Making history (the ICSE way)

Jaya finished her Class 10 (ICSE) exams last month.

History is one of the subjects she disliked and certainly wasn't good at. So, she was understandably relieved at the end of the paper. She called me - palpably excited - over the phone to say "can you belive it - I'm done with history?" - I teased her, "others finish history, you sound as if you have made history".

Jokes apart, it was a bumpy ride for her. Though she enjoyed every bit her stay in Sahyadri (and is fiercely proud of her school) – academics were an uphill task for her. It wasn’t an easy call for us – there were obvious trade-offs between keeping her at home close to us and putting her in a free and nurturing environment like Sahyadri. Though she would have definitely benefitted from parental guidance, we were equally certain that the competitive pressures of a city school would have crushed her spirit.

No denying we had our moments of doubt and anxiety. But, every time we met the Principal and the teachers – we came back with the realization that, the problem lay more with us than the child. I remember – we once went to meet the young principal concerned about J’s progress (or, rather, the lack of it ) in class. We were quite flummoxed – when he asked us, if we were sure that we weren’t trying to impose our own expectations on our daughter. “Don’t you think – it’s been a great blessing that she has spent 5 very happy years of her life in this wonderful surrounding ?” – he retorted rhetorically. "Don’t tell her what she should do – just help her understand what she isn’t good at. The rest she will figure out for herself." Sound advice – we thought, as we trudged back to the school guest-house.

Now the hunt for a new school has begun – since at Sahyadri they don’t yet have a ‘Plus 2’ (Class XI and XII) section. Our impending move to Calcutta makes the situation a little more complex. Perhaps, having schooled in that city we are a bit biased. We know Jaya isn’t cut out for the top rung old favourites which are high on academics. Other than those, there are the few mass-production education factories (like my old alma-mater South Point and now also DPS) but she’ll be mince-meat in no time there. And, we are quite cynical about the new breed of the so called “international” schools – which promise to make Katrina Kaif of your daughter (through their ‘acting classes’). We have heard some ‘horror stories’ about these places. So the choice is really limited. As Jaya wants to pursue music - someone suggested Shantiniketan. But, without even visiting the place again, we know it’s a non-option. What Jaya needs is a school – that will give her the space to grow and let her progress at her own pace. Sadly, we don’t know of any such place in Calcutta.

Our first port of call was The Valley School in Bangalore – also run by the Krishnamurti Foundation. The parent teacher meeting that, preceded the interviews was itself an education for us. The Director of the school exhorted the parents – “don’t judge us by what we have achieved but by what we are attempting” and then decide if you wish to be part of this adventure. "The real challenge in this journey is not for the child – whose joyfulness we guarantee – but for the educators and the parents." This was followed by a short video of Jiddu Krishnamurti talking on education – which posed some more tough questions for us.

At the end of it – both Jaya and we were convinced that, if she has to go to a boarding it can only be at a KFI (Krishnamurti Foundation) School. One of the senior teachers on the panel quickly sized up Jaya and reading her mind - gently suggested that we shouldn't even waste our time checking out some other schools down south (run on similar lines)that we were planning to visit. That doesn’t mean Jaya will get admission automatically. Being essentially a day school, they have very few vacancies for boarders and the applicants are many. But, I guess the wait and the suspense are also part of the adventure - not just for us but also for Jaya.

We are keeping our fingers crossed !! Either way - it'll be the beginning of a new journey.

Related Blogposts: Masti Ka Pathshala and Back to School

Masti ka Pathshala

We were late parents. So – the kids of many dear friends and contemporaries are either well into college enjoying their share of young adult-hood or preparing frenetically for their school leaving examinations. And, the slightly older ones are getting ready for their nuptials – while our darling daughter is just about beginning to discover the joys and tribulations of her early teens – tucked away in the pristine preserves of the Sahyadri hills .

It’s examination season and with nearly 15 lakh kids appearing for CBSE alone, the TV Channels and Newspapers have been whipping up a frenzy for anxious parents – to fill in their prime time slots before Election fever grips the country. We had none of this in our times - so it’s all quite alien to me anyway. But, at a very different level, I have been drawn in over the past few weeks into a conversation on a fellow bloggers site (Cuckoo's Cosmos….click here to read ) between parents who are contemplating putting their children into Rishi Valley – the original Krishnamurty (KFI) institution. The obvious question – which we are asked very often in the context of our sending Jaya to Sahyadri – is, whether children studying in such “non-conventional” schools lose their competitive edge, which most parents – justifiably – believe is so essential for surviving in today’s cut-throat world.

Frankly, I don’t have a strong view either way – each I’m sure has its own merits and downsides. Neither Nina nor I come from a boarding school background. Apart from the children of a few close friends, the only ones in our extended family circle who have studied in a “public school” away from home are my dear cousin (2nd – as she never fails to point out) Tush and her brother Papu. We known a few Rishi Valley “products” – but that was just about it. We were also not steeped in Jiddu Krishnamurty’s philosophy or his ideas on education. But, when we decided to send Jaya to a boarding, we were very clear in our mind that it had to be a school like Rishi Valley.

In what appears like serendipity now in hindsight – we had visited Sahyadri soon after the school was set up in the mid 90s at the behest of a senior colleague of HLL. We had come away very impressed with what we saw. Jaya had just about come into our life and we had no clue at that point that we would ever consider sending her to a boarding. We wanted Jaya to be in a “non-pressure” environment. So Sahyadri was a natural choice. (Read Back to School by clicking here)

For us it wasn't a giant leap of faith (unlike an uncle of mine who pulled his two sons out of school on the instruction of their spiritual 'guru' and taught them at home. Both kids, incidentally, have done extremely well in their chosen fields of academics). We put Jaya there for our own set of considerations which we recognize may not apply to others. Though I’d be less than honest if I were to say that, we don’t have our moments of doubt.

Such moments of self-questioning arise – especially while visiting friends around the time of their children’s exams (not necessarily those in their last years of school but also those in the junior classes) when the atmosphere of tension is almost palpable in the house. Similar thoughts also cross my mind at the Parents Teachers Meeting – when I compare by distant recollection what I studied at her age and worry if they are being taught at a level – that’s a notch lower than what the Board syllabus would warrant for the class.

But then, I also think of the myriad other things they are learning - that we never had the opportunity for in a city school. The results of the previous batches – which though not skewed towards the high nine-tees are not at the bottom of the scale either - also bolster confidence. So they must have cracked the code somewhere and built a method into their system - otherwise, it’s not for nothing that the KFI schools have been around for over 75 years now with alumni straddling different walks of life.

The kids, of course, love it once they get over the initial joining pangs. Till the 7th Standard – it’s virtually a ‘masti ka path-shala’. It is only in the 8th when the hormones and exams kick in – does one notice a few spells of blue that come with the first intimations of reality. But then, like the hormones I am told this too is a passing phase.

But I think it is not just English and Maths or Physics, Chemistry, Bio that matter. Nor is it the Games, Arts and Music. It goes much beyond studies and the extra-curricular add-ons. In fact, the high-end Boarding schools have much more to offer in comparison.

I remember – the time we had gone for the interview the parents sat around the matted floor of the assembly hall for an open question and answer session with the Principal. One of the parents remarked – “But Sir, you will agree that the ultimate test will be ICSE”. The young Principal chuckled a little and said with a smile – “ICSE is an important test – but I am not sure if it’s the ultimate test. They will have to face many other tests in life and hopefully we prepare them for those in some small way”. He couldn’t have summed up our expectation better.

Related Blog Post: "Back to School" (click here to read)

Back to School

Going to Jaya’s school in the monsoons is always such a treat.

Braving the rains on the Lonavala Ghats that puts you just so much on the edge speeding through the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, negotiating the truck-traffic and pot-holes of the Talegaon-Chakan section ( Pune’s new Industrial District ), as one turns off the Nashik highway at Rajgurunagar (Khed ) unending miles of green-hills greet us. Till just a couple of months ago, when we had gone to drop her off at the beginning of the term, they had shades of brown and golden yellow - still pretty like a dusky young bride wrapped in her Maharshtrian saree. But, now suddenly she was resplendent in green – the young wife in full bloom on the cusp of motherhood.

Finishing our mandatory stop for Poha or Chewda just before leaving the highway, we climb in soft pedal up the ribbon-like road towards Bhimashankar. As the town recedes, the population thins out and tiny hamlets begin to appear along the way, spaced afar from each other. It is hard to believe that so close to Mumbai – there can be a place of such unspoilt beauty, still untouched by the city marauders.

We reach the Chas-Khaman Dam which holds back the Bhima River from overflowing into the plains of Pune and get a first glimpse of the lake now full to its brim looking ready to spill over on the paramours lap. At this point one first sees the dots of the school dormitories up there, as if spying on the play at the banks of the lake – like the naughty teenagers who live in them - from a stealthy distance.

Going past the Shambhu Hill – which, as the name indicates, has Shiva temple atop nestled in the forest, we get to the fork from where the road to the school branches off, a short climb up the Tiwai Hill to the table-top plateau where the school is spread over 70 acres. Even in the last 2 years that we have been going there, the young forest – of teak and Jamul planted by the school - has thickened showing its first signs of moving from adolescence to maturity, though still someway from attaining adulthood. But, still it conjures up the feeling of driving through a light jungle.

Up there at the school, the rain-drenched trees and the slushy foot-ball and volley ball fields – with the boys emerging from them like little devils after a mud-bath – make another kind of a sight altogether. Though there are no flowers in this season and the fruits too are not in sight – the lush green all around gives it a certain pristine character.

Though the afternoons tend to get a little warm when it’s not raining, the mornings and evenings are invariably pleasant with a cool breeze coming up from the lakes wafting through the trees. And, an occasional light drizzle gently soaking the skin.

The sparsely appointed (basic yet comfortable) rooms in the guest-house, the home-style and near rustic food of the school canteen and the adds to the feeling of a holiday in the country side.

At sunset – one can walk across to the neighbouring Navalvirayatan , a meditation and retreat center, set up by a Jain foundation, and go till the right edge of the cliff to get an unhindered view of the Bhimashankar Lake – silent, calm and the ultimate picture of serenity - , while watching the sun set over the Lonavala hills afar. And, it’s then one begins to understand a little bit of what Krishnamurti meant by…. To live is to be related (and) there is no right relationship to anything when there is not the right feeling for beauty and a response to nature…


And then, suddenly the reverie snaps - as one hears that in just a couple of years the new Pune International Airport would come up in Rajgurunagar – when the school will be right on the flight path of the jets that would tear thunderously through the skies on their landings and take-offs. Land-sharks have already moved in grabbing the hill-sides smelling the opportunity of making a quick buck. And very soon, one won’t hear the tweeter of the birds and the rustle of the leaves any more. The children – looking up into the skies will count air planes rather than see shapes in the clouds or study the constellations at night. The sylvan landscape will make way for a concretized sky-line and the neighbourhood would be swallowed up by the swelling city of Pune as one of its newest suburb. The Tiwai Hills will be transformed for good. But one hopes that, Sahyadri will still remain a little island of tranquility where children can learn about the totality and the wholeness of life, just as Rishi Valley continues to be even after 75 years despite the onslaught of the environment around it.

Related Blog Post: "Masti-ka-Pathshala" (to read click here)