As teachers and parents across the country work their way around online education, triggered by COVID-19 pandemic, a photograph of a child during class is making the rounds of social media. It shows the young student, a boy, lying on his stomach on the bench, hanging face down to the ground lost in his own world, while his grandmother takes down notes read out by a teacher on the screen. Titled ‘Reality of Online Class’, the photo has struck a chord with people coming to terms with the new reality; UAE-based Presel Divakaran, however saw the picture differently. He saw the child as imagining the outdoors – open skies, a smiling sun, animals, birds and trees – and drew a digital painting of it and posted it on his Facebook page.
“I was surprised by the response. I posted it on my profile at night on July 23, and when I woke up in morning this awaited me,” says Divakaran who works as supervisor in a UAE-based company. Among those who shared it was director Aashiq Abu. Thanks to that image, which was shared more than 2000 times from Divakaran’s Facebook page, overnight he got more than 1500 friend requests. “One reason it went viral was that Aashiq Abu shared it,” the 37 year-old says. This work, perhaps, struck a chord as students, teachers and parents across the country are working their way around online education.
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The art work was instinctive and done on his iPad Pro in 15 minutes. “It brought back memories of my childhood, all our childhoods perhaps. While others noted the child’s mischief what I saw was his ideal world – from a child’s point of view. I didn’t think it would garner this sort of a response, I haven’t even put my signature on it,” he says. Divakaran is self-taught, “My father is our guru – my brother’s and mine.” His art is inspired by current affairs. This is the first time any of his works has got this kind of attention.
His take on online education? “It is a challenge for children and parents too!”