Sri Venkatachalapathy Poly College

Down in Vadakuchipalayam, which is near Villupuram, you will find our polytechnic college. Sri Venkatachalapathy Poly College has been sitting here for quite a few years now. The sun can be really strong in this part of Tamil Nadu, so we have some trees around the edges to give a bit of shade. It’s a place full of machines and tools because that’s what a polytechnic is all about. You will often hear the sound of metal or engines coming from the workshops. We don’t have a fancy reception area with soft chairs. It’s more about grease and hard work here. The students come from all the surrounding villages around Villupuram. Most of them travel quite a distance on the bus to get here by nine. We have some benches where they sit and eat their lunch under the shade. The staff rooms are full of old papers and registers. We don’t use much of that corporate language you hear in the big cities. We just tell the students what they need to know for their jobs. The roads around Vadakuchipalayam are a bit narrow, so it’s always a squeeze when the college buses arrive. It is a practical place. We don't try to make it sound better than it is. It's just a place to learn a trade and get some work done. It feels right to be part of the local landscape here. We just keep things moving.