The lockdown, sudden and complete, brought the library to a standstill, as we went from less programming to no programming, and finally had to put a stop to the return and borrowing of books as well.
For the first few days after this abrupt halt, everyone retreated into themselves and their homes and sunk into the gloom and uncertainty of the virus. Over 1200 books lent out across schools, communities and library members remained in the hands of the children during this time and there was some comfort in knowing that there was this piece that was still with the children, conflicting with thoughts around book return, in the upheaval and panic of the situation.
As the online platform burst into activity hours after the lockdown, screens were filled with stories and activities, talks, sessions and other interactions. On one hand we were happy to see that stories matter. That this is the medium we turn to when in distress. However, we also realised how inequality becomes even more prominent during these times. While we had access to numerous sources and bits of content, the reach was limited to those who had access to the internet, to a smartphone, data, to recharge facilities, to time with phone. This immediately excluded communities in need, and we halted there, not knowing how to overcome this.
Conversations were vaguely initiated with ideas to call up children, to tell a story over the phone, to ascertain needs. However, even among the team, a feeling of uncertainty and individualism had descended, and the team was divided among those willing but not taking the initiative and those unwilling and uncommitted.
It is during this time that questions of vision, of support when there really is a need, of teamwork, of collective vision, were raised. The outreach team as a whole had failed in more ways than one, and there was a feeling of unquiet and disconnectedness among some team members that hadn’t been present before. As we mechanically got into calls and online meetings, unnecessary tasks were mindlessly discussed, but the core of the MOP program, the vision of this program, was skirted over, in the absence of a collective drive to do something.
Sometime into this period, a suggestion came up, for two of our community sites, which are located within homes for girls and boys, and where the children would all be ‘locked down’ together. If we could share a story through the warden’s phone, we could perhaps reach into the daily locked in routines of the children in some way, and initiate something. Sessions were accordingly fixed with persons in charge at each home.
A story that was being shared and discussed among the team during this time was ‘Only Fools go to School’ by Chatura Rao, illustrated by Proiti Roy. Sujata suggested we begin with this story, as it would be good to hear the voices and responses of the children who are not in school at the moment and their thoughts on this book. The story takes us through the journey of Sambha who doesn’t like to go to school and thinks that ‘only fools go to school’. But as a new teacher is introduced and new activities begin to take place in school, he slowly starts to change his mind. 
The story was shared with the children through the wardens phone, following which video calls were made and Bookworm team interacted with the children from respective homes. The responses of the children to this story were interesting in the instinctive way in which they grasped certain ideas and limitations in the story. Firstly, all were unanimous in their disagreement with the title, with one child quietly ascertaining that he goes to school to become somebody one day. Having said that, there was also a collective appreciation of the teacher represented in the story and the activities that she initiated which drew Sambha to school. Such activities, they agreed, were wholly absent from their own school lives, and they wished there were more teachers like teacher Sunita, and more activities like the ones she introduced.
Overall, everyone felt that there was respect and openness in the way the teacher approached the children and included their ideas and strengths into the classroom activities. While they enjoyed the story, a few of them felt a sense of incompleteness, and a feeling that something was missing at the end. The children’s response to the title and the story helped us see this story from their point of view, and the joy and the thoughts and questions that the story evoked.
This connection, while online and with all the hassles of connectivity, and scope, and sound problems, initiated something with the children, in a space of complete withdrawal from stories. It was one step on a rung of many possibilities that we need to consider, as the limitations increase. A step towards moving somewhere, towards something. We hope that in the immediate future that presents itself we can draw on this experience with the children to construct more ideas and programming that enable us to carry on our vision of empowering every girl and boy through stories and reading.
