Year 2, Day 1

Today was the culmination of an entire summer spent planning for my second year as a teacher. A day when I would finally put my ideas into practice and set my students up for success. Most of all, today was supposed to be fun! Except that it was not.

My co-fellows and I were ready to head to school with our well-planned first day when I decided to call the principal about the rains affecting school operations. While the rains hadn't disrupted classes, she casually mentioned that students shouldn't come until Thursday. Teachers would still need to attend, though—and part of our school building (which had been in terrible condition for years) had collapsed during the rains. The plan was to eventually relocate to a nearby school that the BMC would assign us.

The irony is that the school's renovation has been pending for about 4 years, if not longer. The story is, of course, as predictable as a file making its rounds in a typical government office. This year, after much back-and-forth between the school's administrative officer and the BMC, they've finally acknowledged that our school needs renovation. Even falling roofs couldn't convince them before—somehow this year's rains did the trick.

During our taxi ride to school, we cracked ironic jokes about our luck, using humor to lift our spirits before facing what lay ahead. We arrived with giant umbrellas and grins to greet the students who had shown up expecting classes. They were understandably upset at being turned away by the watchman. "You said we should come on the 17th!" Despite the gloom, I couldn't help but hug each of these little troublemakers, ruffle their hair, and tell them how wonderful it was to see them again. It's funny how someone like me, who once couldn't stand children, now feels compelled to show them such affection. Meeting them was the day's highlight, brief as it was.

Inside, the principal held a general teachers' meeting in a damp Grade 1 classroom. She spoke in Marathi, which meant I could only piece together fragments to form a basic understanding. As she discussed the building's infrastructure, we heard another section collapse with a loud crash, as if emphasizing her point. We learned we'd spend the next few days completing mundane administrative tasks while students waited at home for updates.

What's appalling is that the school still has no clear relocation plan—no idea where or how we're moving! With the BMC being India's richest municipal organization, the state of this school under its administration is deeply concerning, and this is just one of many such cases.

By this point, I felt utterly helpless, unable to affect any change. This was exactly opposite to what I had hoped to achieve.

We finally left school with administrative paperwork stuffed in our bags to complete reluctantly at home. Over lunch and coffee, we shared fun stories from last year, partly to lift the gloom and partly to remind ourselves to look forward to Thursday, when our students would return.

Today was the first day of the second year of my fellowship. Well, it's already starting to become memorable.