In ‘Kanavu’, dreams take shape

‘Kanavu’, a creative school for tribal children in a remote village called Chengode in Wayanad was conceived by K.J. Baby, a well known Malayalam littérateur and playwright, way back in 1994. It is now an institution run by his former students.Tracking its dream-run during the last two years under the new administration.                                                            - Photo: PT Thufail

Manantawady, January 10: Nearly seven years after, once again I travelled up the dream mountain to meet the children of dream (Kanavu). The creative school for the tribal children in a village called Changode was a dream weaved and fulfilled by the famous Malayalam literateaure and playwright KJ Baby. As an eighth standard student, it was these students here whom I had looked upon most enviously when I was taken to Kanavu as part of a camp organised by Civic Chandran, an ex-naxal, thinker and a poet. And it was here I realised the true meaning of education.

Years later, Kanavu (means dream) has not changed much, except that the wooden bridge across the small river behind the school is now concrete. The foot prints of deer still remained on the banks of the river as if it has survived the age. Chathi, Leela, Chipran and the other students there had grown up. I could hardly remember their names, but I tried to trace the memory of their visages, at least. The patron of the school Baby Mama, as he was called affectionately, is no longer with the school. As he had promised them, two years ago he had handed over the complete administration of Kanavu to its elder students, though he and his wife Sherley, who lived most of their life with these children, occasionally visit them and offer them advice and support.

“It felt as if the father was leaving home when Baby Mama told us that the time had come for us to run Kanavu,” recollected Leela, a student at Kanavu who now holds key responsibilities in the new administration. “It was also his dream to see Kanavu being run by its own students so that it survived after him. We are trying our level best to live up to his expectations,” she said.

The elders here, all of whom in their twenties, have taken up different responsibilities to handle. Leela takes care of public relations and guests. Food and kitchen management is the responsibility of Ammini. Chathi and Suresh are the programme coordinators. Santhosh looks after the small children while Mankulu is in-charge of the library and Saji holds the post of the advisory councilor.

“We had a hard time after the departure of Baby Mama in mid-2007,” said Chathi, another student here. “Finance was the biggest problem. Even when Baby Mama was with Kanavu, we never took donations from outsiders except when we felt their contribution was sincere and unconditional. For months, under our new administration, we ran short of funds. There was a shortage of people for our stage performances. Some of them left the school, some went away for further studies and some left after marriage. We could not afford to take any more new students in Kanavu.” he added.

The students in Kanavu have their own paddy, tapioca and vegetable farm for food. They also rear cattle in the backyard. However, since its inception, the major revenue for Kanavu has been drawn from their stage performances in various places.

Music, dance, agriculture,Kalaripayattu the martial art form of Kerala, pottery, tailoring and handicrafts were introduced in Kanavu by Baby as part of their education and curriculum. Baby believed that when one identified with rhythm, songs, proverbs and the soil, then they discovered their very selves. He wanted to create a group who loved each other and reached out to their next generation. Into their songs they filled the history of their land, the struggle for survival, the guerilla fights against the seafarers who invaded their forests, the passion and their virtue. Through their traditional dances to the tune of the thudi, a traditional musical instrument, they learnt to respect their culture and the self.

The students at Kanavu are taught to speak fluently in multiple languages; the different dialects of the adivasi communities which comprise Adiya, Paniya, Kuruma, Kurichya, Katunaikar and others, Malayalam and even English and in some cases, Hindi. They are no less than any other student of the state’s formal education system in terms of their knowledge of Mathematics, Science or the Social sciences. The children of Kanavu had the great opportunities of watching international films and even to work for the creation of a film of their own.

Kanavu has never followed a syllabus like the formal education system, and it still doesn’t. Those who are willing to pursue formal education have the choice of attending the open schools. Kanavu gives necessary assistance to such students.

Today there are 35 students in total. Unlike in the past, now the children are sent to the nearby school. “When Baby Mama was here we had teachers coming in who were his friends,” explained Chathi. But, now they are tutored by the elders after school. Thus the typical Kanavu days are restricted to Saturdays and Sundays for the children. The elders still follow the old Kanavu routine. The day begins with kalarippayattu, followed by cleaning of the school and its premises, breakfast, agricultural work in the field, handicrafts class and dance and music in the evening. Classes are conducted for the younger ones at night. Every day, before going to bed, plans are made for the next day.

Towards the end of last year, all the members of the Kanavu family, including those who left the school for further studies and for a family life, had a reunion at the school. In the meeting a broad plan of Kanavu activities were charted out for the year ahead. In the same month, they were booked for stage performances in cities outside the state, like Mumbai and Chennai. This year, they are on a new mission to get more such bookings. Also they have decided to conduct study camps for children including those of non-tribals.

They are not building castles in the air. In Kanavu dreams are becoming realities.