TN govt school students, teachers set world record by writing, publishing 150 books at the same time

CHENNAI: The State government school students and teachers have set a world record and earned a place in the ‘International World Records (IWR) Book of Records’ by authoring 150 books and publishing them all at once. IWR is a platform for recognising and publishing world records, providing a space for individuals and businesses to showcase their achievements.

Hundreds of students and teachers, mostly from the State-run schools, participated in the ‘world record attempt event’ held by a writing community, which began during the COVID-19 lockdown, at Pannakuppam village of Villupuram on Saturday.

During the event, the IWR declared the achievement, taking note of the participants and the number of books released and displayed by the authors. As many as 113 authors (41 students and 72 teachers) authored 150 books overall, while some released multiple books. Out of 150 books, 144 were released in English and six were released in Tamil.

Speaking to DT Next, S Anandi, an English teacher of government higher secondary school in Kandigai, Chengalpattu, said, “This is motivation to do more work.”

Anandi’s book titled ‘Bhuveshum Naanum’ (Bhuvesh and I) is her experience teaching a student with neurological disorder, a condition that affects nervous system, including brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. “I taught Bhuvesh English in classes 9 and 10. The experience of working with him and teaching him was more of a learning curve for me. He had taught me more from the aspect of cognitive skills that pushed me to document it as a book,” she pointed out.

Before releasing the book, Anandi had written a story for a popular Tamil daily. The book, besides the story with Bhuvesh, also entails her experiences teaching other students.

Like Anandi, many teachers and students, mostly from government schools across TN, had shared their varied experiences in the form of either poetry or prose. D Brinda, founder of the collective, and an English teacher at government high schools in Melpattampakkam in Cuddalore, started the creative writers’ community as a WhatsApp group with just 20 members.

And, since then, the collective has released more than 500 books, both of poems and prose. It has over 400 active members.