Bye bye germs

Rachna Chhabria narrates the story of a group of kids getting schooled on hygiene.

It was a hot summer day. The students of grade six were playing games on the sports field. They had a free class as their teacher Mrs Ruth Braganza’s hadn’t turned up.  

The guava, gooseberry and mango trees were in full bloom. The gardener plucked the ripe fruits dangling from the branches of these trees and handed it to them. 

The boisterous games the kids were playing had made the air hazy with dust. Dust coated the students’ shoes, clothes and hair. Hearing the lunch bell ring, the students exchanged smiles. All the games had made them super hungry. They all ran eagerly to their classroom, excited to see what their moms had packed in their lunch boxes.

Their classroom was in the new block, on the ground floor. As they all neared it, they exchanged shocked looks. There were party sounds coming from their classroom. They heard music, laughter, and other loud sounds.

They approached the door. Their eyes widened as they saw a big ‘Welcome to the Germ Party’ banner hanging at the entrance of their classroom.

“We just left the classroom for an hour and now there is a party in it,” Rohan looked puzzled.

“Listen to all the fun they are having,” Rasha said. “I’m so jealous that I wasn’t invited to this party.”

“Our history teacher is right,” Yuvraj said. “None of you pay attention to anything in life. Nor do you all read properly.”

“What do you mean?” Garima scowled.

“Why would you all want to attend the Germ Party?” Yuvraj pointed to the banner at the entrance.

The other students stared at it with wide eyes. They gulped as realisation dawned.

“So, what shall we do?” Aditya asked.

“We will silently watch what is happening?” Yuvraj said.

He approached the door and peeped in. Turning around he beckoned the others. They all thronged the door of the classroom. Small creatures with spikes protruding from their body were jumping on chairs and desks. Some were dancing in the aisles, singing at the top of their voices.

“It’s time to party,” said a green germ. “As Garima never washes her hands before eating, I’m waiting to enter her stomach and have fun.”

“What will you do?” another monster asked.

“I’ll enter Garima’s stomach through her dirty hands and give her a stomach ache,” the germ replied. “If I’m in a bad mood, I’ll give her a nasty stomach infection.”

Garima started crying.

“I’m super excited to roam inside Rohan’s body,” said a big germ. It was the germ of laziness. “He is cooped up in his room all the time, playing on his laptop. Good health comes with exercising the body which Rohan seldom does. I’m going to have fun giving him all kinds of health problems.”

“Yes,” the other germs screamed.

Rohan looked worried and touched his stomach. He hated exercise and was always munching on fast food.  

The germs had started playing passing the parcel. Suddenly one germ said, “Guess what I’m going to do for lunch today?”

“Have fun in Aditya’s stomach,” his friend replied.

“Yes,” the germ grinned. “I have been sitting on the guava he has been holding for a long time. We all know that Aditya has a bad habit of not washing any fruit he eats. He just sees a fruit and starts gobbling it up like he hasn’t eaten from years.”

“Yes,” replied another germ. “Don’t these children know that there are all kinds of germs in fruits and vegetables lying open in the market. Don’t these children know that insects crawl over the fruits and vegetables? Aren’t they aware of the number of flies swarming over them? Don’t they see that their vegetables and fruit are handled by so many people? Yet, these children are in such a hurry to eat them that they just put them into their mouth.”

The children all stared at the germs in shock. Exchanging worried looks they clutched their stomach.

“No wonder I always get a stomach bug when I eat unwashed fruit,” Rani said. 

“We are going for a picnic,” said a group of germs. They flew to the door handle and started dancing over it. “Do you all know where is our picnic today?”

The other germs looked surprised. “Where are you folks going?” asked a tall germ.

“We are going to Ronit’s throat and nose,” the germ replied. 

Ronit looked worried. 

“Ronit touches all the surfaces, desks, door handles, walls, and windows. He doesn’t bother washing his hands before eating. He does this day in and day out,” the germ grinned. “We will enjoy an outing in his nose and throat today. You will see him with a runny nose and a sore throat today. He will be sneezing constantly soon.”

“Ronit, go wash your hands,” Yuvraj whispered. 

Turning to his classmates, Yuvraj said. “Friends we can’t allow the germs to make us fall sick. It’s important to play outside and get some Vitamin D. Exercise is good for health and playing with friends is a good stress buster. It’s equally important to follow basic hygiene, like washing our hands before eating and washing our hands after playing or touching objects. Eating fruits and vegetables is good for health, but we should always wash the fruit and vegetables well. If we are smart, the germs will never have a party in their lives.”

The children rushed to the restroom and washed their hands. They also washed their mangoes, guavas and gooseberries as well. 

When they returned to the classroom, they were surprised to see the room all quiet. Most of the germs had fallen to the ground and were now lying on their back as though they had all fainted. 

“See the germs,” Yuvraj pointed. “We defeated them by following basic hygiene. This should actually become our daily practice. Once we all do this, it will be the end of most of the germs.”

“Yes,” the other students replied. “Bye, bye germs.”