Lokesh Thakur
A few days ago, I received a message from one of my dear students, I had taught seven years ago. She is now a confident, self-assured university student, but for me, she is still that shy girl from Class 10 in 2018 , the one who would think twice before speaking, get anxious about small things, and express her happiness with such innocence that it would light up the classroom.
Her message was simple: Sir, I miss you. I miss those days.
That one message pulled me into a flood of memories not just of her, but of hundreds of students from the mountains, plains, and plateaus who often message me saying how they miss their childhood, their school, and the carefree laughter of those growing years.
Whenever I think of childhood, my heart fills with mixed emotions. On one hand, I feel immense joy because childhood truly is the most beautiful stage of life. It is a time when innocence, curiosity, inquisitiveness, and pure joy come together in their most natural form. Children see the world without filters. They question everything, explore without fear, and express emotions freely. Their laughter is genuine, their sadness is unpretentious, and their imagination knows no boundaries.
Yet, on the other hand, a deep sadness weighs on me because in our society, childhood is so often misunderstood, mistreated, and undervalued.
The Lost Sensitivity Towards Children
Despite strong laws like the Right to Education Act, corporal punishment remains a grim reality in many government schools, especially where parents have little voice. In private schools, the pressure takes another form , a race for marks, performance, and perfection , where the joy of learning is sacrificed at the altar of expectations.
And then there is the darkest side child abuse and bullying which has become so common that it barely shocks us anymore. The news of a child being beaten, humiliated, or even losing their life to abuse comes and goes, drowned in our daily scrolls of headlines. What hurts most is not only the crime itself but our normalization of it. We justify punishment saying, “We were punished too, and look at us, we turned out fine.”
But did we really?
Some scars may not show on the skin but stay buried in the mind shaping who we become and how we treat others. Childhood demands sensitivity, not severity; respect, not regulation. Sadly, very few teachers, schools, and even parents truly understand the importance of being sensitive towards childhood.
Cinema: My Way of Remembering and Reflecting
Many fellow educators often ask me, “What should we do to understand childhood?”
Half-jokingly, I tell them to read my books – “Co-mat-ose,” a collection of short stories on childhood issues, and “Don’t Be a Parent , Don’t Be a Friend,” which explores the growing gap between children and adults.
But on a serious note, I often tell them – watch cinema.
Cinema, when done with honesty, helps us feel what we’ve forgotten to feel. It makes us see the world through a child’s eyes again. Some films on childhood have touched me so deeply that they’ve become my way of understanding and mourning what we as a society have lost.
Let me share four films that, in my view, every teacher, parent, and policymaker should watch:
1. Where Is My Friend’s Home? (1987)
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami, this Iranian gem tells the simple story of a boy named Ahmad who realizes he has mistakenly taken his friend’s notebook and sets out on a small but determined journey to return it. What unfolds is not just a story about friendship, but about responsibility, empathy, and the moral world of a child. Ahmad’s struggle to do the right thing, despite adults dismissing him at every step, mirrors the way we often underestimate children’s sense of justice and honesty. Every frame of the film captures the dignity of a child’s heart something our education systems too often overlook.
2. Children of Heaven (1997)
Another masterpiece, directed by Majid Majidi, revolves around a brother and sister from a poor family in Tehran who share a single pair of shoes. The boy loses his sister’s shoes and the two devise a plan to keep it secret from their parents. What could have been a story of poverty becomes, instead, a story of love, sacrifice, and resilience. The children’s sensitivity and care for each other expose the emotional richness of childhood far greater than the materialistic priorities of adults. The film leaves you questioning whether our education systems and families nurture these values of empathy and humanity or crush them in pursuit of success.
3. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Directed by Mark Herman, this powerful film is set during World War II. It follows the unlikely friendship between Bruno, the son of a Nazi commandant, and Shmuel, a Jewish boy imprisoned in a concentration camp. Through Bruno’s innocent eyes, we see the absurdity of hatred and the tragedy of prejudice. It is a stark reminder that children are born without bias they learn love or hate from the world around them. This film always leaves me thinking: if childhood represents purity, then the loss of that innocence is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all.
4. The Bicycle Thieves (1948)
This Italian classic by Vittorio De Sica tells the story of a poor father whose bicycle crucial for his job is stolen, and his young son accompanies him through Rome in search of it. It is one of the most human stories ever told, not just about poverty, but about dignity, despair, and the bond between parent and child. The boy’s silent understanding and faith in his father, even in the face of humiliation, break your heart and heal it at the same time. The film reminds us that children don’t need perfection from adults , they need compassion, presence, and honesty.
Why I Can’t Say “Happy Children’s Day”
Every year on Children’s Day, I find myself torn between joy and grief. Joy because childhood is still one of life’s most beautiful stages. Grief because the way we treat our children often desecrates that very beauty.
The memories of my three students who died too young still haunt me. I believe their deaths were not accidents of fate but consequences of an environment that failed to understand them, value them, and protect them.
So when people wish me Happy Children’s Day, I find it hard to respond. How can I celebrate when so many children are still afraid, unheard, and unseen?
Perhaps one day, when every child is respected, loved, and free to learn without fear perhaps then I will say Happy Children’s Day with all my heart.
Until then, I will continue to teach, to write, and to watch those quiet films about childhood and in them, remember my students, my classrooms, and the laughter that still echoes somewhere in my memory.
Lokesh Thakur is a seasoned educationist and author of four books, including Co-mat-ose, Don’t Be a Parent, Don’t Be a Friend, and Twenty 20 of Life. He has worked with India’s top media houses and leading non-governmental organizations, driving impact through education and social work.
