For the cave men of the Parappanpara Cholanayakka tribal settlement inside the Nilambur forest range, the new academic year is special. They were able to send their children to a proper school for the first time. Not a mean achievement for a group which used to hide from strangers and stay aloof from the modern ways till the recent past.
Six children, R. Ajayan, S. Karthika, K. Kannan, S. Vimitha, K. Simitha and R. Ajil, of the settlement enrolled in standard I of the Rajeev Gandhi Memorial Model Residential School (RGMMRS) at Noolpuzha in the district on Wednesday. Teachers and children of the school gave the newcomers a warm welcome.
The Parappanpara Cholanayakka settlement is eight kilometres away from Vaduvanchal, the nearest town. Nobody from there has attended a normal school owing to inaccessibility. But a few were familiar with the world of letters, thanks to the peripatetic school of the Tribal Department functioning there.
The inspiration
K. Mani, from Aranamala Kattunayakka colony near Mepadi, is the resource person of the peripatetic school. His frequent visits and constant persuasion prompted the cave men to educate their children. Mr. Mani used to take a perilous 15-kilometre trek through a mountain path in the dense forest for this task.
"When I went to the settlement along with Mr. Mani in 2004 as a tribal extension officer, the cave men had been leading a nomadic life," says K.C. Cheriyan, Superintendent of the RGMMRS. "They were suspicious of strangers and used to hide at the sight of new people those days."
Later, they settled at Parappanpara. The Tribal Department personnel earned their trust when they spearheaded a rescue operation following a landslide during the last monsoon season. "When the victims of landslide were sent to relief camps at Vaduvanchal and Pookode, the children got their first glimpse of the outside world. We convinced the parents on the importance of education and they agreed to send their children to school," Mr. Mani said.
"We are preparing to celebrate the Praveshanotsavam of the school (entrance festival) along with the new guests on Friday," Mr. Cheriyan said.
