The New School, to be Continued

This is the site of the new school. We have 300 square yards, all ours! And with a view!

The current residents in the pile of sticks are two dogs and two cats, with two puppies and two kittens.

The big house in the background belongs to people who make movies here in Hyderabad, along with their extended family of cousins, aunts, grandparents, and servants. They call this town "Tollywood" because of all the Telegu-language movies. It is common in India to have big houses smack next to shacks and huts. There is another doozy of a house across the street from the main area of the slum.

The road to get to this piece of heaven was bumpy. We drove far out of the city to a dusty office building that didn't seem to have phones. First, we had to push paper to the MEO, Mandal Education Officer. After him, we went to see the MRO, the Mandal Revenue Officer. He made us wait at least a hour before letting us in; we shuffled around in the hallway next to loud, lower-rung politicos and dead houseplants. He sat on a high platform with another applicant (like us) writing furiously on his left. We had to sit meekly as he shuffled papers and answered phantom phone calls until he finally looked up to acknowledge us. I did my job and looked fierce. I think it worked. He broke into English and said we were doing good work and he's help us. Thanks! Then we had to get the paperwork back to MEO. That was another long, hot wait in the office next door. With the lovely kids waiting back at the school, I'd fry for hours and face another dusty office in a minute.

After a few weeks of harrassing the MEO, the application papers came through and we started work in getting the DEO to sign them (the DPEP was out of town). The teachers just about fell over when we showed them the papers today. For five years, this neighborhood had one commitee or another ranting about a new school, always during the political season. The voter blocks for the lower level castes are very big. The people in the Mastan Nagar neighborhood are actually courted for these votes, with wild empty promises, every election.

The last thing the teacher expected was a sincere effort by any government official for anything for the school. Ah ha ha ha ha...they didn't know the "Kalpana effect." The teachers may now expect Kalpana to have control over the sun and stars.