The guardians keeping watch on Kota’s kids
Residents in Kota, India, are being trained to recognize signs of mental distress among the city's massive student population. Local workers like autorickshaw drivers and housekeepers are intervening to prevent suicides in the high-pressure coaching hub.
Why it matters
It highlights community-led mental health initiatives in response to the extreme academic pressure faced by students in competitive exam hubs.
When an 18-year-old student asked autorickshaw driver Badri bhaiya to stop midway across a flyover, there was something about the request that made the older man uneasy. Minutes earlier, he had overheard Deven* speaking anxiously on the phone about his disappointing performance in a recent mock test. Badri had been trained to recognise the warning signs of suicidal distress, and he sensed that this was not an ordinary conversation.Badri did not stop. Instead, he gently suggested that the boy get off a little farther ahead. He began asking about Deven’s hometown, his family and how he was settling into life in Kota. The questions were casual and chatty. All the while, Badri was steering his autorickshaw towards the district counselling centre.
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