Our trustee Jigyasa Giri writes about her recent visit to our school…her presence in the school is being missed by all of us. Come back soon.

I have just returned from Kodaikanal…not from a holiday at the lake or a get-away resort, but from a fairyland. From ‘My school Satya Surabhi’, a most awe inspiring school for underprivileged children tucked away in Attuvampatti, a village in the outs…kirts of Kodaikanal. The students of this school are first generation learners, little children of rural farm labourers. Although I have been connected with the school as a trustee for over 8 yrs and have been working towards its steady growth in my small & humble ways, yet it was during this visit that the school, the teachers, the kids AND the founder of the school touched my very soul.

My main mission this time was to teach some of the senior children a dance in kathak style for their annual day scheduled for March 16th this year! It was difficult to choose a piece which I could teach in just 3 days keeping in mind that the children have absolutely no knowledge of what kathak is, let alone knowing the basic steps & nuances of the dance form except for a smattering of my previous lessons to them. Having chosen a piece, I had to break it down to very simple movements and impart it in a way that they would grasp with joy rather than with a feeling of being overwhelmed. So I told them & their teacher a little about kathak & got down to teaching.

Oh, what a divine experience it was! Hands may have flayed & rhythm gone awry, pirouettes gone haywire and tatkar turned to sweet stomps….but the wonder in their gleaming eyes & the pristine canvas of their innocent zeal has captured a slice of my heart forever. On day 3, just as I was wrapping up to leave, I asked my simple, adorable aunt (who started the school & who runs it with her unique skills) if I could watch the other dance taught by her & the teachers – the flower dance. How can I describe the willingness with which the teachers assembled the kids and the enthusiasm with which they performed for me? Where will I find the words to tell you about the happy, silent discipline with which they take their shoes off and await their teacher’s command? There was no electricity, & therefore no music. Just on counts by the teacher they unraveled their talent & learning, a beautiful dance based on the Russian ballet style depicting the flowers & bees and the sunshine in their world. How did you do this I asked my aunt Padmini again & again. The children ran to the library, got out the encyclopaedia and showed me pages about the Russian ballet that they were learning about! From geography, to culture, to dancing, their knowledge was being widened in such a beautiful manner. Next came the yoga demonstration! I still cannot believe what my eyes witnessed. Their joyous precision, their focused concentration, their flawless co-ordination, the steady pyramids that they formed & unformed…through eyes brimming with tears & a heart swelling with pride, for the first time I said aloud – this is MY SCHOOL SATYA SURABHI.

Rehearsing Kathak for the Annual Day!

Budding Kathak Artists!

Learning Kathak from Jigyasa Giri!

I am at once proud and completely humbled. The children are happy & well grounded despite their not so enviable socio-economic backgrounds. They speak a little English, but what they speak, they speak with the confidence of having learnt well. They love their school like I’ve never seen my own kids love theirs. The elder children look after the little ones. My crazy, wonderful aunt welcomes them into school with a bounce & a song every single morning. She sees them off in orderly lines every evening and throughout the day she teaches the rural teachers to teach them and also takes classes herself. The school building itself is one that could well be the envy of many. Simple to the bare essentials, airy, welcoming, eco friendly and ever so aesthetic.

This is a fairyland in the midst of wondrous, yet harsh territory, a dream unfolding into reality….Rabindranath Tagore’s dream for an India where knowledge is free in more ways than one. How blessed is the school that friends & donors pitch in whenever there is a crunch. When Padmini & Ram started this school with 20 children in a little shed 11 years ago (before they donated their own piece of land to the school on which it now proudly stands), they didn’t know how they would raise funds to actualize their dreams & vision for fair & free education, for the wholesome childhood & growth of these little ones. But they believed in their dreams and overcame every pot hole with dogged determination. Can one even imagine what it is like to live the second innings of one’s life in a remote hilly terrain, chasing dreams for someone else? We still don’t know where the teacher’s salaries will come from a year from now. But we have the faith and the dream to pursue & uphold.

Am I nervous about the dance I taught them? Am I concerned if they will do it to the best of their ability? Not at all. For I have seen the glow in their eyes, the skip in their steps, the excitement in their hearts…they will dance with joy, with discipline, with wonder. And such a dance can only be beautiful. To enjoy it one only needs a pair of eyes that sees from the heart. I am truly humbled with the lesson I have learnt. The next time you are vacationing in Kodaikanal, do take a few hours off to visit this place of distinction. It will add a glow to your heart and may also bring a dream to your eyes. And yes, of course we welcome donations of all denominations…for every little drop goes to make a mighty ocean. Tathastu.

(A post by Jigyasa Giri)