An unusual classroom in Varanasi

                                By girish Kumar Dubey

VARANASI: Here comes a floating school for the children of the boatmen. In a novel gesture, a local social organisation and some enterprising people have launched two 'schools on boats' for providing informal education to the children of the economically backward community who could not enroll in schools. In the first step, 62 boys and girls are being provided informal education on two boats at the Rajghat.

These children row the boats amid chants, but their chants have a unique connotation. Their every movement is filled with a purpose. For them, it is a way to education. "Humko angrezi ka A B C D yaad ho gaya hai (I have learnt alphabets)," says Gunja, a 12-year-old girl from the boatmen community. Govind (17), who has never been to school, is also busy learning English so that he can interact with foreign tourists.

"In Varanasi, Ganga is a way of life, especially for the thousands of boatmen and their families who depend on the river for sustenance. Through this initiative, we are trying to develop an interest in learning in these children as well as their parents, who consider sending their wards to school a waste of time," a volunteer of the Vishal Bharat Sansthan (VBS), the social organisation spearheading the campaign, told TOI.

The 'classes' are held on two medium-sized boats. The children assemble at the ghat at 4.30pm, even before the arrival of their teachers. They then take their seats on the two boats and the class begins with a prayer. Govind and his brother Abhishek (eldest of the lot) take the charge of rowing the boats. The class continues till 6.30pm. Schooling on floating boats is also a fun activity for these children, who are skilled in swimming.

It is only the eldest boys among them who row the boats during the two-hour floating classes in the afternoon. A boatman, Gurucharan Sahan