Vidyasadan Central School

Vidyasadan Central School is located on Marianad Church Road, which is a fairly quiet part of Puthucurichy if you don’t count the Sundays. Being so close to the church, we often hear the bells ringing while we’re in the middle of a lesson. The air here always has a bit of salt in it because the ocean isn't far off, and you can feel that humid breeze coming through the hallways. It’s a simple setup, really. We have a few blocks of classrooms connected by covered walkways that help when the rain starts coming down sideways. The playground is mostly sand, which makes sense for Mariyanadu, but it means the kids are always tracking it into the rooms. We’ve given up on trying to keep the floors perfectly clean during the day. Most of the teachers live in the village or nearby, so there’s a lot of local talk in the break room about the fishing or the latest news from the parish. The walls are painted a light color that’s starting to peel a bit near the bottom from the dampness. We don't have a big grand entrance, just a gate that stays open during the day. It’s a practical place where people just get on with their jobs. By late afternoon, the shadows from the coconut trees stretch across the yard, and it’s finally time to lock up the cabinets and head home before the sun sets over the water.