The Avvai Home has survived and grown during a tempestuous
period of Indian history – the struggle for independence,
the II world war, the ghastly partition and the shaky
transition to an immature democracy. In these 75 years
and more, the Avvai Home has expanded from a shelter to
a vast educational campus. But age is also associated
with infirmities and the handicaps of the generation gaps.
The Avvai Home faces three major problems today:
The land on which Dr. Reddy built the Avvai Home was
seventy five years ago a fallow march in Adyar, Chinglepet
District with no public transport services, no electricity
and no drainage systems. It belonged to the Thiruvnnamalai
Devasthanam to which it had been bequeathed by a widow.
The land was lying waste and the Devasthanam was very
happy to lease it for a few rupees a year to the fool
of an old lady. But Dr. Reddy brought , electricity
, transport and closed drainage to the area. Along with
the electricity came the telephone and by 1948 –
49 , Gandhinagar at Adyar was an exclusive high-class
flourishing colony. The entire region for scores of
miles around is now occupied by flourishing townships.
The Devasthanam is demanding lakhs of rupees for the
area originally leased out to us for a few rupees.
The Avvai Home is an institution serving orphans and
destitute children, and though it has grown in structure
is still only a humble institution. It cannot find the
money demanded. The decision – “To be or not
to be” – lies in the hands of the Government
and the society at large.
The land value may have gone up with the years but
the buildings have aged and need renovation. We have
consulted several architects and structural engineers.
They are of the opinion that a new structure in conformity
with modern school architecture would be preferable
to repairing the old buildings, as the cost-effectiveness
of the repairs would be unsatisfactory. We have requested
the preparation of a “master plan” with an
approximate estimate of the cost of the suggested new
buildings. In the meanwhile minimal repairs to certain
existing buildings is imperative as they are structurally
unsafe. The costs of the repairs are estimated at approximately
Rs. 75 lakhs.
It is universally agreed now that the introduction
of the English medium at the Primary and Secondary School
level is mandatory, for the all round education of the
child. Even the ordinary labour folk prefer to place
their children in the English medium or Matriculation
schools despite the cost.
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