Kanaklata Das is a 58-year-old woman from Khudra Palaha village in Assam. She is fond of children and loves to tell stories and conduct activities with them. She has been associated with Pratham since the pandemic years, and has been instrumental in keeping the children motivated and engaged during the pandemic.

Kanaklata’s relative Pragya is a part of Pratham’s learning camp and mothers’ group activities. Kanaklata helps to conduct the activities, and the children love her company. They fondly call her ‘Kanaklata Aaita’ (grandmother).

Kanaklata is a storehouse of fun-learning activities and rhymes. She learned these activities when she was a child, and she also visits the village Anganwadi to learn new ones. She is always looking for new ways to engage the children, and is willing to share her knowledge with others.

Kanaklata’s unique way of conducting activities and rhymes has been greatly appreciated by children and their mothers. She was recently requested by other village mothers to teach them rhymes and activities as their children love them. “The way she tells us a story, we feel that we are inside the story,” says one of the children, who love her way of storytelling.

Kanaklata dreams of seeing every child in her community become independent and a good citizen. She believes that only good education can fulfill their dreams.

Pratham team members have recently requested her to visit the nearby village with them and demonstrate the activities to the mothers, to which she instantly agreed.

“I don’t have any children of my own," says Kanaklata, “but I consider all the children of my village as my own. I love all of them, and I want to take their responsibility as a mother does."