Monsoon Semester 07: Walking Them to the Door
English

This episode talks about suicide,
and about helping a student in
crisis. Support details
are below this video.
Before we go. Would it help if we
called her together, right now?
So she knows we're coming.
Hmm. Okay.
Wellness Centre, Farah speaking.
Farah, it's Arjun. I'm
with Kabir, a first-year.
Can we come and see you now?
Of course. Hello, Kabir.
I'm glad you called.
Come straight over.
I'll meet you at the door.
Okay, ma'am. Thank you.
Chalein?
Chalein.
Sir, you'll get wet.
It's big enough for two.
A referral can be five words long.
'You should see someone.'
Or it can be a ten-minute walk.
Is it raining back home too?
Every day. Mummy says the bhutta
cart is back outside our lane.
Bhutta in the rain.
Now I'm hungry.
Hmm.
Someone's covered my cycle.
Mani Anna. He noticed
before any of us did.
Sir... will this go on my record?
Will my parents find out?
Ask Farah. She'll tell you straight.
Have you ever been, sir?
To someone like her?
Not yet. But Kamala ma'am has, years ago.
She talks about it openly.
She says it helped.
I'll walk you right to the door.
Only to the door?
As far as you want me to come.
Kabir? I'm Farah. Thank you for coming.
Namaste, ma'am.
Would you like Arjun to come in
for a few minutes, or wait outside?
Your choice.
Can he come in? Just for a bit.
Of course.
Kabir, is it okay if I tell
Farah what you told me?
Hmm.
He's been feeling very low for a
few weeks, and he isn't sleeping.
Today he told me the thought of
ending his life has crossed his mind.
Thank you, Arjun. And thank
you, Kabir, for telling him.
That took courage.
Let me tell you how this works.
What you say in this
room stays in this room.
The one exception is if I'm
worried about your safety.
Then others may need to
know, and I'd tell you first.
Nothing from here goes on
your grade sheet. Ever.
And today, mostly, I'll just listen.
You decide what to talk
about, and how much.
I'll leave you two, then.
I'll check in with you soon, Kabir.
Thank you, sir.
A kind teacher says, 'You should see
someone.' And the student has to find the
door alone.
A warm handover is different.
The student never has to walk in alone.
Call us together. Walk over together.
Or, with the student's consent,
book the first appointment together.
And one more thing, said plainly.
If a student is in immediate
danger, stay with them.
Call campus medical help,
and call the counsellor.
And don't handle it alone.
You're not meant to.
Kabir said I could tell you this much.
He's okay, and we've made a plan
together for the next few days.
What should I do now?
Be his teacher. Check in now and then.
Leave the rest to me.
That, I can do.
And Arjun? Thank you for
walking him to the door.
The law now asks institutions
for more than kindness.
The Supreme Court's Guideline
Five, from 2025, requires written
referral protocols.
A plan on paper: when someone is
worried about a student, who do they
call, and how?
It also requires helpline numbers
displayed in classrooms, in hostels, and
on websites.
And since January 2026,
residential campuses must have
round-the-clock medical
help within one kilometre.
Yet when the Supreme Court's National
Task Force surveyed institutions,
fewer than four percent of those that
answered said they had a protocol for
students at risk of suicide.
Arjun knew where to walk.
A written protocol means
every teacher does.
If your institution doesn't
have one, you can ask for it.
A week later.
Hi Kabir. I was thinking of you this week.
Hope it's been a little lighter.
No need to reply. I'm
glad you're in this class.
Two lines. Nothing about coursework.
Thank you, sir. It has
been a little lighter.
Aha. Moving again.
Very good, green fellow.
Not fixed. Not finished.
But moving.
Try this week: save the counselling
centre's number and the campus emergency
number in your phone.
And find out how to book a first
appointment for a student, with their
consent.
And here is a phrase to keep.
Would it help if we called
them together, right now?
Support details and sources
are below this video.
See you in week eight.