Samskaara - an off-beat journey of love and joy. A travelogue of loving, passionate and free spirited beings – small and big.

I still can hear the voice of my pretty geography teacher in Grade 5 reading out our marks. I was getting anxious as it was the last paper in her hand. 99, she read aloud calling out for me. I was happily unhappy as she expressed a shocking surprise (I was never at the top). I owe it to my dad who transported me to various countries as we were learning.

Looking now, I see the seeds were sown then. Learning must be experiential and must evoke emotions from within.

I believe in Rumi’s words -

Remember….
The entrance to the sanctuary
is inside you.

I understood that learning is an invisible process that happens inside people. The environment, creatively prepared content and other factors are stimuli. The only people that create learning are the individuals doing the learning.

Fortunately as these thoughts unfolded I explored the Montessori program. Maria Montessori, in Education and Peace, speaks of the inner force as a “…kind of love that is not transitory, that does not change, that does not die…love for one’s environment…. The love of one’s environment is the secret of all man’s progress and the secret of social evolution…. Love of the environment inspires man to learn, to study, to work.”

While most schools prioritised grades and followed standardised learning systems, I planted my foot on the Montessori pedagogy, spotlighting the child.

A journey of two grew into a family of like minded people, who champion the spirit of children. As facilitators we understand and are aware of the inner force which impels our children to learn passionately. We believe and remind each other that the birth of the school is a special event and we have play a special role in fulfilling its cosmic task.

The enormity of our task demands community participation. We believe that parents are significant in this journey. Therefore we welcome their active participation, collectively we work towards the well-being of the child.

With Samskaara Academy, I was Born again. My journey of love and joy began…