Didi ki pathshala: Classroom without walls, migrant children learn to soar high under Delhi’s flyover

NEW DELHI: At 17, Payal should have been spending her evenings on a running track — training, competing and winning medals. A statelevel athlete in running, she had secured admission to Miranda College and dreamed of building a life beyond the narrow lanes near the Geeta Colony flyover where she lives. But dreams cost money, and when the college fees proved too high, Payal made a choice that changed more lives than just her own.

She is not a trained teacher. Having studied till Class XII, she is currently pursuing a web designing course at a college near her home. Yet every day, she chooses to stand before children who have even fewer choices than she does — migrant labourers’ daughters, first-generation learners and students for whom school has never been a certainty. In choosing to teach them, she becomes a reminder that dreams find ways to survive.

Since Jan 15, an open patch of land under the Geeta Colony flyover has transformed into an open-air school, supported by Than Singh Ki Pathshala. Than Singh, a Delhi Police head constable who runs the NGO, had visited the area to distribute blankets. As children gathered around him, he asked if there was anyone who could teach them. Payal stepped forward. Within days, an informal school took shape — without walls, without a roof. And without even a washroom. Today, 34 children are enrolled, with around 30 attending daily. Classes run from 3pm to 5pm, covering science, mathematics and English. Children from nursery to Class VIII sit together in batches, guided by Payal and other young volunteers.

The children take care of the space themselves. They clean the area, set up the blackboard and line up their slippers neatly. Each day, they greet their teacher with smiling faces and say, “Radhe Radhe, Didi.”

For many, this pathshala is their only access to education. At least five girls do not attend formal school because their families are migrant labourers from Jharkhand, unsure of how long they will remain in Delhi. Others walk nearly 10 minutes every day to attend classes.

Among them is Sakshi, 10, a Class IV student who has taken on an unusual responsibility. Many children in the area do not have watches or mobile phones at home to keep track of time. “I go door-to-door calling them when it’s time for class,” she says.

Sakshi dreams of joining the Army. “I like studying,” she says with a smile. “And I like studying with Payal didi even more.”

Volunteers Komal (20) and Anjali (19) also help Payal. They travel from different parts of the city to assist. “We come from far, but it’s worth it,” they say. “All the parents here want their children to study. They send them no matter what.”

The learning space, however, comes with daily challenges. There is no washroom facility, forcing children to step into nearby bushes when needed — sometimes barefoot, sometimes accompanied by a friend for safety.

What the children ask for most is simple: a room. “It’s cold in winter, extremely hot in summer, and during the monsoon this place often gets flooded,” they say. The children often tell her, “Didi, hum khud room bana lenge (we can build our own classroom)”.

Payal tells them that every school starts small. A school supported by the same NGO near Red Fort also began in the open and took years to develop proper infrastructure. Until that day comes, the children continue to study under the flyover — proving that learning finds space even in the most unlikely places.