On most mornings, the primary sound at Vidyakshetra is just not the shrill ring of a bell. It’s the delicate notes of a flute.

Someplace underneath the neem timber, a scholar practises a raag (melodic framework). A couple of steps away, one other youngster tightens yarn onto a loom. Two boys sweep the doorway earlier than heading to the open kitchen the place breakfast simmers. In a nook of the courtyard, a lady folds her fingers and recites a shloka (verse) from reminiscence.

There are not any uniforms right here. No heavy luggage weighing down shoulders. No rush from interval to interval. But studying flows in each nook of the campus.

That is Vidyakshetra, a small faculty on the outskirts of Bengaluru that has reimagined what schooling can really feel like. Youngsters knead dough earlier than diving into arithmetic. They debate Sanskrit grammar after weaving on handlooms. They experiment within the science lab in the future and sew material luggage the subsequent.

There are not any checks or rankings that pit one youngster in opposition to one other. Nonetheless, each scholar who has taken board exams has scored above 85 p.c, with most reaching between 90 and 96 p.c. Extra importantly, they go away faculty talking of the fabric they dyed with flowers, the performs they carried out, and the questions they carried again dwelling.

At this gurukul-inspired house, schooling is just not a commodity. It’s a shared journey, rooted in Indian information programs and guided by the enjoyment of studying.

The techie who left Germany to construct a gurukul

The thought for this Vidyakshetra house started with one man’s seek for that means. In 2006, Muneet Dhiman was working with Mindtree in Germany when a interval of reflection made him query the trail he was on. “It prompted me to rethink my function in life, and I found that schooling is the place I need to spend the remainder of my life,” he remembers.

He returned to India along with his spouse, Preethi, and collectively they stepped into school rooms as lecturers. Between 2010 and 2016, the household visited greater than 26 establishments throughout the nation, studying from gurukulams, Sri Aurobindo faculties, Krishnamurti Basis faculties, Montessori school rooms, Waldorf strategies, and even standard CBSE and IB boards. He typically says he’s deeply indebted to the learnings these journeys gave him.

Years of analysis and experimentation lastly took form in 2016, when the varsity opened with simply 13 college students. As we speak, it has grown to 157, with almost a thousand functions arriving every year. The curriculum is constructed on the Samagr Vikas Methodology (holistic growth throughout physique, thoughts, and spirit) with the Panchakosha framework (a conventional Indian information system) at its core. It additionally contains the Nationwide Institute of Open Education (NIOS) curriculum, which college students observe for his or her board exams.

Why schooling right here isn’t on the market

There are not any examinations inside the faculty. Youngsters study experientially at their very own tempo. Those that select to take a seat NIOS board exams are properly ready. College students in Class 10 start targeted preparation six months earlier than the checks, and outcomes have constantly been sturdy—most rating between 85 and 95 p.c of their Class 10 and Class 12 exams.

From the outset, the founders made one non-negotiable alternative: schooling right here would by no means be bought, and no charges could be charged by the varsity. Dad and mom will not be requested for revenue proofs or caste certificates. Admissions are selected alignment of values, household involvement, and the kid’s consolation with the setting—not cash. “After all, we have now limitations within the variety of youngsters we take, however we don’t have cash as a criterion for choosing a toddler,” Muneet explains.

Households contribute in their very own methods. Some provide guru dakshina (voluntary providing). A lot of the hole is stuffed by means of daana (donations) raised from society. On particular days, college students, lecturers, and oldsters stroll by means of the streets collectively, connecting with individuals in the neighborhood and searching for contributions to assist the varsity.

Muneet says these walks assist youngsters and households reconnect with each other and with the broader group, addressing what he sees as a rising disconnection from household, relationships, society, and the setting.

Sceptics questioned whether or not such a mannequin might survive. Almost a decade later, the reply is seen in each classroom, loom, and laboratory stuffed with youngsters desperate to study.

From pottery to physics: Classes past marks

At Vidyakshetra, studying is formed extra by curiosity than by competitors. Youngsters will not be rigidly grouped by age. Generally, youthful and older college students share the identical class; at different instances, classes are tailor-made for particular levels. With not more than 16 college students in a category, lecturers can provide particular person consideration to each youngster.

Dad and mom typically arrive with doubts about how this method will put together their youngsters for the long run. Pankaj, whose daughter has studied right here for a number of years, as soon as had the identical concern. “My daughter lately ready for her Class 12 exams and achieved a outstanding 94%,” he says. He provides that past marks, she gained a way of that means, a stronger maintain on tradition, and the arrogance to navigate household and society.

The curriculum blends hand, coronary heart, and head. Topics like agriculture, pottery, handloom, and home development (Kriya Shakti) channel youngsters’s bodily power into creating and constructing. Classical music, Bharatanatyam, and theatre (Iccha Shakti) form feelings and nurture resilience. College students additionally carry out greater than 300 experiments in science and research languages reminiscent of Sanskrit, English, and Kannada.

Historical past and geography, together with arithmetic, sociology, and economics (Gyana Shakti), sharpen mental skills. Collectively, these topics kind a holistic schooling that values stability as a lot as achievement.

Pupil passions weaving a brighter tomorrow

Vaanya (18), a senior scholar, has found a calling in pure dyes and weaving. “Pure dyeing makes me join again to the Earth as a result of I do know I’m not polluting my rivers. It’s a pure course of which supplies me the happiness of contributing again,” she says. Academic journeys to handloom clusters in Odisha and Karnataka strengthened her resolve to maintain this historical artwork alive. “In all probability I can study it and hold it alive.”

One other scholar, Srinidhi, 19, lately completed her board exams and has secured admission in product design at MIT Pune. She desires of designing sustainable options to plastic. “If I get some holidays in between, I’ll return to highschool. That’s how a lot I like the place!” she says.

From 13 college students in 2016, Vidyakshetra has grown to a group of 157. Final 12 months alone, almost 950 functions poured in. “Our purpose is that youngsters ought to develop depth in an Indian worldview,” Dhiman says. “They need to relate with the world not by means of the lens of materialism, self-centredness or casualness, however with a way of depth and sweetness in what they do and the way they do it.”

To encourage others, the establishment has additionally began the Acharya Vidyalaya programme. Already 39 individuals from 9 states throughout India are coaching right here, of whom 17 plan to start out their very own gurukulas, impressed by Vidyakshetra, in cities across the nation. The imaginative and prescient is formidable: not less than 5 extra centres within the subsequent two to 3 years, and 108 by 2047.

Schooling that spills into on a regular basis life

At Vidyakshetra, schooling doesn’t finish when the lesson is over. The setting itself teaches youngsters what it means to dwell with duty and function. A lot of that studying comes from how households maintain the varsity collectively every day.

The spirit of contribution extends to folks as properly. The kitchen is managed completely by them, with a mum or dad couple volunteering every day. Households additionally coordinate transport, taking turns to drop off and decide up the kids. Many step in to show sports activities, whereas others contribute to STEM and civilisation research analysis tasks. 

Each Saturday, a 90-minute video session brings dad and mom collectively, and on the final Saturday of every month, the group gathers on campus for ‘Manthan’— an open dialogue on schooling, parenting, and the evolving wants of kids.

Classes that echo lengthy after the bell

Dad and mom discover the distinction. Mohan, father of a scholar, displays on a fear he sees within the wider world. “Many a time, unknowingly maybe, the pure skills and abilities of kids are ignored in chasing the stream that’s in demand,” he says. He believes youngsters shouldn’t be moulded to suit a slim profession observe, and that Indian information programs assist them make considerate selections that serve each society and self.

Srinidhi, who lately secured admission in product design, says the spirit of group life in school is what she’s going to carry ahead. “Being there may be itself a pleasure. Getting collectively and cleansing the campus each day is one thing I get pleasure from!” she shares. Whilst she prepares for her future, she plans to return each time she will get time without work. “If I get some holidays in between, I’ll return. That’s how a lot I like the place!”

The method has opened paths that usually stay hidden from mainstream education. Youngsters right here will not be pushed right into a slim set of careers. As an alternative, they’re inspired to find their vritti (pure inclination) and observe it with confidence.

It’s not uncommon for alumni to maintain returning, or to proceed contributing even after they transfer on to increased research. This fashion of studying builds not simply particular person expertise, however a way of interdependence that carries into their households and communities.

As one mum or dad put it, Vidyakshetra is much less about instructing for a residing and extra about guiding youngsters in the direction of a lifetime of that means.

Setting youngsters free to soar

For a lot of, schooling is seen as a technique to safe marks, jobs, and salaries. Right here, it’s considered as a technique to uncover one’s pure path and serve each self and society. College students are reminded that expertise is just not missing; it solely wants the best house to emerge.

Nineteen-year-old Srinidhi, now heading to varsity, explains it merely. “Going to varsity doesn’t imply leaving faculty. It’s a part of our curriculum to go exterior, study one thing new and are available again,” she says. Her objective is to design options to plastic, a path she found right here.

The ripple results are clear. Youngsters will not be simply making ready for exams however for lives of that means—whether or not in sustainable design, handloom traditions, or scientific exploration. They’re inspired to check their fingers, hearts, and heads in equal measure, and in doing so, uncover work that appears like pleasure.

For Muneet and the lecturers, the dream doesn’t finish with one faculty. By way of the Acharya Vidyalaya programme, they hope to see dozens extra gurukulas bloom throughout the nation. Already, 39 persons are coaching to hold this mannequin ahead, 17 of whom are making ready to determine their very own centres. The imaginative and prescient is huge: 108 gurukulas throughout Bharat by 2047.

As Nelson Mandela as soon as stated, “Schooling is essentially the most highly effective weapon which you should use to vary the world.” Right here, that energy is being redefined. The cage of checks and ranks is lifted. And when the fowl is about free, it doesn’t simply fly — it soars.

All photographs courtesy Vidyakshetra