I had an idea to make a plough. Das made it for me. Ritwik and I would use it in the sand pit. We made our plough better by adding a place so that two people could act like the cows and one person from behind could act like the farmer. When we were playing ‘farm-farm’ in the sandpit with the plough I felt like growing ragi! Tanu didi said that the sand pit was not the right place for that, so we took another spot of land near kaze. The area was full of grass so we had to work hard to remove it. We cut the top of the grass with a sickle and then dug it out with a hoe. Then we cleaned the spot, we took out all the stones and made a pile near one spot. Then Shivaji anna came with his tractor and ploughed it for us, another thatta came with Shivaji anna. We built a fence so that the cow wouldn’t eat up the growing ragi. One day Shivaji anna said it might rain, so we sprinkled lots and lots of seeds around. After a week it was growing like a forest. I needed to water it every da...

Mahiti (Age 8) has been facinated with horses. Wanting to draw horses, paint them, stitch them. Last year for our Poetry mela she chose a poem about how to love a horse  to illustrate and share with others. The other day , she was swinging on the tyre swing and walked up to me with a smile on her face. When she was sure I  was listening to her she shared ....  'I have an idea! I want to make a horse I can ride. See , I will explain.... --looks around... finds a cardboard box.... gets into it...-- so, I want the horse around me , so I can ride it. and we can use some boxes for the neck and head.' Our learning space for the young children is consciously stocked with a variety open-ended material. For the children to easily access, use, play and learn with. Cardboard boxes are a open-ended resource material that lends itself to versatile unstructured play/learning beautifully. It takes the children on an adventure and helps them explore the imaginary places in...

This year our young Thulirs (Age 6 to 9) spent four days in Kaigal. Here the Krishnamurti Foundation owns acres of beautiful forested land with the Kaigal river flowing through it. This land is on the fringes of the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh. We loved the herbal drink. An encounter with a snake. we swam... a lot! Sleeping under the starry sky! While some sleep in the tents! We went for long walks, played in the water, climbed trees and rocks, visited a tribal school, worked in the nursery and saw a night sky that was studded with stars! Being together , growing and learning together is a precious gift. Cola, was our companion on all our little adventures! Here are Glimpses of our wonderful trip ....

As result of Kabir’s illness last month, we fell short of teachers in senior school, but saw it as a window of opportunity to travel. So for three days, our older students visited schools and health centres in KG Halli, on Nagavara road in north Bangalore. In my role as a doctor, I have been working in the urban health project of the Institute of Public Health with this community of 42,000 people since 2008.It would be described as a low income melting pot of humanity with three languages and three religions represented in 0.7 square kilometres of city space.   It was interesting to see the context afresh through the eyes of these twelve young teenagers. They had the opportunity to visit, with the field staff, Ms. Nagaratna and Ms. Leelavati  three schools, where they interacted with students of classes five, six and seven. Some visited homes of people in these crowded lanes along with Dr. Mrinalini and all got a detailed tour of the Sarvagnya dialysis centre with...

A couple of hours away is a place bustling with sounds. Cramped, polluted and smelly, what is this place we have found? People from all cultures, their apparel so unique to their ways, This place we have come to know, is worth a visit I must say! The dialysis center, a building bathed in peach, Located central to the ward making it convenient to reach. The entire ground floor is dedicated to the poor and their kidneys For the cost for them is nil, treatment is without a fee. Lying on the beds, the patients are bored and tire quite fast. I can only imagine how they must feel when their four hours have gone past. Although the patients suffer from boredom and pain thrice a week, They smile and see the positive, I can hear it when they speak. The spirit and attitude with which the dialysis patients live their life, It’s truly an amazing thing, especially with all the strife!  On the first floor amongst the crowd there are a few draped in white. Docto...

Here is a delightful story 10-year old Rajat wrote for a question in his English book, which asked him to write a science fiction story. A couple of tiny corrections in spelling and punctuation are the only changes I have made while typing it out. A Brief History of my Life When I first met the interplanetary explorer Edward Hardgriff, I thought he was pretty stupid: first, he was a big showoff, second he always won the prizes in our school (nothing wrong with that) and for that part in our college. The loudmouth and I shared rooms in an astronomy college. He was interested in the practical bit, I was interested in astronomy. A few years later, because of staying with him for so long, we became friends. Maybe it is because of something I don’t remember, but I don’t think so. After a while he followed his profession and I followed mine: he became an astronaut, and I became an astrophysicist and wrote a Ph.D. on quasars 1 . After I’d completely forgotten him I got a call from him...

We haven't posted much onto the blog for a long time now -- I will try and get down to sharing bits of news from the past few months now. Srikiran, a carnatic classical violinist, spent the day with us in August. He played a very moving little 'kriti' for us at assembly. Amidst the usual excited hubbub of the post-lunch break, the feeble strains of a melody emerged from a window. We followed it into the cool dimness of the library and found this (please excuse the dark video): Parvathy, the singer, is a fifteen-year old student at Shibumi. She has been singing and learning music seriously for years now. The musicians found each other after lunch and had an informal little 'jam' with a couple of us looking on, savouring every moment.

By Gayathri, Student (17)   [This is a very summarized passage on some of my experiences in Gudalur. If I wrote about everything I would be writing forever!] During my O levels I was really fascinated by and interested in the “pregnancy and birth” section of Biology. Thereafter I understandably became more interested in the subject “Child Development”. My parents suggested that I visit the Adivasi Hospital in Gudalur, Tamil Nadu. They had started the hospital years back and for them, it was like sending me to a second home. Five weeks away from school, during one’s A levels would be unheard of in any other school, well thanks to the understanding teachers in Shibumi and all the very kind and tolerant people in Gudalur, this amazing trip was made possible! Excitement was added by the fact that this would be my very first trip alone, even without my brother! When I reached at 4 30pm I was warmly welcomed by a very worried Shyla Aunty. (One, of the 3 doctors in the hospital no...