Rishi Valley School

Rishi Valley School was started in 1931, by the thinker-teacher J Krishnamurti, to give expression to his vision of what education must be, what a school must be like, in order to facilitate the blooming of each child according to his / her true self, free of all kinds of false conditioning.

In 2003, I got from the school office the booklet on the first 40 years of the school, written based on a research-documentation project. On the bus ride back from dropping Rituraj, while Rajashi was deep in silent sadness, I read the account. I was rivetted and spell-bound by the tale of this institution founded on idealism, the struggle to set it up, the challenges and difficulties, the dark days, the swings between extreme freedom and strict discipline, the exceptional individuals and their characteristic genius, and limitations. I could see the whole thing happening in front of me, as if I was witnessing the events and situations.

The story of the quest for true education, is the stuff of an epic. Those familiar with AS Neil's "Summerhill" would know! Later I sent the booklet to my dear friend Col Arun Mamgain, who was then the Commandant of the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), in Dehradun. He too was gripped and inspired by the account.

The publication is accessible here.