Dhanush returns to his old school with a three-storey gift
He touched his teachers' feet, remembered racing out at the last bell, and told students it is a shame, not a pride, to be unable to read or write Tamil.
Dhanush went back to school this week, to Thai Sathya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Saligramam, where he studied from LKG to Class 10, and he did not arrive empty-handed. The actor inaugurated a new three-storey academic block he funded entirely, reported to be named Dhanush Block, and spent the day among the teachers and classmates who knew him long before Kollywood did. He sought his old teachers’ blessings and touched their feet, and the school says this is not a one-off: he has committed to restoring the campus’s older structures and adding more facilities.
The backstory came from cinematographer A. Kumaran, a former classmate, who said Dhanush stepped up on his own after hearing about the school’s infrastructure needs. The actor’s own memories were less about buildings. He recalled being the first one out of the gate the moment school ended, and said he only understood much later that those were his happiest days.
It was his message on language that travelled beyond the school walls. “In my school days, I was weak in English but good at Tamil. Today, many students speak English well, but some cannot read or write Tamil,” he told the students, recalling a foreign film shoot where the crew told him English is only a bonus and the mother tongue is what truly matters. “It is not a matter of pride if you don’t know Tamil; it is a shame.” The line has been circulating widely since, drawing approval from educators as much as fans.
The school visit lands in the middle of a packed stretch for the actor. Kara has crossed Rs 43 crore and is still running, while OM, his film with Rajkumar Periasamy, has its first single out and an October release ahead. Somewhere between those two, he found time to become the old boy who fixed the roof.
