“Teaching is something that has always been an integral part of my life. In the beginning, however, I could not hold a proper class because of a lack of confidence. I started out by tutoring some of the underprivileged small children in my colony with some basic English and science. Over time, I got so engrossed in my own studies and dealing with the pressure of all kinds of competitive exams that I lost the enthusiasm of teaching until I reached college. I found Viteach in my second year and I have to say, it has led to some of the best times in my life. Being a non-tamilian, it was a bit of a struggle at first. Which is why I’m extremely grateful to Sruti and many others for translating all the emotions the students of ADW & GHS portrayed for me! We adopted GHS Kandigai at the start of 2020, and I, overexcited as usual, never lost any opportunity to go there. The last time I went there, a small girl about the age of 10, came up to me, hugged me and said “Akka don’t go”. I had simply smiled and said “Don’t worry, I’ll come back again next week”. She confirmed, with a sweet,“You promise akka?” and without a shadow of doubt, I promised her I would.

If I ever meet her again, I would apologize for breaking her promise and going hundreds of kilometers away without any guarantee of meeting ever again. VIT had so many restrictions for hostellers but these children made it absolutely worth it for me. Grateful to Viteach for giving me a lot of memories; providing me with some pretty amazing friends and for the wonderful times I’ve had, being a part of it. We OBs used to call ourselves- ‘VITeach Captains’ and I believe that title will remain with us even after we go on our own different paths!”