Every time village elders in Sikkarayapuram, a small village near Porur, announce the annual festival for the ancient Shiva temple in the village, students of the lone Government Primary School in the neighbourhood are joyous.
There are reasons for this.
The school remains closed during the festival time not due to any age-old custom, but the educational institution functions from the same premises where the temple is also located. “Such festivals bind all people in the neighbourhood, including children. So, we manage to complete the syllabus in time and ensure children are part of the festival and also that the festival does not prove to be hindrance in the functioning of the school,” says R. Rani, headmistress of the school.
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The school was founded 26 years ago when a group of village elders in Sikkarayapuram, one of the 42 villages that form the Kundrathur Panchayat Union in Kancheepuram district, decided to end the plight of their grandchildren having to walk six kilometres to the nearest government school in Kundrathur.
The vast premises of the ancient Shiva temple with a lingam as its core deity was their choice at least for two reasons: The temple is located on the busy Kundrathur Main Road that connect major neighbourhoods like Porur, Kundrathur, Poonamallee and Mogalivakkam. More importantly, the temple provides safety to schoolchildren due to frequent movement of devotees and residents from the neighbourhood.
“As the neighbourhood does not have private schools, the state-run school up to middle level (class eight) provides basic education for our children in the locality. As the temple is located on the busy stretch, easy connectivity to the school is an advantage,” says V. Manogaran, former president, Sikkarayapuram village panchayat.
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Opened in September 1990, the school has around 70 students, half of them girls, with a few new classrooms. Most of the students are children of migrant families who work in the nearby crushing units of quarries. An upgraded government school up to class eight is located a few hundred metres away from the primary school on the same stretch.
For class ten and above, children from the village have to travel to Kundrathur where government schools at higher level are available. Temple authorities say pujas for the day are done before and after school hours ensuring students are not distracted by the sound of prayers. Interestingly, the temple does not have loudspeakers and the temple bell to ensure classes are not disturbed by them.