Government Public School Banjara Colony

The school is tucked away in the Parivakkam area, right near Poondhamalli in Chennai. If you walk down the main road, you’ll eventually see our gate. It’s a bit of a walk from the main bus stop, especially when the sun is out in the middle of the day. Most of the kids come from the Banjara Colony nearby. They usually arrive in groups, chatting and laughing before the first bell rings at half past eight. The building itself is quite simple. We have a few rows of classrooms with windows that stay open to catch whatever breeze comes off the trees. The paint is a little faded on the outside, and some of the desks have seen better days, but they serve the purpose. During the lunch hour, the playground gets very loud. You can hear the sounds of plates clinking and children running around from quite a distance. We don't have a big fancy office or anything like that. The staff sits together in a room that’s usually piled high with textbooks and registers. Sometimes the electricity goes out in the afternoon, so we just move the benches closer to the doors for light. It’s a busy place with a lot of noise and energy, which is just how things are in this part of Chennai. Most parents here work nearby and drop their kids off on their way to the market or the factory.