Trigger Warning: This story contains references to depression and anxiety.
Portia Putatunda’s fondest memory of her late father is playing and singing nursery rhymes with the children.
“He loved children very much. I always saw how he engaged them. During playtime, he read tables and poems to teach them. He went to rural areas to distribute free books to children. This memory is very deeply embedded and I Always inspiring,” she says Uttam India.
Carrying on her father’s efforts, today, Portia runs a free boarding school under the Planet Spiti Foundation in Komik, India’s highest village in Himachal Pradesh. A teacher, a caregiver, and in many ways, a mother to these underprivileged children, Portia looks after their education, provides food, and supports their overall development.
‘Trying to be close to father’
Born and brought up in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Portia completed her graduation in journalism from Kolkata and did an internship at the Times of India.
‘I always wanted to do journalism. After working with TOI, I worked with many other organizations. I was a news producer at CNN before I decided to leave journalism,” explains the 32-year-old.
Always fond of traveling, she visited Spiti Valley for the first time in 2013. “I found peace and loved the place. I used to love to travel and visit such places, but at that time I didn’t know that I would live in the valley itself,” she says.
By the time she made her second and final trip to Spiti, Portia had lost her father and was falling into depression.
In 2018, the valley called him again and he revisited the place. “The first time I visited this place, I was a happy, cheerful and highly motivated person, but this time, I was a lost and sad soul,” she says.
She continues, “I lost myself when I lost my father. He was always my support system. I went into depression and nothing felt right. I kept focusing on the fact that he was gone and couldn’t feel any connection with him.”
It was his search for this lost connection with his father that paved his path to Spiti. “I thought, if I’m up in the mountains, I’ll be closer to heaven and therefore to my father,” she says.
Portia stayed with a local family in Kaza for a month and began teaching her children. “I wanted to spend more time in the mountains and this family took me in. I would teach their children in return and it was a good experience. One thing I noticed is that education, especially for minority children, is in a very bad state and I wanted to do something about it. ,” she says.
In 2020, she left her job and career and moved to Spiti. “It took me a lot of courage to give up my life in Mumbai, where I was working, and move to Spiti for good. Everyone called me a fool for doing it, but I had to do it. It was a step to be closer to my father and to find my purpose in life,” he said. She shares.
From Kaza to Komik
Uncertain about making the first move, Portia went to the children playing in the streets and parks.
“I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. I just talked to the kids playing on the street and told them I would give them crayons and sheets, and teach them art. It got them interested. At first, only a few showed up. I sat under a tree in Kaza and told these kids. I teach you to speak English, sing rhymes and draw,” she says.
Word spread among the little ones about crayons and watercolors, and they started appearing in large numbers. “There was a time when about 40 children used to come to learn. It gave me the motivation I needed to take it seriously,” she says.
Portia traveled to remote villages in the region and realized that children in those regions lacked access to education. “There was no way those children would walk all those hours to get to Kaja to study with me. Besides, the parents didn’t understand the need for education. They were very reluctant to send their children to school,” she says.
Since Caja was a tourist center, Portia could not find an affordable place to set up a small school and library. “I also wanted to arrange a hostel and a kitchen for homeless children. I had run out of money and needed a cheaper place,” she says.
This is when she found out about a place in Komik that was for rent at a very low price. “Renting space seemed like the right thing for the comic to do. That way I would be able to reach children living in remote areas,” she says.
In 2022, she moved to Komik and rented a place to open a free boarding school under her foundation – Planet Spiti Foundation.
Following in his father’s footsteps
“When I think about it, my biggest inspiration is my father. All this work and my foundation is a tribute to him. I’m continuing what he started,” she says.
Moving to the comic was the first step to her dream but Portia didn’t know the problems that would come later. “The main problem I faced was convincing parents to let their children go to school. used to say “Kya Karega Padha Ke, Momo Beech Ke Bhi Paisa Kam Lega” (What will my children study? They can earn by selling dumplings),” she says.
She continues, “I talk to them for hours and ask them to send them to school. At first many were adamant but gradually they got in. Besides, if I take a child and give them food, shelter and education, it lightens their burden.”
He started his boarding school with three children and the number grew to 10.
Addressing herself as ‘mother’ for those children, she says, ‘These children are not orphans and have been abandoned not by choice but by poverty. About 50 percent of these children do not have living parents, but the rest have parents who cannot raise them. This is where I come from,’ she says.
‘Children keep me going’
Every morning Portia wakes up to the sound of children outside her window.
“They would call me Portia madam and laugh at my window. I believe it’s the best way to wake up every morning. After waking up, the first thing I do is light the tandoor to heat the classroom,” she says.
“We use firewood or cow dung for the tandoor and I sometimes cook on top of it. I prepare breakfast and the kids get ready,” she said.
Children start their day with a small assembly and then go to their classrooms. “I teach them everything from math and science to English and art. I also conduct many activities throughout the week like gardening, dancing, etc. to keep learning healthy,” she added.
The age group of children is between three and 10 years. The class runs till 5 pm.
“One girl, who is older than other children, studies a class in my school. She used to be very shy. But today, she helps me take care of the children,” she shared.
“I love staying and studying with Portia ma’am. I am studying hard to be an excellent student and to become a doctor. Earlier, I was shy and could not speak Hindi or English, but now I am teaching seven small children and paying a small token amount for it. It’s very exciting because now I can buy gifts for my grandmother and send them home,” says Tanzin Norjom.
Talking about the hurdles, Portia says, “The main problem I’ve been facing for a long time is funds. I built this place from my savings and it’s been months since I was unsure how to buy vegetables and food for us. However, something or the other always works out. And we have enough money,” she says.
“My worry has always been — what happens now? I always have this feeling “Responsibility of leaving the right to leave” (Have I taken on a responsibility that I am not capable of fulfilling?) I am capable of taking the primary education of these children. But I am looking at possible schools that can take them in when they need secondary education,” she says.
“Self-doubt keeps haunting me, but what keeps me going is the smile on all those little faces. These kids are so untouched and sacred. I believe I’m just a medium, and the fate of these kids has brought me here,” she added.
About her journey so far to recover from her father’s death, Portia says, “I’ve had low moments in life. There was a time in my life when I thought I would never connect with my father. Now, I wish I had good things to share ‘when I see him again’. If it means making a difference in just one child’s life, that will be enough.”
If you would like to help Portia, you can contact her on 93680 68121. (Comic being a remote village with little network connectivity, messaging via WhatsApp would be the best option.)
Edited by Pranita Bhat