CSK

August 11, 2023

I was walking (thera para) in B Tech hostels when Akshayettan called me and asked if I had some time to talk and told me that there is a job, me having no interest in classes and too lazy to work on something without someone forcing me told him yes. He said the job was for Ramettan and gave some details about it and said Ramettan would call me, as I trusted both of them even though I did not have the confidence to take up something alone said yes.

Ramettan called me and gave me the details, He was working for Teach For India (TFI) in Chennai, and each year they conducted a 2 day event where all the schools in Chennai where TFI fellows was teaching. Chennai Students Kondattam. The event where all the students could participate had sports, arts, crafts, and all sorts of activities. These government school students never had an Arts day or anything. What i had to do was build a website where the TFI fellows could login and see their students list add each students to 3 events for each day and at the end they need an Id card with the students details and the event they are participating in.

I completed my work, And gave it to him. He did something i did not expect and would later become one of my core memory (as they would say in Inside out). He invited me to the event, to come stay there and attend the event (again, as I had no interest in class and did not care about attendance decided to go) And asked Karthik also to come. Karthik (He was always in for any plan) and we started our journey**

Me and Karthik were very tired and exhausted when we reached Chennai Central railway station as the train was delayed by 3 hours as if the 12-hour journey was not tiring enough.

Ramettan came to the railway station to take us to his home. I'd never actually met him before this except for once in college, we took the metro and then an Ola auto to reach the place he stays, we reached the place at about 7 PM, so we reached place (the first thought that came to my mind was, Maann why would he choose to stay here!! , The neighborhood was not where i pictured him to live in. The place had clean water problems, drinking water problems, and the room had no cots). It was everything I had never expected for him to be in.

So as soon as we reached he asked us to relax and freshen up. In the meantime he said he will make us some dosas we tried to stop him by saying we can eat outside, but u can't really do something if he has decided something (even though that sounds like a lot negative that's not what I meant). So we ate dosas and I didn't see him making any curry but But I didn't bother asking because I was too afraid (If I ask him he would surely make curry for sure and I did not want to give him more trouble). He then went outside and bought some Chammandi Podi (Chutney Powder) and that was the first time i ate dosa with Chammadi podi and oil alone. and then he made us coffee. Then we started working on the Student ID cards for the event which was not ready yet.

Then came his roommate, Ramettan introduced him to us. Girichettan who was a previous TFI fellow who quit the fellowship in between because he couldn't work with his previous students and continued teaching them in a tuition center near the school on the weekends. while he worked on the weekdays. All this information Ramettan told us when Girichettan went to take a bath.

Then came Anandhu barging in I've heard about Anandu from Akshayettan and also Ramettan He is an aspiring movie director / Cameraman, now working as an Asst director and Ramettan and Suhairka was his mentor/caretaker. He kept on talking about anything and everything. He also covered (In the school) for Ramettan, and Ashwinettan when they weren't around he was good with kids too (I came to know about this later).

Girichettan came back from his bath and asked us if we ate. Anandhu was the first one to reply he was so hungry. And both of them ate together. Girichettan also sang some songs and I saw his old youtube channel where he has uploaded some songs. He was too good for an engineer/teacher.

The next day. First Day of CSK 6.0 Ramettan left early for school and made Anandhu in charge of us. we woke up and had breakfast from a small shop outside ( Another thing I noticed about that place is that where u get breakfast u don't get tea ). So we had tea after that and we went back. Since there was no fresh water in Ramettans's place Anandhu took us to another room.

That is where we met Ashwinchettan also a CS engineer/ex-TFI fellow currently working as a software developer in Chennai and like Girichettan he also teaches his old kids in his home on the weekends and holidays. He was also a great man (I don't know if all these TFI fellows are like this maybe it's what the fellowship did to them. I mean until this time I met 3. and all 3 of them had the best personalities).

So we got freshened up and went to school the bus was packed with small students and since it was Saturday and a holiday Aswin Chettan also came along and from the students, I understood that he was no stranger to them. They called him Ashwin Sir and Anand Sir ( Ramettan ) and Saravanan Sir and some other teachers also accompanied the students.

I remember in the bus while going to the venue school where this event was happening they played a song from Bigil (A vijay movie that had just come out). That is one of my first firsthand experience of how much tamil people loved Vijay. these small students knew the complete lyrics by heart and they were dancing like anything.

The two day event was super new experience for me. There were students from many schools along with their teachers (Their Anand sirs , Ashwin sirs etc...). There we met Aiswarya chechi (Ramettans wife now) and met some other teachers as well.

I learned so much kindness that day. How can people be kind to other people without expecting anything in return. How can people do good things to people who they never expect to get it return from. These people could have joined some tech company like everybody else does after their BTech and created a better life for themselves but they chose to teach. Some of them were working other jobs and spending their weekends for teaching these students.

I learned that rather than money, a better place to sleep in, a better job or another city. I think their happiness came from those children that they were spending their time for. What if one student's future changes because of them that will be more than enough.

I am completing writing this years from after the CSK 2020. Even though i've forgotten many incidents or details that happened there the way the place and the people there made me feel is something i will never forget. This Chennai trip was actually the first thing that made me think, "Hey, maybe I should start writing about this stuff.".