Another Day - another day off school
We have only been at our new schools in India for two and a half weeks and we have had so many days off, I feel like we haven’t really started yet. First there was Independence Day, which was obviously a scheduled day off and we had planned around that with both of the boys schools. Then, on day two of the school year for Jack, there was the death of a previous Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the school emailed us at 10pm to let us know that the school would be closing as a sign of respect. I was told it was a national day of mourning, however, Max's school here in Hyderabad did NOT have the day off. Go figure. Jack's school then celebrated Bakra Eid on the following Wednesday, so he had yet another day off.
So, to today, and we received an email at 11.30am stating that Max's school will be closing early due to a warning issued by the police that the traffic would be so bad that it would be impacting the ability to get the children home on the buses.
Earlier this week there was a horrible high speed car accident outside of Hyderabad and the driver, a well known actor/politician here in Hyderabad was seriously injured. His name was Nandamuri Harikrishna and he was known for his acting, and his father was also a famous actor, but he was mostly known as an MP in the Telugu Desam Party which are supporters of the common people. The farmers, lower castes and middle class. He was thrown from the vehicle, as he was the only one not wearing a seatbelt, and was found with serious injuries a long way from the car. He then died (or as it is more commonly described here 'he expired') in the early hours yesterday and the funeral was scheduled for this afternoon. The funeral procession was going to be from the outer area of Hyderabad (not far from where we live) to the centre of town between 2pm and 6pm. So the school buses would most likely have been caught in the chaos, so they closed the school at 1pm.
I think it is so commendable that everyone mourns and also celebrates the lives of important people here in India but with the funerals completed in such quick timeframes it gives no one time to prepare or plan. There is literally no notice!! Just drop everything and deal with it - which the Indians do. They are so loyal to the people in power and the image below is just a small snippet of the crowd that would have been moving along the roads today.
We are hoping that next week both boys will be at school for 5 days each, and of course, that no one dies to achieve this.
So, to today, and we received an email at 11.30am stating that Max's school will be closing early due to a warning issued by the police that the traffic would be so bad that it would be impacting the ability to get the children home on the buses.
Earlier this week there was a horrible high speed car accident outside of Hyderabad and the driver, a well known actor/politician here in Hyderabad was seriously injured. His name was Nandamuri Harikrishna and he was known for his acting, and his father was also a famous actor, but he was mostly known as an MP in the Telugu Desam Party which are supporters of the common people. The farmers, lower castes and middle class. He was thrown from the vehicle, as he was the only one not wearing a seatbelt, and was found with serious injuries a long way from the car. He then died (or as it is more commonly described here 'he expired') in the early hours yesterday and the funeral was scheduled for this afternoon. The funeral procession was going to be from the outer area of Hyderabad (not far from where we live) to the centre of town between 2pm and 6pm. So the school buses would most likely have been caught in the chaos, so they closed the school at 1pm.
I think it is so commendable that everyone mourns and also celebrates the lives of important people here in India but with the funerals completed in such quick timeframes it gives no one time to prepare or plan. There is literally no notice!! Just drop everything and deal with it - which the Indians do. They are so loyal to the people in power and the image below is just a small snippet of the crowd that would have been moving along the roads today.
We are hoping that next week both boys will be at school for 5 days each, and of course, that no one dies to achieve this.
Times of India (30/8/2018)
Comments
Post a Comment