Forest School
Like a butterfly, a sparrow, like a small snail that crawls slowly, like a deer fawn prancing and dancing and learning to walk, like a tiny fish that wants to drink up the entire ocean… What if we humans too could get an education that was combined with nature? Perhaps, if every village had such a school?! Nature, god, heart, dream, play, peace, revolution, happiness, love… Everything will fall into place.
How happy would you feel if there was a school inside a dense forest where teachers and students came together to learn from nature, without any exams, or punishments, or competitive thinking?! The Cuckoo Forest School has been built at foothills of Javadu, in Puliyanoor village, in an attempt to realise this very dream. Like the mushrooms blooming, it is an expanse for children to blossom.
IS THIS AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL?
We met with Arvind Gupta and explained the idea of the school. He listened to our ideas patiently and asked us how many Government schools there were around our school and how many students studied there. We replied that there should be at least 1000 children studying in these government schools. Then he asked us if we wanted to make a difference in the life of a small bunch of children or larger groups. From then on, ‘Cuckoo’ reaffirmed that it should be a movement. A movement that can be for all children across the globe.
METHODOLOGY OF LEARNING
Geeta Ma, 93 years old, the founder of three schools based on the principle of Naitalim, was bedridden in the hospital when we met her in August 2019. To her, the definition of Naitalim and learning is “One cannot define Naitalim. Accumulation of experiences from cradle to grave is the learning process”, she smiled.
There are no rules and regulations here about what stream of knowledge should be a part of the syllabus and what should not be. All kinds of knowledge may come in under one condition – a condition that challenges us -‘Those who teach should become children and those who learn should become adults. If the teacher does not become a child, he/she is not teaching, and if the child does not grow up he/she is not learning. When children look only at the word, and not at the reality, their ‘knowledge’ is a delusion. A child will be given the knowledge that is needed to satisfy the demands of his life. Given the knowledge that is needed today; children will become capable of learning whatever he/she will need in the future.
TO WHOM DOES CUCKOO BELONG TO?
Cuckoo belongs to the ice cream vendor who comes to the village on his old bicycle. Once during the construction of the school, seeing the effort taken by volunteers, he gave everything in his pocket. With teary eyes, he said ‘This is my small contribution and all that I have and I can. Similarly Cuckoo belongs to many anonymous souls who have helped by sacrificing their needs. Cuckoo does not belong to anyone or any particular organisation.
Cuckoo belongs to you, to us, and to everyone.
WHERE IS CUCKOO?
As a physical space, Cuckoo is a land at the foothills of Javadhu in Singarapettai, 60 km from the sacred town of Thiruvannamalai in South India. It is tended to by living beings both big and small who have made the simple mud buildings with basic amenities their home. Cuckoo’s essence, however, permeates beyond the physical space – It lies in accommodating all living species so they are in harmony with nature. It is a realm for reflection, evolution, and exploration; where seeds discovered on the ground and in the heart are nurtured beyond germination.
A peaceful place in the lap of nature, with the only barrier separating the land of the school and the forest being an elephant trench.