It’s just something out-of-the-box thinker Rancho of ‘3 Idiots’ would have done. The Druk White Lotus School, where the climax of the Aamir Khan flick was shot, is helping its students cope with the trauma of the floods through fun and entertainment.

School principal Prasad Eledath said that the children had seen disaster and tragedy closely and were living in fear. That fateful August 6 night, nearly 236 students were present in the hostel of the school, around 25 km from Leh. 

“To help students overcome their horror, we have started special co-curricular activities and movie screenings,” he said. Both activities are held during school time for the benefit of both hostellers and day scholars. “We try to screen one movie a day in the common rooms. The kids excitedly gather to watch the movie and it cheers them up,” he added. 

Eledath said that the school had also started adopting students who had either lost their parents or had no source of income left. “We have already adopted 36 students,” said Eledath.

Talking about the pace of the school’s restoration work, the principal said that the junior classes wing and administrative block had suffered maximum loss but things were looking up. “Most classes have been restored but complete restoration will take around a year,” Eledath said.

Denying media reports published in some national newspapers that Aamir Khan had not fulfilled his promise to help rebuild the school, Eledath said, “Aamir did his best. He not only visited the school to boost the morale of students, but also announced funds for the school through the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund (Aamir has not disclosed the amount).”

Controversies and the huge damage to the school apart, Eledath is upbeat. “We are just happy that all our students are safe. We plan to expand in the next session. Till now, the school is only till Class VIII but we plan to add a class in the next session,” he said.