THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A group of techies joined hands to give a colourful experience to tiny tots in a government school in Karyavattom, by painting its walls. The members of Varakoottam, the art forum of Prathidhwani, a collective for the welfare of the IT employees in the state, gave a facelift for the walls of the kindergarten classroom at the Government UP School here.The team included Rony Peter, John Panicker, Shanthanu K G, Nidheesh C and Akhil Anil.
“The classroom was divided into seven corners dedicated to different themes like music, mathematics, and theatre. The art ideas were put forward to the kindergarten teacher based on which we executed the work. Acrylic colours were used to paint the walls,” said Rony, a graphic designer. Two years ago, Rony had also done art work and beautified the walls of the children’s play area in the same school.
Shanthanu says: “It was fun to paint the walls of the classroom and make it more attractive for the kids who will hopefully be back soon after the pandemic. It was also kind of a relaxation activity for us as we are now mostly confined to our homes. I am happy to undertake such works in other schools too.”
The art forum consists of more than 70 members working in different IT companies and specialising in various forms of art mediums such as water colour, oil and digital mediums.
However, the brainchild behind the initiative is ‘My Government School’, a forum formed four years ago under Prathidhwani, which has 50-odd techies who send their children to government schools. “ Many of the members in ‘My Government School’ have also been to government schools. Understanding its advantage, they are sending their kids to such schools. However, the objective goes beyond this. The members of the forum have been playing an active role in the Parents Teachers Associations (PTA) to draw out various development plans for the schools,” said Bineesh Nagoorkhani, PTA president of the school.
The forum is also linked to the other initiatives of Prathidhwani. Ajith Anirudhan, another member of the forum, says: “Before the lockdown, many activities were held for children on the Technopark campus. We have also been able to develop the physical infrastructure of the government with the help of the corporate social responsibility funds of various IT companies. It is observed that there has also been a significant change in the perception of the people towards government schools. Once the pandemic subsides, we are planning to organise many other activities for the students.”
The forum has also been able to distribute 50 television sets and 70 smartphones to needy students from government schools around the Technopark campus.