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| Sathi Devi, Umbichi Haji Higher Secondary School, Chaliyam, Kozhikode |
Umbichi Haji Higher Secondary School, Chaliyam, Kozhikode has the distinction of being the first school in India to train girl NCC cadets to walk on stilts. But for such a thing could happen, there should surely have been someone ready to think and act differently.
Enter Sathi Devi, a teacher of the school. In order to teach girls how to walk on 1m high stilts, she decided to learn the art herself. During hot afternoons, she used to painstakingly practice the drill in the school ground. The inevitable sequence of ridicule, opposition, indifference and acceptance followed in the usual order.
During the summer vacation of 2006, when she started training the first batch of girls, the opposition was at its peak. Some parents even threatened her with physical harm. However, such hurdles had only limited sway before the determined enthusiasm of the girls.
Now, students and parents alike look forward to the training under Sathi Devi. “Earlier, it was difficult to get cadets for the camps even. Those days, one had to do a lot of canvassing to make the parents agree to enroll the children in NCC. Now students are enthusiastic. The grace marks obtained from NCC is often helpful in joining desired academic courses”, she reminisces.
In the beginning the school used to manufacture and provide the stilts. However, the bandages used to tie these to the body had to be met from Sathi Devi’s salary. She was particular that the interested students should not stumble on the financial hurdle.
Now, the team participates in various fairs with the permission of NCC authorities. They recently marched 2km during the carnival at Thalassery. They had taken part in the army mela at Kozhikode also.
Courtesy:
Vijeesh Gopinath (text), Azim Komachi (photo), Vanitha, July 1-14, 2009
Contributed by: Administrator
