Realisation

       It was 2nd of September, I along with my friends visited Sahyadri School of Krishnamurti Foundation India located on the picturesque Tiwai Hills in Chas. This residential school is nearly 40 km from my house but I had never heard about it. It was some months ago when some of my friends visited the school and shared their experience over there. I wondered why were they so in awe of it. I even laughed off their praises and rubbished their talks. But yesterday I was wrong, I was in absolute awe of the school.

   When we went by small rural roads, bumping on the speed breakers, listening to music. We entered in the huge and lush green premises of the school. We were greeted warmly by an elderly figure who welcomed us and told us about the Art Fest that was going on. He showed us the diner, where we had our food which was lovely and homely. All the veggies were grown in their school premises which added an authentic flavour to the food. Later we went in the auditorium where the children showcased the short films they made. The Short films were wonderfully captured and were thought with different angles in mind which every team spoke about in depth. The audience - children, parents and teachers, asked them questions and they answered without hesitation. We glanced at the paintings and sketches which were placed all around the auditorium. Every painting, every sketch spoke something deep and it was really commendable to do at such a tender age.
    Admiring the big playgrounds and parks around we walked into the sound room. The students had recorded voices of the trees, birds, river and made it into an audio film. I wondered at the creativity of these kids. We walked into the 'Tinker Shed'. Here the students can make anything they want out off the material in the lab. The teachers will only facilitate. But the best part was yet to come. We went into the Art and Sculpture room. The students had made fantastic sculptures from mud and soap. They have pottery classes, weaving classes which I'd never ever heard of. After talking with a few staff members, we understood the students here don't have any exams, only the 10th and 12th finals. This shook me. There are schools in the city where rat race is predominant and here a few kilometers away from the city is a school where there are no exams, here they are given values of courtesy, kindness and mutual respect. Here is no rote learning, here is active learning.
    No disrespect for the school where I studied but no school stands close to this one. The number of students' intake is quite less as it gives the teachers an understanding of the children. Students from many corners of the country, even from foreign countries come here. In the city where the schools have Ganesh idols installed, unethically, here is a school run on J. Krishnamurti's principles and ideas who don't believe in God and practice only one religion that is Humanity.
  "From ancient times, man has sought something beyond the materialistic world, something immeasurable, something sacred. It is the intent of this school to enquire into this possibility. This whole movement of enquiry into knowledge, into oneself, into the possibility of something beyond knowledge, brings about naturally a psychological revolution, and from this comes inevitably a totally different order in human relationship, which is society. The intelligent understanding of all this can bring about a profound change in the consciousness of mankind.” says J.Krishnamurti.

   We treked at the Python Hill adjecent to the school. The hill cut the Chas-Kaman dam on the left and the river on the right. Far away from the noise and the disturbance of the city we were sitting on the lush green meadows of the hills and I was at peace and then the rain Gods blessed us. It was divine. When I reflected on myself I found out the main difference was not the spacious school or the various amenities but it was Freedom. They are given complete freedom to go about their tasks where as we crave for freedom and end up at disaccordance with the authority.

       We had our evening snacks and talked with the staff. They have to spread Krishnamurti's philosophy in the city. They even invited us to stay for a couple of days for their Annual function in November. They had their movie in the evening but we had to call it wraps as we had to come to the city amidst terrible traffic. Discussing about our experiences we came back in the prospect of visiting again.