Alpha Gk School

Up here in Kotagiri, the mornings are usually freezing, and Alpha Gk School is no exception. We’re situated right on SH 15, so we see all the traffic heading through the hills. Sometimes the mist is so thick you can’t even see the road from the front door until ten in the morning. The school building is built into the slope, so there are a lot of stairs to climb, which keeps everyone’s legs tired. We don't have a lot of modern frills; it's mostly just sturdy rooms with high ceilings to deal with the mountain air. The wind can be quite loud when it whips through the valley, often drowning out what the teacher is saying if the windows are open. We spend a lot of time keeping the damp out of the library and making sure the heaters are working in the staff area. The kids come in wrapped in heavy sweaters and scarves, and they usually have mud on their shoes from the walking paths. It’s a bit of a trek for some of them who live further down the hills. Life here moves at a different pace than the plains. We focus on the daily lessons and making sure everyone stays warm and fed. When the tea estate workers walk by in the evening, they usually see us wrapping up for the day, closing the heavy wooden shutters against the night chill. It’s a quiet, cold, and very green place to work.