Alishan shut his eyes, his arms outstretched on his desk in class. He was not dozing off on the sly but participating in an exercise mandated for the class.

"Straighten your back, not too firm... relaxed," his teacher instructed him and other Grade VII - the equivalent to Secondary 1 - students in the Delhi government school. "Now try and listen attentively to any sound that is coming in from outside," the teacher added.