On Monday, when tiny tots — dressed up in uniforms, carrying a backpack and clutching a water bottle — prepared to enter for the first time the world of formal learning, the weather gods themselves paused ‘Operation Monsoon’.
Indeed, golden rays of sunlight pierced the dark rain clouds that had until then hung low all across the state. They dispelled the uncertainties that parents and teachers likely harboured about how their wards would fare in the new surroundings on a rain-soaked morning.
If the ride to the school was eventless, the proceedings that began on getting there were anything but. Decked up and gleaming, the classrooms were an arena of festivities, which commenced at 8.30 am with performances by the students.
Titled Praveshanolsavam, the state-level event is not limited to first graders alone. It ushers each and every student and marks the official beginning of a new academic year.
If around three lakh students entered Class 1, over 36 lakh students returned to their respective classrooms in over 12,900 schools across the state.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led the reopening ceremony at Kalavoor Government HSS in Alappuzha. Ministers G R Anil and P Rajeeve ushered in the festivities at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, respectively.
On Tuesday, children will once again be preparing — some even raring — to leave for school, and soon, classrooms will once again be filled with laughs and lessons.
And come rain or shine, that will, no doubt, continue until summer calls again.