I met Aarav in my second week as a Meri Pathshala volunteer.
He sat in the corner with his knees pulled up, staring at his slate as if it could hide him. The rest of the class was loud and cheerful, but he barely looked up. When I sat next to him and quietly asked if he wanted to read with me, he shook his head so firmly that his hair fell into his eyes.
His teacher told me he hardly spoke and got stuck even on simple words. She said he had begun avoiding school and was slipping deeper into himself. So I stopped asking him to read and we just drew, trucks, birds, shapes that slowly turned into his stories. He still did not speak much, but he always came and sat beside me.
After four days, while we were drawing a bird, he finally pointed to a word in his book and whispered, “This… bird… same…?”
The words were broken, soft, almost unsure, but they were his first attempt.
His first connection between picture and print.
Three weeks later he read a full short sentence. It was slow and a little shaky. He even asked, “Is this bird the same, teacher?” and looked almost surprised that the sentence came out clearly. A flash of pride crossed his face before he quickly hid it behind his notebook.
I am proud of him and what I have achieved with him and this is why I wanted to volunteer in the first place. My personal goal now is simple. I want to make sure every child I sit with feels seen, the way Aarav finally felt seen that day.
I hope one day he reads without fear.
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