Kerala - Alappuzha   

A school's autobiography

Dennis Marcus Mathew

ALAPPUZHA: Autobiographies are nothing new. But one by a school, that too by a government school that is fighting for existence in a remote island village, is something unusual. The Olavipe Government Lower Primary School near Thycauttussery at Cherthala, 25 km from Alappuzha, is now the `author' of an autobiography, said to be the first by a school in Kerala, and probably in the country.

Surrounded by the Kaithappuzha backwaters, the Olavipe Government LP School has leaking roofs, pealing plaster, faded paint and creaking furniture. And yes, its attendance register has thinned, with the children of the island village finding school buses from nearby towns more attractive than the `kettuvallams' that took them through the mini-tributaries of the Kaithappuzha to the school.

The decline in the glory of the school prompted a few of its alumni to join hands under the title `A Group of Friends' (GoF) and work for its revival. `Oru Schoolinte Athmakatha - Padavarambu' (A School's Autobiography).

The foreword is by noted economist P.K. Michael Tharakan, an alumnus of the school. The book has its copyright, royalty and profits all dedicated to the school. In fact, the office of the GoF is beneath a huge mango tree, still standing tall on the school's tiny, shrinking campus.

The Group went around the village establishing little `memory baskets,' titled `ormacheppukal,' into which villagers poured their remembrances of the school. These later formed different chapters for the book.

Set up in 1961, the school was the first educational institution in Olavipe. Earlier known only for farmers, daily wage labourers and unemployment, the first strains of literacy from the LP School saw a slow transformation in Olavipe. And the book pays tribute to that in its own style.

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