7th Standard

I live and go school in the Kalrayan Hills in Tamil Nadu, India. Owned and operated by the Arcot Lutheran Church — an Indian, Dalit-led church body in the state of Tamil Nadu — the boarding homes here serve very poor, rural, mostly indigenous students. Many families in these hills rely on subsistence farming, or have to travel far away from home to find low-wage labor.

My favorite activity is playing Kabaddi. From Wikipedia: Kabaddi is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players each. The objective of the game is for a single player on offense, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of a court, tag out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders, and in a single breath.

In the Indian Caste system, I am Dalit. "Dalit" means "broken/scattered" in Sanskrit, and is a term used for people belonging to castes in India who have been subjected to untouchability. In the past, Dalit people were believed to be impure, so dominant-caste Hindus considered their presence to be polluting. The "impure status" was related to historic occupations that were considered to be "polluting" or debased, such as working with leather, disposal of dead animals, or sanitation. [via Wikipedia]

Social Science

Shalini (10), Sadhana (12)