SSR – Student Social Responsibility

SSR project is conducted in our university to make the students socially responsible and good citizens. The project can be anything that is socially relevant. It will help to understand the difference between ‘education for a life’ and ‘education for a living’ which is one of the motos of the university. We get to explore the living conditions of people in rural areas and other underprivileged people. As a part of the project, we a group of six people went to a tribal village at Kulathupuzha in Kollam district of Kerala. We went to the village with the help of one of the ward members, Mrs. Divya.

There are many tribal families residing in the village. Name of the tribal community is ‘Kanikkaran’ or ‘kanikar’. The head of the village, ‘Oorumooppan’, is the one who represents the village and takes concerned decisions. There are many oil palms which can be seen while entering the village. The villagers also work on these farms. One good initiative that the government has taken is that the students in the range 5th-12th std are made to stay at a hostel in Trivandrum and Kollam and are being educated free of cost. An exam would be conducted and students are separated according to the marks. There is an L.P school for the smaller children. The Kudumbasree units are also very active and women are involved in tailoring, making umbrella etc. The men work in the nearby farms and also in other Govt. enterprises.

Thenmala Trip

As a part of my SSR project, I had to go to Kollam and then once the project was over we thought of going to Thenmala which was nearby. It was not a planned journey but became a memorable one. We were a group of six people and the climate and environment out there made all of us nature lovers. Thenmala, near Punalur town (Kollam district) in Kerala, is the first planned eco-tourism destination in India. The Thenmala dam was built across Kallada River. It is derived from Tamil names of ‘Then’ meaning South and ‘Mala’ meaning Mountain. Boating on the lake, a rope bridge, trekking, mountaineering, biking and a musical fountain are those what attracts the tourists. The Palaruvi waterfall is a beautiful scenery.

College Tour

It all started as an industrial visit but ended being a fun tour with no industries being visited. But those five days were few of the most memorable days of our lives. We started from our campus on 24th May and were back on 29th May. Most of them from our CSE batch was there though we missed some of our friends who could not join us. It was so much fun and it is not possible to describe it without missing the minute detail as it is beyond words.

The first destination was Wayanad and stayed at Amrita Vidyalayam. We went to the Kurava islands and had lots of fun while playing in the river. It is strictly a plastic free zone and takes nearly 15 minutes to walk till the river. The greenery around looks ravishing and indeed an apt place for those who admire nature. Next, we went to the Banasura Sagar dam. By the time we climbed the steps and reached on top it started raining heavily. Initially, we had umbrellas but later on we decided to enjoy those rain drops. Though the chill breeze made us shiver, to get drenched in the rain was captivating. My mind was free from all other thoughts and felt liberated. We also went to the nearby coffee shop and I must say that hot black coffee and rain is a great combination.