Pookalam for a noble cause

St. Paul’s College department to build a house for a needy student

A pookalam (fl oral carpet) was made using 220 kg of vegetables for a noble cause at the St. Paul’s College, Kalamassery, on Tuesday.

Students and faculty of the Department of Commerce were behind the initiative. The auction held after laying the pookalam resulted in a collection of about ₹25,000. “The money will be donated as the first instalment towards a fund being created for constructing a home for a needy student on the campus,” said Gibin Jacob, Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce.

The idea is to build a house at an estimated cost of ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh. The remaining amount will be collected through donations from various sources, including alumni, association of teachers and parents, and sale of coupons, according to the organisers.

Various vegetables were used to make the floral carpet. Last year, a similar pookalam was set up and the collection from the sale of vegetables was used to buy a mobile phone for a student on the campus.