I am Lusi Sharma, 17. I live with my parents and five siblings in Kolkata. Papa works as a carpenter and Mummy does the household work. My eldest sister is now married, the one after her is in class 12 studying science, and I am in class 11 and I study commerce. Then there’s my younger sister who is in ninth, our brother is in seventh, and our youngest sister is in class five.

Our house is near a railway station, which made it easier for me when I would go to school in Sealdah. I would catch a train and reach the school in five minutes. But COVID-19 has changed my routine. Now I use a smartphone to study.

I love playing cricket. I have been playing in the locality since I was a child, but I never thought I would represent India at the national level. This happened in 2019 when I played in the Street Child Cricket World Cup held in London. I was part of a team made up of four boys and four girls, who were selected from across the country by Save the Children India. I still play with the team, and I am now the vice-captain.

Even though schools aren’t physically open yet, I continue to wake up early. This way I can help Mummy with household chores before the online classes start.

But online classes are not easy. Most people in our colony do not have Android phones. In my house, too, there is only one phone. When it is available, I attend the classes. It was particularly difficult during the lockdown. Papa was not getting much work, and there were times when we could not recharge the phone.

I finally tally a balance sheet that I’ve been working on for a few days. I enjoy accounting. Till a few years ago, history was my favourite subject. It was so easy to score in it! Even if you wrote two pages for a five-mark question, you would get four or five marks.

To be continued…