Sujay V. Kumar

Vikas, Sept 17th, 2003

Valayanchirangara P.O.,

Kerala State, India 683556

I made a quick phone call to Dr. Appnu Nambiar on

September 17th about a possible visit to the tribal

school. Although we had corresponded earlier over

email, we had not previously decided on a date. As

enterprising as he is, Dr.Nambiar made it clear that

we are welcome any day. So I decided to make the trip

the very next day, September 18th itself. I managed to

convince my uncle, Mr. Rajendrakumar (who is a charted

accountant in cochin) as well as my father Mr.

Vijayakumar (who is a retired engineer from the state

electricity board, no stranger to social and

educational causes himself) to accompany me.

The best way for us get to the school was to take the

train up from Aluva, where we stay, all the way north

upto Talassery. Dr.Nambiar was to pick us from the

railway station. To our slight consternation, we

found out at 6 in the morning that our train wouldn’t

be stopping at Talassery. I made a quick phone call to

wake Dr.Nambiar and he promptly suggested that we get

off at Cannoore, which is further North. He, very

gratefully agreed to come to Cannoore to receive us.

So we took the Cannanoore express, that carries its

share of daily commuters to different northern

locations in Kerala from Ernakulam. At the end of the

six-hour journey, we met Dr.Nambiar outside the

station. We had lunch, and then caught the bus that

goes towards Manathavady (in Wayanad district) to go

to Periya. Very soon, we were tackling the hair pin

curves through the mist covered mountains. The dark

clouds as a backdrop to the mountains presented a

beautiful and spectacular scenery. Not much later and

closer to Periya, the skies exploded and we (I rather,

not seen a monsoon downpour in a while) got a taste of

a typical monsoon rain. We got out at Periya 34, and

made ourselves comfortable in a local tea shack by the

time the jeep from the school arrived.

From the periya 34 junction, the school is hardly 1km

away. Dr.Nambiar proudly took us along the access road

he and his associates built, laying mud and stones. He

also mentioned some of the trouble he had in gaining

land just to lay the road. The jeep, which is a school

property, was made possible by the donations from I2

technologies.

Although we had left home at 5am in the morning, by

the time we got to the school it was almost 4pm. As we

got out of the jeep, we were met with some curious

onlookers, who were playing indoors or studying rather

than the majority that had gone to the nearby field to

play hockey and cricket. One of the first buildings to

catch our glances was a classroom with a partially

burned down roof (thatched with coconut leaves). This,

apparently was the job of the local political groups

who were least impressed with Dr.Nambiar’s efforts to

show light to one of the most backward and exploited

communities in Kerala. This was a stark reminder of

some of the social difficulties that Dr.Nambiar faced

and still faces. He also mentioned with a sigh of

relief that all the new, concrete buildings are much

more sturdier, and will be able to withstand such an

attack in future.

Dr. Nambiar gave us a tour of the children’s rooms,

the kitchen, storage area, the brand new building with

spacious classrooms and staff rooms, and the bathroom

facilities. The school has been in existence for

nearly 7 years and this year the first batch of

students will appear for the 10th standard

examination. We found some of the 10th standard

students hard at work when most of their friends were

out playing. Dr. Nambiar mentioned that he expects

some of them to do very well, graduate with

distinction in the examination (which is no easy feat,

myself having gone through the rigors and grinds of

the same system).

We sat down in the staff room of the newly constructed

‘Asha’ building. The temperature was getting a tad

chilly. The staff room, much like the children’s

sleeping rooms had coir mats on the floors for warmth.

“I could sit here for hours”, Dr. Nambiar said with a

feeling of pride, relief, and content. Through the

window we could see another small round shaped

building constructed on pillars, specifically for kids

in the lower grades, for them to enjoy the nature

while in class. We were already impressed with the

amount of facilities and infrastructure Dr.Nambiar

managed to harness in 7 years. He also discussed some

of the pressing concerns, such as the need for a

photocopy machine, to avoid the inordinate amount of

time teachers spend in copying notes and question

papers. Currently the government gives funds to the

school to support 207 students (after much persistence

by Dr.Nambiar, based on an inspection done a couple of

years ago). The school currently hosts approximately

400 students and there is immediate need for money to

support the extra students. Dr.Nambiar had to stop

admitting kids in the 1st grade this year for lack of

extra funds. The vocational education instituted at

the school is currently managed by Dr.Nambiar’s

personal funds. There is also a need to set up an

infirmary/hospital (at least on a weekly basis) to

handle the health issues of the kids. The local

community also stands to gain if such facilities are

introduced.

One of the important issues that the school faces is

the lack of support from the local community. The

tribals have traditionally been exploited by the money

guzzling politicians who embezzle all the money that

the government gives out and the deserving never sees

a penny as in most cases. The illiterate community

also suffers from clinging to superstitions and arcane

beliefs. The tribals initially saw the school as a

welcome change, but as the facilites improved, there

seems to be a sense of skepticism that this is also

some sort of scheme to exploit them. The school has

already made some efforts in this direction such as

opening a canteen and a small store adjacent to the

school for the locals. Facilities such as a hospital

will go a long way in building confidence in the

community.

Now came the interesting part of the evening. We

joined the kids in evening prayer in the hall

adjoining their rooms. The teachers led them, and the

kids took over with clapping and cymbals. After the

prayer got over, Dr. Nambiar asked the kids to stay

(they normally have study time until dinner time). The

teachers quickly got a small stage set up for us. Dr.

Nambiar formally welcomed and introduced us in front

of the kids. Then he asked the kids to come up and

sing some songs. I was amazed by the promptness and

enthusiasm with which they came up to sing. Finally

Dr. Nambiar had to turn them away saying we were short

of time. My father talked to the kids for a while and

then it was my turn. I gave a short “speech” and then

asked the kids to bombard me with questions. Boy, did

I know I was in for a barrage. The questions started

of with lot of space related questions (since I am

working at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center),

slowly moved onto America, international relations,

Afghanistan, Iraq wars. I had to answer very difficult

questions like “why did America attack Afghanistan?”,

“why did America attack Iraq?”, “Why does America

treat the third world countries badly?”, “Do they

really try to poison us? (in lieu of the recent cola

scam)”. It was quite entertaining though I had a hard

time explaining these complicated issues for their

understanding and also without being biased.

Dinner followed, and we joined them in the mess hall.

The power cuts are a common feature in Kerala. But the

school is well prepared with solar backup power and is

in the process of installing a generator as well.

After dinner, the kids retired to their rooms to study

and sleep. A number of them also came up to tell me to

stay over that night.

We also retired to our comfortable room. Being high up

in the mountains, the temperature becomes pretty

chilly in the evenings for an average keralite. All

three of us were pretty beat from the long day. To

keep up with my short vacation plans, I had to get

home by evening the next day, so we had to leave again

early the next morning. Dr.Nambiar was grateful enough

to give us a ride in the jeep up to the nearest

railway station (talassery)

This meant that we didn’t get a chance to see the kids

in the morning, and more importantly some of the

classes.

So we started the long ride back home. The school had

left indelible impressions in our minds. I had met a

true gandhian, who truly practices simple living and

high thinking, one who has gone great lengths to see

his dream bear fruit, and to let it keep going. This

is truly an outstanding effort and I was only

fortunate to have the chance to see it with my own

eyes.