Sept 17th, 2003
Sujay V. Kumar Vikas, Valayanchirangara P.O., Kerala State, India 683556I 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.