A Home Away From Home
By Anitha.S
18 February, 2014
Countercurrents.org
I am Irshad. I am 12 years old and study in the Attakulangara Central High School in the East Fort area of Thiruvananthapuram city. I stay with my parents and brothers in the Manacaud area and walk to school everyday. I love to sing and dance. I also like to draw landscapes, human faces and trees.
Yesterday afternoon, me and my classmates along with many other students in the school had a different experience. We were taken out into the school compound to see trees, know their names and learn more about them. The team who came to see us shared a story with us. The story called The Name of a Tree is a folktale told by Bantu tribesmen in Africa. This was about the need to know and understand so that we start loving and caring. I really liked the story as it was based on a tree and how animals have to know its name to get the fruits.
After the story we all went out in the open. I love to be outdoors as it makes me feel and think in freedom. It is when we walked to the gate of the school that we realized what a big school ours is. When I sit in the classroom with my 4 classmates, the school appears small. But out in the open with 30 friends from various classes, the school looked big. My friend Sarath was fascinated by the board on the old school building which said NATIVE SCHOOL- 1889. We all tried hard to calculate how many years old the school is- 125 years old ! We looked at the trees around that also looked old and ancient. How much they must have seen and heard ? We wondered who would have planted them. It looks like we have not planted any new trees in recent times. We were told about the past glory of the school when more than 2000 students studied here and it was the venue for the State Youth Festival. I looked at the dusty and dilapidated corridors of the old building and imagined the number of children and teachers who would have walked through this.
Most of us were fascinated to see the pale violet leaves of the Vitex plant near the gate that we have hardly noticed. The medicinal properties of this plant is very well known. My friends were happy to note that there are 2 varieties of Ixora- white and red in the school along with the famed Ashokam in flower. When I heard that the flowers of Ashokam if boiled in coconut oil and applied relieves many skin ailments, I wondered if it will remove the white patches on my face. The Tree Walk aunt said that I have to eat more vegetables and greens- I hate vegetables and get scolded by my mother always.
If anyone asks me which are the trees I like most in the school, I would vouch for the huge Raintrees. They look so ancient and wise- almost like the grand aunt of my father whom we visit occasionally. I sit close to her and watch her wrinkled face and hands that must have seen and held so much in life. The trees in the school also look so kind and all-knowing. 9 of us stood as ring holding hands around the largest in the group. We were shocked to see that on many trees, a yellow square with a number has been marked. The Rain tree that we held had 13 written on it.- seems ominous. We understood that 2 acres of the school compound has been given to the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) for a bus bay and shopping complex. The 48 trees marked may be cut when development comes in. We were sad to see that some of the most wonderful trees in the campus have been marked.
Our school located in one of the most crowded parts of the city is already disturbed by the horns and sounds of vehicles speeding by. We wonder what the situation will be when 25 buses will be parked here along with the vehicles that come into the shopping complex. Will a high wall filter the noise and smoke? A student in 9th Class asked about why the authorities are not taking care of the school and ensuring that quality of education will be improved so that many more children will join. It seemed possible to increase the enrolment by making this into a Higher Secondary School. My mother is already worried about where I will study after my 10th Class.
We walked to see the 2 trees that grow in our school that is not found anywhere else in the city. I was so happy to hear that the Tree with the sticky fruits that we named Gummy tree is also called so scientifically. During the fruiting season , we have fun with the fruits. The tree called Clammy Cherry fruits during this time till June- July. My friend Vallarasa was very sure that the flowers of the Sage leaved Allangium is yellow in color and it will soon bloom. He even collected the contact number of the Tree Walk to inform them when it flowers. I was more bothered that the numbers 17 and 18 were marked on Clammy cherry and Alangium. Will they be cut? Who will decide?
Yesterday was the Attukal Pongala when thousands of women offer their prayers to the Attukal devi. Since our school is very close to the temple, its compound also becomes the venue for women to make their hearth to cook the offering . I and my friends were thinking aloud if next year it would be possible for this gathering to take place amidst buses and shops. Where will the women devotees go?
The walk ended without us seeing all of the 32 species. It was time for many of us to catch the bus or walk home. We walked up to the huge Ficus tree at the edge of the play ground. I love to swing on its hanging roots and look at the sky. There is also a palm growing from within the tree. The Tree Walk people promised to come back and complete the walk. Though we enjoyed the walk, this interaction also created a sad and anxious thought in us – about the school, the trees, the calmness that we enjoy now and the freedom that this vast space creates in our minds. Would this be lost? How does one decide that a school is not productive? How can the quality of education of a school that has been an epicenter of learning for many years be upgraded and improved? What will happen to the children of parents who cannot afford expensive education when such government schools gets neglected?
This walk was not just about trees, their names and uses. Like the Bantu folk tale, it made us think of our beloved school a lot. It made us want to say aloud that the school should be untouched. As my father who studied here wanted me to be here, I would want many generations of children to come to this school. I do not want to pass by this place after some years and recall” There was a school here”. I want to say aloud “ Here is the school that I studied- still providing a home away from home for many” .Yes, the Attakulangara Central High School is a home away from home for us.
Anitha.S with Santhi and Veena in Attakulangara Central High School on 13.02.2014. In conversation with Irshad, Vallarasa, Ananthu, Sachu, Sarath, Sofiya, Sunita, Muthulekshmy, Muthu Priya, Vydevi.
Photo:Veena M and Suresh Elamon
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