Journalism of Courage
Zaid wakes up by 7.15am on Friday. He is not used to waking up early for school because he was staying at his nani's home for the last two weeks, where he would stay up late with his aunts, uncles and cousins and wake up late. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
His mother Meena helps him get ready for school. He is due for a haircut and Meena tries to tame his curly mop with plenty of oil and vigorous combing. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
His father Dilshad Ali will be dropping Zaid to school. He offers to carry the school bag but Zaid insists on carrying it himself. "What will the teacher say, such a small boy carrying his bag by himself?" said Dilshad, trying to convince his son. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
The school is around 3 km away from their home. They take an e-rickshaw to get there. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
Zaid finally lets his father carry his bag as they enter his school, Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya Peeragarhi Village. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
Their first class is a 'Happiness Class' with a mindfulness session, followed by story-telling. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
In their Math class on days of the week, he is keen to let his teacher know that he can write down the days' names without looking at the board. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
New friends chat over lunch-time. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
His favourite part of the day was playing in the school playground, particularly in the red winding slide. He was a little nervous on top of the slide at first because it was his first time on one. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
The last class of the day is a Hindi lesson. In the middle of the class, he runs to the board and picks up a piece of chalk himself to show his teacher that he can write 'seahorse' and 'dolphin'. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
