A Southern Sojourn
Ashish Mitter reports on the Round Square Project in aid of tsunami victims

As we proceeded towards the security check amid the pushing, the shoving and the general chaos that is Delhi Airport to board Spice Jet Flight 222 to Chennai, we looked around for our escorts. Our parents had abandoned us to our fate, and as the seconds ticked by, we looked forward with a mixture of excitement and apprehension to the prospect of going to a relatively unknown city without having a clue about what we were supposed to do. However, at 3:50, all fears were put to rest when our masters arrived on the scene, just in time to board the plane. The ubiquitous traffic jams of Delhi had held them up.
When we arrived at Chennai, AKC and Skand realized that their baggage had been unloaded at Hyderabad, where we had stopped for a short time. It was already turning out to be an eventful trip!
After spending a night in Chennai we were introduced to the boys from Welham’s and Assam Valley School, who were to work with us. We then took a six-hour bus journey to Chidambaram, a small temple town, and checked into the Hotel Saradaram, which was to be our home for the next thirteen days. Our rooms were simple, but they had what we wanted – TV with a cable connection! AKS joined the group, and we were ready for our task.
Our work began the following day in a small fishing village called Muzukuthurai, a forty-five minute drive from Chidambaram. We were greeted by the village elders and Mr. Sampat and Mr. James, who helped in coordinating our work. After a quick tour of the village, which included a visit to the small grocery store (it quickly became a popular haunt), we began our manual labour – laying the foundation of a fish-market. The work was a strenuous and involved the digging of large pits, mixing of concrete, shifting of cement bags and gravel and laying of the iron rods.
However, we quickly realized that not everyone was being involved equally at the work site, and so a system of rotation was started. The students were divided into four groups, with three groups being at the worksite at any one time. The group not at the worksite stayed in the hotel or explored local areas.
Our rather monotonous work was, thankfully, coupled with frequent breaks for coconut water, soft drinks or boat rides. Towards the end of our trip, we also interviewed some villagers (with the help of a translator). The village had been severely affected by the tsunami, and the villagers recounted, in graphic detail, their terrifying experience. They also talked about the monumental aid they received from the government and various NGOs, and this raised a whole host of doubts in our minds – were the villagers being robbed of their initiative because there was so much aid pouring into the village? Was their way of life changing for the worse? Was our trip really worthwhile? These doubts were to linger in our minds for some time to come.
Before we knew it, our stay in Chidambaram was over. The fish-market had a definite framework, and the villagers seemed happy with our work. The food in Sardaram had been quite unparitable, despite everyone’s best efforts, and the weather unbearably hot, but we made new friends, managed to watch the World Cup (even though the commentary was in Chinese), and came away feeling satisfied. Before going home, we went on a whirlwind tour of Mahabalipum, Pondicherry and Chennai. Although I fell sick during this period, the rest of the party seemed to have had fun. It was only when we reached home did we realize that seventeen days of our holidays had slipped by with our hardly being aware of it.

Freaky Facts

• Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830’s.

• If you pour a small amount of beer or liquor on a scorpion it will go insane and kill itself.

• A lobster doesn’t have a real brain. It can’t feel emotions or pain so if you boil it alive it won’t feel it.

• The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

• On an average a 100 people will choke on ballpoint pens.

• Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

• The first kind of pencil was a bunch of graphite sticks held together by string. Then someone decided it would be better to push the graphite into the inside of a hollow wooden stick.

Career Call

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All budding builders should

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