I am always amazed to see school kids, especially school girls, in excellently turned out school uniforms, all the way from northern Uttarkashi ie Yamnotri in the west through the Himalayas to Sikkim and Dibrugarh in the east. One can spot them early in the morning, walking in the biting cold, dressed up smartly, trekking at least 2 to 10 kms daily - one way - and back, to reach their school without fail.
They walk alongside fast moving traffic, risking eve teasers and various other problems. Most of them, of all ages, carry heavy school bags, and yet look quite happy and cheerful. They put to shame, all the urban school children, who need school buses, or their parents or chauffeurs or whosoever, to drop them and pick them back from school. India belongs to these courageous and brave girls of the Himalayas.
At least, on two locations, one at Khansali, in Yamnotri, and later, near Karnaprayag, I was able to meet them very early in the morning. I was wearing at least three layers of warm clothes, and I was totally humbled by a tiny tyke, possibly about 8 years old, in excellent school uniform and seemingly proud of it, with splendid creases, and a heavy school bag. This small lady of India, all of 8 years old, did not have any warm clothes on her. She was smiling and glowing, and I am sure, that some time in the future, we will hear about her and be happy about our India.
This photograph is from the highway between Devprayag and Rudraprayag, before Srinagar, in Uttarakhand.
They walk alongside fast moving traffic, risking eve teasers and various other problems. Most of them, of all ages, carry heavy school bags, and yet look quite happy and cheerful. They put to shame, all the urban school children, who need school buses, or their parents or chauffeurs or whosoever, to drop them and pick them back from school. India belongs to these courageous and brave girls of the Himalayas.
At least, on two locations, one at Khansali, in Yamnotri, and later, near Karnaprayag, I was able to meet them very early in the morning. I was wearing at least three layers of warm clothes, and I was totally humbled by a tiny tyke, possibly about 8 years old, in excellent school uniform and seemingly proud of it, with splendid creases, and a heavy school bag. This small lady of India, all of 8 years old, did not have any warm clothes on her. She was smiling and glowing, and I am sure, that some time in the future, we will hear about her and be happy about our India.
This photograph is from the highway between Devprayag and Rudraprayag, before Srinagar, in Uttarakhand.
