THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When 11-year-old Abhay Krishna made a casual video on the travails of having to do too many school assignments, the last thing he expected was it to go viral. But the netizens, who turned out to be rather sympathetic to his struggle with the massive workload that comes with online classes, shared the video in droves in solidarity with little Abhay, soon turning the Class 6 student of Vythiri HIM UP School, Wayanad, into an overnight internet sensation.
“You keep asking us to study. What do you mean by studying, teachers? My head is getting spoiled by studying. Dear teacher, you think we are not studying. But I know that you are going on updating more lessons online. I am really fed up, teachers. With a lot of sadness, I’m requesting you not to post new lessons like this. Why have you made these online groups? Why are you doing this to me? Who made these groups and graphs? Remember how things were earlier? You used to give us work, but not too much. Teachers, I’m fed up. I usually love to study. Please don’t give me so much work. I’m becoming really sad. This is driving me crazy.” So goes the complaints.
Abhay, who is usually good at studies, has not been coping very well with online classes. So recently, after his mother, PT Hanusha, instructed him to complete his notes and left to deal with household chores, Abhay made use of the alone time to record a video complaining about his situation and sent it to his grandfather, PT Haridasan, who posted it on their family WhatsApp group. By the time Hanusha came back to check on Abhay, the video had already gone viral. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, as she was concerned if her little one’s innocent complaints would become a problem for him.
The video later reached General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who called up Abhay and quipped, “Please don’t be scared of online classes. We can find a solution.” This was when Hanusha and her husband, K Gireesh, finally let out a sigh of relief.“Fortunately, my teachers did not scold me. News channels came to interview me. Opposition Leader V D Satheesan also spoke to me over the phone. He has promised to meet me the next time he is in Wayanad. On Friday, Wayanad MLA T Siddique also came to visit me,” Abhay told TNIE.
After all the hullabaloo, Abhay is now hopeful that his teachers will not bombard him with notes anymore. At the same time, he is also worried for his father, Gireesh, who has been unable to return to Kuwait, where he works as a supermarket supervisor. Abhay knows that only if his father can go back to work can he move into his new home.