Glancing from behind the rickety door of his one-room tenement in a discreet corner of Dharavi, 13-year-old Vicky Ramkeval Gautam makes a revelation. A native of Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district, Gautam wants to become a doctor, so that he can help solve the dearth of medical practitioners in and around his village. Gautam is a Class VIII student at Dharavi Kala Killa Municipal School. 

Two years ago, his dream to pursue medicine went awry when COVID-19 struck. As the national lockdown was imposed in March 2020, Gautam, much against his wishes, was forced to return to UP with his younger brother and mother, whose roadside food kiosk business in Dharavi area took a hit. His father is a small time plumber back in UP. The initial days were tough—the family lived in isolation, as residents kept a distance, fearing that they’d contract the disease from the ‘urban returnees’. Gautam slowly began making new friends, whiling away time outdoors. But all through, he missed school immensely.