All for a noble cause
MYSURU: Inspired by Divine Star Rishab Shettys Kannada movie Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shaale, Kasargod , enthusiastic members of Ananya, a Mysuru-based voluntary organisation, have launched a unique mission of beautifying government schools in the tribal areas of HD Kote and Hunsur taluks in Mysuru district. Members of Ananya are also volunteers of the National Service Scheme (NSS) of JSS College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Mysuru. Led by NSS officer N Santhosh Kumar, they launched the mission after watching the movie that hit the screens in 2018. They have painted and decorated several government schools in the remote tribal hamlets. Leveraging his position as an NSS officer, Santhosh formed Ananya and got its members trained by renowned terracotta artist Swamy. Ananya launched its first project at Kuthavadi B Haadi in Hunsur taluk. It gave a facelift to the government school there, which was in a bad shape. The project was funded solely by members of Ananya. After the success of this project, Ananya decided to adopt government schools in tribal hamlets. Apart from painting and decorating the schools, it started providing them notebooks, textbooks, computers, printers and smart TVs. Members of Ananya also planted fruit-bearing saplings on the premises of government schools. Ananya organises cleanliness drives, conducts computer training, spoken English and yoga classes for tribal children, and distributes sanitary pads to girl students. These efforts of Ananya have not only helped in improving infrastructure in government schools, but also the student enrolment rate. The organisation has developed government schools at Kuthavadi, Devagahalli, Basavanahalli, Asavalu, Kudineeru Muddanahalli, Hosapura, Sanjeeva Nagara, Devalapura and Ambedkar Nagara in Hunsur taluk, Manti Haadi, Padukote Haadi, and Chamanahalli Hundi in HD Kote taluk, and Santhe Kesalagere in Mandya taluk. Santhosh told TNSE that Ananya selects two or three schools at a time for development. Gaddige Temple is our base. We chose schools close to the temple. The temple administration supports us with food and accommodation. We approach philanthropists for funds as painting a small school costs around Rs 40,000. Maja Talkies creative director Tejaswi supports us financially, he said. This year, Ananya completed work on schools at Asavalu, Hosapura, Kudineeru Muddanahalli and Manti Haadi. The government school at Singanamarahalli in Hunsur taluk, which houses primary and high school sections, will be given a facelift in December or January, Santhosh said. Around 50 volunteers work in batches of 10 to 15 members during weekends or holidays. Working in such schools is a major challenge as they are either on the fringes of the forests or inside them. We lived in Manti Haadi for five days without proper electricity and drinking water. We could charge our phones only for two hours a day and had to depend on a borewell for water. We were scared of wild animals, but tribal people lived with us in the school and ensured our safety, he said. Santhoshs initiative has received appreciation from several non-governmental agencies, well-known personalities, including actor and director Rishab Shetty.
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