COIMBATORE: The delicate hands that once tilled fields, moulded bricks, and boiled silkworm cocoons had never known the joy of turning the pages of new books, smelling them, or holding a pencil. Nestled in the verdant Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, the Vilankombai tribal children had long lived in darkness – both literally and metaphorically. For them, colours were a far-fetched dream.
Though the government built a temporary school under the National Child Labour Project, it was a single-room structure with primer peeling off, walls lashed with bamboo, and an air of neglect. Like the children inside, the fragmentary building seemed to yearn for care. A school now stood in their village, but the thrill of running there every day with backpacks and bright smiles was missing.
Then, on a November morning in 2019, something changed. Crocodile, Chhota Bheem, panda, and lion smiled down from the once-blank walls. The dull primer gave way to cheerful sky blue, the grey door turned vibrant, and an entire solar system lit up the classroom. The children touched the walls, stared at the colours; their blues, quite literally, were replaced by sky blue. No, it wasn’t Doraemon’s magic pencil – 15 government school teachers’ love and passion had transformed this into a reality.
Pattampoochikulu, a Tiruppur-based organisation started by government school teachers in 2019, is infusing colours into government schools, particularly tribal schools in hilly terrains. Pattampoochikulu – a flutter of butterflies in Tamil – manifests in the literal sense, as it has enlivened 260 schools across 20 districts of Tamil Nadu.
“I often find green as the dominant colour in the government school classrooms and corridors,” says A Santhosh Kumar, coordinator of Pattampoochikulu. In 2016, Santhosh decided to act on that belief. During his off days and school holidays, he began painting walls, starting with the primary school where he taught in Pandiyan Nagar, Tiruppur.
What began as a modest act of adding colours soon evolved into a larger vision. “Children love cartoons and animals. So, I invited two art teachers who painted the classrooms on their off days.” Santhosh bore all expenses – paints and even the teachers’ salaries.
The impact was heart-warming. “When the children walked in, I saw pure joy and amazement in their eyes. I had never seen them so happy in a classroom before. Parents were also quite surprised to see the transformation,” he recalls with a smile.
Santhosh shared photos of the transformed school on Facebook, and it had a ripple effect. A teacher at Kumar Nagar Primary School reached out, and soon that school was transformed too. “That was truly motivating,” Santhosh says. “After a while, we didn’t need extra hands. I knew how to draw, so I took over that part, and the others helped with painting. One school after another, we kept going.”
When schools were shut during the 2020 pandemic, the team found themselves with free time. “We decided to paint tribal schools in remote, hilly regions,” Santhosh says. “These children, often cut off from a colourful childhood, deserved vibrant, imaginative spaces to learn in.” Since then, Pattampoochikulu has transformed nearly 40 tribal schools.
But it’s not just about bright walls; they paint with purpose. “On compound walls, we create murals with awareness messages on plastic use, road safety, and hygiene,” Santhosh explains.
While the initiative runs on passion and volunteer spirit, sustaining it financially requires steady support. Santhosh shares that some Rotary clubs in Tiruppur have stepped in, especially for tribal school projects. Depending on the school’s size and needs, costs typically range between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000.
The most challenging and rewarding assignments come from tribal schools in hilly areas. Teacher and volunteer P Karthikeyan recalls working in remote villages like Malliamman Durgham and Thengumarahada in Erode, and Thalanji and Kodanthur in Tiruppur — places with no electricity, roads, or reliable transport, and high animal threats.
He recounts a particularly gruelling trip to a primary school in Malliamman Durgham, a village 12 km from Kadambur Hills, reachable only by a rugged pick-up van. “We reached Kadambur at 10 am on a Sunday, but waited until 7 pm for a van. After paying Rs 3,500, we reached the school by 9 pm and painted through the night using solar lights to finish by Monday morning. It was exhausting, but we made it happen,” he says.
In 2023, S Bahrudeen, headmaster of the primary school in Thalanji, reached out for a school makeover. “They did all the artwork and even brought clothes and bedsheets for the children,” Bahrudeen said. “Their van got stuck in the rain, yet they carried supplies over 5 km on slippery forest paths, with wild animals around.”
Despite arduous journeys, rough terrain, and sacrificing weekends and holidays, the Pattampoochikulu teachers remain undeterred. “It’s not a job, it’s a joy… and we’ll keep doing it as long as we can,” they say.
(Edited by Swarnali Dutta)