Wonder Village Does it Write

THIS could be an episode from Ripley8217;s Believe It or Not. In the state of Tamil Nadu, not known for its high percentage of literacy, th...

THIS could be an episode from Ripley8217;s Believe It or Not. In the state of Tamil Nadu, not known for its high percentage of literacy, there is a village with a literacy rate of more than 80 per cent.

This wonder village is Anaikaraipatti, a nondescript hamlet at the foot of the Chathuragiri hills of the Western ghats. No other village or even town can boast of producing as many engineers, doctors and doctorate degree holders as Anaikaraipatti can.

The hard work of Anaikaraipatti farmers and their determination that their children would not depend on an uncertain agricultural livelihood is responsible for the metamorphosis of this hamlet. 8216;8216;It was the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church missionaries who helped motivate the villagers to go in for education. They even established a primary school in the village in 1927,8217;8217; says Dr Pounraj, a private medical practitioner in Periyar who hails from the village.

All the villagers of Anaikaraipatti have their roots among settlers who came in search of jobs in Dindigul and Ramanathapuram. Rejected because of their caste, they eventually made their way to Anaikaraipatti, determined to make a future for themselves. The fact that few of them knew anything apart from raising cattle and farmwork did not deter them from dreaming of better things for their children.

Though many of the villagers converted to Christianity in an acknowledgement of their debt to the missionaries, Anaikaraipatti makes it a point to celebrate all festivals, be it Deepavali, Christmas, Pongal or Ramzan. Many of the village8217;s children have settled elsewhere, but several return home even to attend small functions.

In many ways, Parthasarathy8217;s tale is typical of the village. A judicial magistrate in the Mannargudi Munsif Court, Parthasarathy says, 8216;8216;I am the last of a family of 10 children. Everyone in my family is educated. My father Perumal was a teacher in the TELC school in this village. My brother Murugesan is a manager in the zonal bank of Indian Bank. When we were jobless, professionals from our village were a big inspiration for us, they guided and encouraged us. They maintained their good relationship with us, which was a big morale booster for us.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Our knowledge of world affairs is second to none. We never miss news programmes on television and many read newspapers,8217;8217; says Pounraj.

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Women are no exception. Many of village women are degree-holders. 8216;8216;We have our representation in most government departments and in private offices. But what irks us the most is we don8217;t have a political representative from our village. If we did, we could have changed the total colour of the village by providing various basic amenities. What we are doing at present is collecting money ourselves and carrying out the necessary development works,8217;8217; says K Thanga Alagu, who is working as an assistant in collecting money.