fist fights when some early birds had taken more than their share of food especially the tipsy pudding. We missed some of our academic and physical tests which were mandatory to clear before going home on term break. Those who had not cleared their tests or had failed them once the lockdown was lifted, had to come one week earlier from home for practice, preparation and retests. Memories of those lovely three weeks, nearly half a century ago came back vividly during the ongoing lockdown when one had to help in the daily chores!

Amphan

‘Corona Unsettled Us, Cyclone Added To The Misery’

By LokMarg

Rashmi Singh, a 37-year-old banker in Kolkata, says going to work, household chores and distancing had begun to tell on her family when Cyclone Amphan added to their woes

I got transferred to Kolkata in July and from then on it has been a series of one readjustment after another. Just as my family of four (with two kids aged 5 and 8) was settling down to Kolkata’s slow and languid pace after Bengaluru’s fast- paced life that Coronavirus struck.

Being a banker, my work comes under essential services and there was no way work from home was an option for me. So every day during the lockdown I had to go to work. With no access to maids during the lockdown, it meant I had to do all the household chores and cooking before leaving for work.

Thankfully my husband has proved to be of tremendous support and also had the option to work from home, so he would (and always does) help in the household chores as much as he could and take care of the kids while I was at work. Commuting to office during lockdown was very difficult as one had very little access to cabs. Driving to work also wasn’t an option. One didn’t know what one was exposed to while at work.

And just when we thought we had got the lockdown figured out that Cyclone Amphan, one of the deadliest cyclones that India has ever seen, struck.

Thankfully due to technology we were informed beforehand of the havoc Amphan could wreak. The timing of the landfall had been predicted around 2.30 pm on Wednesday, May 20. And we were at work till 12 pm that day. Then we hurried back home as soon as we could. Thankfully the roads were empty because of both lockdown and Amphan. But around an hour after I reached home that mayhem started.

My kids, and to be honest, even I was terrified of the whooshing sound the storm was making. Our balcony had sliding windows, just like everyone else in our society. They made such rattling sounds as if they would fall off. One resident’s AC unit actually fell off on a car. We could see scooties falling down and cars colliding with one another as their owners hadn’t applied handbrakes after parking.

ALSO READ: ‘Covid-19 Was Bad Enough, Then Came Cyclone’

I live in a society in Tangra (which is near China Town) and thankfully our society RWA (Residents’ Welfare Association) did a terrific job of handling both the lockdown as well as Amphan or the damages could have been much more.

We had one corona positive case in our society and the society president and his team did a wonderful job of streamlining everything. First of all it was ensured that there would be no discrimination against the person who tested positive and his family. Then a dedicated guard sat outside their house and would provide the family with everything they needed. Those of us who work in the essential services were also taken care of. Excel sheets were drawn up for the delivery of groceries to the whole society (around 1200 houses which means nearly 5,000 people). Each tower had 3-4 volunteers. Things were tough during lockdown but they could have been tougher if not for the RWA taking care of small things.

They did the same thing when Amphan struck. They drew a list of things that could be done to minimize damage. Everyone was asked to clear their balcony of potted plants or sharp objects. The water pump was switched on so that the basement parking wouldn’t be flooded (many nearby societies found their basements flooded because they hadn’t planned beforehand). Many more such steps were taken. Senior citizens and families with people with special needs were checked upon.

Work from home was impossible the next day as both the internet services as well as electricity supply had been affected. But while many areas of Kolkata are still suffering our LAN wire cables were repaired and the RWA had managed to supply electricity through generators. Sometimes I wonder if an RWA can be so efficient, why can’t our governments be as proactive and prepared? And not only should they be prepared, they should also let people know that they are well-prepared so that people don’t panic.

WATCH: ‘No Money, No Food, No Work’

Kolkata taught me that we can do wonders if we come together as human beings. I couldn’t have adjusted to so many quick and sudden changes without the help of our RWA. Amphan and coronavirus taught me that we should always be in tune with nature or nature will keep taking corrective measures like these. Time we understood we are a part of nature.

Migrant Worker

Watch – ‘No Money, No Food, No Work’

By LokMarg

LokMarg speaks to a stream of migrant workers on their way home in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The dejected workers lament heartless employers and apathetic administrations. Yet, their resolve to reach their families remains firm as they brave the scorching sun, long distance to reach home.