The Girl at the Window

In the end, Totto-chan is the adorable character because of the others who let her be a child, so that she can make her decisions about what she wants to be —  whether a station master who can move or stop a train just by showing a colourful flag, or, a spy who saves the world in secret

By Karuna Khandsiya

Totto-Chan: the little girl at the window. 

When you first begin to read this book, you might think, “Oh, that is supposed to be my dream as well,” thinking, it’s some child’s fantasy about her school; but no, it’s someone’s reality that happened because of the people around her.

Totto-Chan may be seen as a mischievous little girl by a few, but, for me, she is the most adorable kid. This book is that sweet medicine to help children grow, and the bitter one to cure our education system. 

The ‘train-school’ of this book seems a fantasy of a kid, because we all dreamed about a school where we all have a lot of friends, without trying to fit in some criteria, where we have the freedom to do what we like to do, the freedom to be creative and independent in our skills, where our flaws are not mended forcefully while we were confused, where we were guided rather than being taught, and, mostly, where we all could be a girl who is free from those wolfish adults who are only teaching us to be the rich man’s stepping stones. 

A school, where each student is equal even without uniforms, or, if it is a special needs school, it should  still  make them feel a part of it. A school that really preserves the ‘childness’ of a child.

We now try to have a sense of ‘equality’ in schools by having compulsory uniforms for children. However, do you really think uniforms matter when we are not able to accept them inside the hearts, while we are ready for the imperfections as we discover ourselves? 

Just as suggesting that different kind of animals with different qualities and identities, will follow only one thing, like all have to walk where fishes swim — but, just to be fair to everyone, even the fish have to walk! 

Rather than pressurizing kids to memorize what they don’t like, why can’t they be open to let them choose what they want to learn each day? Each subject is important, but shouldn’t kids have the right to choose the right day to learn those in a 7-day week? 

Force- feeding something only makes us puke; so let’s not force-feed knowledge to kids who are just 6, or 16.

In the end, Totto-chan is the adorable character because of the others who let her be a child, so that she can make her decisions about what she wants to be —  whether a station master who can move or stop a train just by showing a colourful flag, or, a spy who saves the world in secret.

Well, all characters have to get through their tough times, so Totto-Chan also had to meet hers, but, still, there are so many memorable experiences too. 

And one advice for you all is to read this book before sleep, because when I used to read it before bed I, experienced all those lost dreams of childhood. Not only that it also reconnects you to your unconscious mind. But, most importantly, it takes you back to those stress-less nights as kids which have now been left behind.

Karuna Khandsiya is a Class 11 student of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence (SOSE), Dwarka, Delhi Board of Secondary Education, Delhi government.