G K Shetty Vivekananda Vidyalaya

The traffic on M T H Road never really stops, so there’s always a hum in the background here at G K Shetty Vivekananda Vidyalaya. We are right in West Ambattur, which is a busy industrial and residential mix. In the mornings, the school buses line up and it gets quite chaotic with parents dropping off their kids on scooters. The heat in Chennai can be tough, so we keep the windows open for whatever breeze comes through. It’s a big building, and we have a lot of rooms to look after. Every day starts with the same routine of checking the gates and making sure the playground is ready for the kids. We’ve got a lot of staff who have been here for years, so we all know how things work. It’s not a perfect place, there’s always a tap that needs fixing or a lightbulb that’s gone out. But the kids seem to like it well enough and they keep us busy. We focus on the daily lessons and keeping things orderly. The area around Ambattur is loud and dusty, but inside the compound, we try to keep it a bit calmer for the classes. You see a lot of people from the nearby factories and businesses sending their children here. It feels like a real part of the local community. We don't have much time for fancy talk, there’s always something to do or a parent to talk to about their child’s progress. It's just simple, daily work.