6:45 am: Had this been summer, I'd be in class teaching. But it's winter and I'm glad school will not start for another hour and three quarters. It's very, very cold. It's 9 degrees on the veranda and 8 degrees out in the open. There's a very strong wind blowing that's icy cold and strong enough to rattle the roofing sheets. At times it sounds like a storm! I've got layers of thermals on and yet, I'm chilled to the bone. I'm wondering how the children are going to come to school in this weather. I know most of them will show up because they are new and it's the first day of school for them. Most don't wear warm clothes. I wish I had known it was going to be this cold today. I would have certainly declared it a holiday.
I've been up since 4:30 am monitoring Mitali's progress to Kolkata. Because of traffic jams on the Durgapur highway her bus did not reach Kolkata till 5:30 am. I'm pleased with the delay. Or else she would have reached Kolkata in the dark at 4:00 am I would have been rather concerned about her taxi ride home. Dawn was breaking when she arrived and she was home by 6:00 am. Thank God she did not have a relapse on the bus.
Shanku and Suman have been up since 5:45 am. Shanku is busy cooking breakfast. Suman is doing all the other things that he does -- filling up water, etc. etc. Now that Shanku does most if not all of the cooking, Suman seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands. But he does keep himself busy.
The volunteers are fast asleep it seems. They asked me to wake them up as soon as I woke up. I was kind to them and did not knock on their door till 6:15. It's almost 7:00 and there's still no sign of them. I don't blame them. It's bitterly cold outdoors and I'm sure they are quite snug in their beds under the quilt. They'll be up and about once breakfast is ready.
I'm worried about the children. I wish they do the sensible thing and not come to school....
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