A group of ‘students’, 28 in all, made their way in a chartered bus to MySkills Lakeside  Campus at about 430pm on 27th October 2018 for a Deevapavali evening with our students. Our ‘student-visitors’ were special; they were all former students of the Bangsar Tamil School from the 1960s.

Former student, Ms. Ruku, was anxious to the see the campus after having heard about it and how some students were building their future through MySkills. So after a short welcome speech by Mr Pasupathi they heard about some realities of the students. Ruku and her friends were quite sad.

But this feeling of sympathy moved quickly to one of empathy as the group interacted with the students and witnessed their talents and many positive attitudes. Their helpful nature, their ability to follow instructions and improvise came to light through the Krishna song that Ruku and friends wanted. The instruction was to get a student to dress up like Krishna. “The students did this delegation very well with just minimal correction” said Ruku.

Our students had our senior visitors captivated by their kolatham, something many had not watched in recent years, especially live. And the group was once more pleasantly surprised by the food that was cooked and served by the students. So it wasn’t only the well behaved nature of the students that came across but many positives as well. The conversation of the group on their way home revealed Ruku, was about their next visit, about the idea of bringing their relatives, particularly the younger generation. “We want to look around more too as the rain prevented us from moving around” concluded Ruku as she recollected about the special experience with the students.

MySkills appreciates the very practical goody bag that our Deepavali visitors had for each of our students, some toiletries, including towels. We certainly look forward to the “students” and their families/friends for another visit and possible long term commitment as it allows them. It certainly will be a learning experience for all.

Contributed by Veronica Anne Retnam based on an interview

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