When the Dewan of Travancore, CP Ramaswami Iyer, first visited the Vanchiyoor School almost ninety years ago, he was awestruck by the green bounty, the infrastructure and the vast tennis court. Later, the High Court (which used to function here) replaced the Vanchiyoor school, which was then shifted to the Overbridge premises with a new name, Sree Moola Vilasam High School.
One of the oldest schools in Thiruvananthapuram, SMV School has lots of antiques and ancient surprises to flaunt.
Through the sun-beaten grounds, we take a stroll and halt by the staff room. The brick-walled building has an oblong tank in the lobby, with water lilies and fishe residing in the calm water. Above the pond, you see a hefty bell that had been brought in 1920 from Gillet and Johnston - a bell manufacturing firm based in Croydon, England. The inscription on the bell reads ‘Vanjiour School - 1920’.
B Vikraman, the present headmaster of the school tells us that three of the school buildings have been declared heritage property by the state government.
The corridors leading to the classrooms have termite-eaten blue pillars, some of which have already collapsed and some on the verge of crumbling. Class 10-A is empty, except for a forgotten geometry box that lies on the front desk. Almost a century old, the iron desks with wooden flaps are fixed on the floor. “Not long ago, a student’s leg got stuck in between and we had to call the fire force people to weld it off,” the headmaster recalls.
Thottam Rajasekharan, the former director of Public Relations, is an ex-student of this school. In his autobiography, he throws light on the school’s golden years and heritage. On the premises stands a sturdy teak tree which received a ‘Vriksha Muthasshi’ award for being one of the oldest teak trees in the state.
Chala Surendran, a social activist and ex-student of the school, rings the bell and the vibrations resonate for long even as we make our way to the other side of the school ground. There stands a temple which is housed within the school premises. A 4ft ‘kalvillakku’ stands upright at the entrance. “An idol was found near this tree in the initial years of the school. Later, the PTA built a temple and mounted the Ganesh idol there. On alternative days, a poojari performs rites and rituals here,” says B Vikraman as he strolls around the gigantic peepal tree.
The wooden planks of the school building are moth eaten and the roof tiles, broken here and there. The rustic aura has been preserved, but not for long as the Government has issued orders to renovate the buildings.