From Karayar, we walk the rest of the way, till we reach a rickety wooden bridge across a shallow river. The bridge creaks and sways dangerously as we step on it, but doesn't break. The river gets flooded when the dam gates are open, and it cuts off the village located across the river.
There are only 57 families in this village -- most of them belong to the tribal groups of Kanniyar and Kanniyarar. These tribes are found in Kerala, and in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu.
The 30 school going children in this village walk for three kilometres everyday to reach their school in a nearby village. Class 4 student Ahilan, who has always studied with the help of a small lamp, finds nothing strange about life without electricity.
Chitrakala completed her tenth standard four years ago, but she cannot go to work as the nearest fields are five km away, and there is no mode of transport to take her there.
After completing their tenth standard, students who wish to opt for further studies have to go to Vikramasinghapuram, which is 15 km away. The village has only one science graduate, who now lives in Nagercoil, and there are no engineers or doctors.
Image: (Top) Residents Ganeshamoorthy and Pichandi; (Bottom) A village woman washes betel nuts
Also see: Solar power lights up village
Advertisement
