As well as welcoming the Mumbai monsoon, June also sees children across India return to school. Gathering at the school gates with butterflies of anxiety and excitement, returning to old friends, meeting new teachers, whether you’re in Mumbai or Manchester, so much about this experience is universal.

At Royal City School, where Reality Gives supports Kindergarten through to Grade III with teachers, textbooks, and curricula to foster a holistic, child-centered, engaging learning environment, Sonakshi Shashikant Ukalikar, a 6-year-old student going into Grade I, couldn’t wait to get started.

Talking to Sonakshi during the last week of her one-month-long summer vacation, she was counting down the days excitedly, “I love the holidays. I play, study, and spend a lot of time with my grandmother. But now, I can’t wait for the classes to reopen”.

Sonakshi’s grandmother, Chandrabala, plays a vital role in her upbringing. As both of her parents have to work to support the family, the 66-year-old not only takes care of Sonakshi at home, but also accompanies her to school every single day without fail. She shares with us, “My sons didn’t get to study much, Shashikant (Sonakshi’s Father) has studied only till Class 8, but I don’t want the same for her…I want Sonakshi to be really successful in life and become whatever she wants to be”.

On the 15th of June 2016, the first day of school arrived. Morning classes at Royal City School start at 7.10 am, but anxious adults accompanying their children for this important day started arriving as early as 6.30 am! Whilst of different religions, cultures, and traditions, these parents held the same ambitions – to see their children go to school, to be happy and successful in life. Something that may well unite parents across the world.

Let’s check out how was Sonakshi’s first day at school: