Value Education
Sevalaya was founded with the vision of bringing positive change to the communities it serves, inspired by the ideals of Bharathiyar, Gandhi and Vivekananda (BGV). A dedicated unit within Sevalaya works to propagate their teachings and values
Regular sessions on value education, drawing from the lives and works of BGV, are part of the curriculum in Sevalaya’s School and Community Colleges. These efforts, along with outreach initiatives in rural areas, have reached over 2.11 lakh beneficiaries across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Sevalaya’s culture is deeply rooted in the principles of BGV, with a daily quiz on their teachings to reinforce continuous learning. The BGV Unit also provides counselling and guidance, using lessons from the lives of these thinkers to help individuals overcome challenges.
Value education sessions are conducted in schools, colleges and villages around Sevalaya centres. Outreach programmes called ‘Kottu Murasu’ are conducted by Sevalaya children and staff to spread awareness about social evils and the importance of education and health in community development.
Library and Other Community Outreach Activities:
Swami Vivekananda library at Sevalaya’s Kasuva centre has over 25,000+ volumes of valuable books including the complete works of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and Mahakavi Bharathiyar.
There are also books on various topics like self-improvement, physical and biological sciences, computers, engineering and many other topics.
There is a library period for each class, where children are taken to the library and are encouraged to read age appropriate books. Besides students and staff, over a number of students from nearby colleges and local villages also have free access to the library.
The library is open to college students and people in the surrounding villages. The library services are free of charge for all.
Sevalaya also runs a crèche for young children Sevalaya beneficiaries at its Kasuva centre called Gokulam, where the children are taken care of, by a dedicated staff, while the mothers are just a few steps away.
In addition to these initiatives, Sevalaya runs various Community Outreach Activities such as Bhogi rallies, Legal Aid cell, Putli Ba Day, Summer Camps, Painting Projects in railway stations and hospitals
Impact:
- 11,800+ beneficiaries reached through library
- 1,160+ beneficiaries provided with legal aid
Kalanilayam (Chellamma Bharathi Learning Centre):
It was Mahakavi Bharathi’s dream to establish an Arts Centre (Kalanilayam) at Kadayam to teach India’s traditional arts. But a conservative, hostile local population then, as well as lack of financial and human resources thwarted Bharathi’s dream. Sevalaya decided to take up the project and transform the dream of one of its inspirations to reality. The Kalanilayam has been established at Sevalaya’s Chellamma Bharathi Learning Centre
Indian traditional arts including Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music and Yoga are taught through regular evening classes.
Sevalaya took the initiative to correct a historic injustice to Bharathiyar by creating a monument for him at Kadayam. Kadayam is the birth place of Bharathiyar’s wife Chellamma. It was at Kadayam where the poet had spent 2 years towards the end of his life and penned immortal poems. It was at Kadayam where Bharathiyar was outcast for his progressive ideas on gender equality, which attracted the ire of the villagers… how dare he put his hand on the shoulder of his young wife and walk in public? A statue of the couple was made ready in 2019, the 122nd anniversary year of their marriage. But land and permission to erect the statue was delayed for over three years due to red tape. That long cherished wish of the Sevalaya family came true in 2022, with the Chellamma Bharathi Learning Centre, in place of a dilapidated Government Library. The centre was built with a lot of passion by Sevalaya with the participation of numerous admirers of the social reformer.
Chellamma Bharathi Ratha Yathra:Tamil Nadu pays homage to people’s poet
A Ratha Yatra (chariot procession) was taken out across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, carrying the statue of the couple.
The rich and the poor, scholars and schoolchildren, ministers, MLAs and mayors, people’s representatives and ordinary men, women and children- nearly one lakh admirers gathered to pay homage to the people’s poet. Across a thousand kilometres and 14 districts of Tamil Nadu, Bharathiyar, his hand resting defiantly on Chellamma’s slender shoulder, was welcomed with warmth as admirers recalled the poems that had touched their lives at different moments.
Over 80 schools and colleges hosted the flower-decked couple, carried on a ratham (chariot). More than 40,000 students participated in events, winning over 2,000 prizes in poetry recitation, oratory, singing, dancing, drawing and fancy dress competitions. Every open space turned into a venue- bus stands and markets, temples, churches and mosques transformed into extempore stages. Nowhere was Bharathi’s egalitarian vision more vividly expressed than in the diversity of the crowds that greeted him.
At Puducherry’s Manakkula Vinayagar temple, a middle-aged flower seller brought a pair of garlands. She did not wish to sell them- they were her humble tribute to the poet. “I am only a flower seller,” she said hesitantly, though her family, three generations in the service of the temple, may well have known Bharathi during his stay in Puducherry.
The ratham was flagged off at Kasuva by Uma Bharathi, a relative of the couple. In Chennai, it was an emotional homecoming for Lalitha Bharathi (94), the poet’s granddaughter. Unable to move or speak for some time, she was brought on a chair and seated beside the statue. Her lips trembled as she tried to utter the name “Chellamma”- a moment that brought tears to many eyes.
At Sirkazhi, the Brahmin Association welcomed the ratham with an arathi (holy flame offering) and Vedic chants, while just nearby, the Islamic Association stopped by to garland the statue. In Srirangam, Girija Hariharan Bharathi offered a 90-minute concert of Bharathi songs. In Coimbatore, singer Rajkumar Bharathi- great grandson of Bharathi and Chellamma, and his son Niranjan, a lyricist, presided over two impressive gatherings.
At last, Bharathi and Chellamma re-entered Kadayam, not to the hostility they once faced in 1919-1920, but to overwhelming warmth and pride. There, their statue and ideals will live on at the Chellamma-Bharathi Learning Centre, established by Sevalaya as a tribute of faith, made possible through the contributions of devoted admirers.
