We are at the auditorium of the St. Bedes School in Santhome to participate in the ‘Yaadhum Oore’ seminar, a two-day conference about protecting the environment. The conference focuses on water conservation and brings experts together, to find scientific ways of preventing future disasters. On stage is Suriya, arguably the most popular alumnus of the school. Suriya, an active philanthropist, runs a charitable foundation Agaram, which has initiated the seminar. Agaram provides quality education for deserving underprivileged students.
Suriya spoke about how important it was for parents to educate their children in the right way. He shared a story, of a child being asked “What comes from an egg?” and the child replying “Omlette”. The parents had taught the child that an egg was just something to eat. Nothing about the life inside an egg, explained Suriya. He also talked about the impact of the floods in Chennai. He said it was important to maintain the food chain, which humans had depleted.
The foundation has adopted three villages in the Tiruvallur district, which had been badly hit by the floods. Chennai needs to be sensitised, he felt. The venture has been jointly organised by The Hindu, and the Tamil news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai. The Hindu’s Chief Editor N Ram was present at the event, and spoke in appreciation of Suriya’s efforts.
