Freedom Writers of Chintadripet

Bhuvanesh Chandar, Swastika Das Sharma, Shubham Chhabra

(Originally written in January 2020 as a part of my ACJ curriculum. All photos and details are posted with the permission of the relevant authorities)

If one takes a walk in the Iyya Mudali street in Chintadripet, it is highly unlikely that the slowly fading noises of school children praying in unison, will be any indication to the world of stories that one will be transported to on stepping inside the old, raw structure – a world of negligence, drugs, alcohol, violence and death. As the headmaster of the school would put in, “It’s different once they step out of the school. These kids become different individuals”

“What else can I do, madam? All my friends are like this. Where else will I go?” asked Nagaraj , an alumni of the Rao Bahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty Middle School in Chintadripet, to the principal of the school, S.Usha. She had met him near a local liquor shop with his friends. “He died within a few months of this conversation. I saw his obituary poster. This is actually quite common,” says Usha with a trembling voice. “What else can I do?”

Ironically, this is the same question that goes crosses the minds of all eight teachers in this school that tutors 91 students – They’re ready to do anything for the sake of these kids. One wouldn’t be wrong in likening some of the scenes that play out at the Rao Bahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty Middle School on a regular basis to a poignant dialogue voiced by the school teacher assigned to tutor students from complicated backgrounds in the 2007 film Freedom Writers. “I am not letting you fail. Even if that means coming to your house every night until you finish the work. I see who you’re. I can see you. And you’re not failing.” After all, the task of convincing these students that there is hope for a life outside gang violence and death seems almost second nature to Usha and her team.

RBCCC, a 155-year-old government-aided primary school, tutors to children predominantly from the slums in and around Chintadripet. Most of them are from the slums near Pumping Station and Ritchie Street. “The government cleared many slums here, and our strength plummeted” recalls Usha, who says that when she started teaching here, 32 years ago, the strength used to be around 1000. Most parents of these kids work at the local fish market, and seem to believe that their kids will have to do the same job. Due to this, there is a reluctance with respect to education. It doesn’t take much for these kids to take the wrong turn.

“Now, the situation is that, unless we go to these slums and persuade the parents to send their kids, half of the students don’t turn up,” Usha adds. “Everytime we go there, people shout slurs and tease us, as if we’re trying to do something unimanginable” recollects Usha.

As the stories unravel, the air feels barren and cold, as the principal goes on to say that she has seen parents giving alcohol to their own kids. Kids between the age of 7 to 14. “Everybody drinks. If we question them, they will say, pretending that it is not a big deal, that it is to help them sleep better”

From canvassing the support of the parents, to helping the kids take a bath, eat and lead a stress-free life, the teachers of the school undergo all struggles, only to see them fall prey to the same vicious cycle created by their peers. “Often, they even shout slurs and tease us when we go to their homes,” recollects Usha. 

So what motivates them every day? “These kids are brilliant. They are in fact more intelligent than my own children. They can quickly grasp whatever we teach them. Till they’re in our control, which is up to 8th standard, they’re really good. After that, it becomes difficult” says Shankari, a first grade teacher in the school.