My dear Valley,
Writing this letter on your 43rd Birthday takes me back 50 years—to 1971—when a few of us requested Krishnaji to give public talks in Bangalore. That was when it all began!
Gratitude to Krishnaji, officers of KFI and House of Khodays, particularly, Sri Hari Khoday, for enabling a small group of people to pursue their vision of Bangalore Education Centre, in complete freedom.
The land for the campus of BEC was purchased in 1972. A building where Krishnaji could stay was constructed by the end of 1973. In the Januaries of 1974 and 1975, Krishnaji held public and small group discussions, in a specially hoisted shamiana, on the agricultural field behind the building. After his passing in 1986, the building became the nucleus of the Study Centre and Retreat.
Due to various reasons and circumstances, we could only commence the Valley School on 17th July, 1978—six years after the acquisition of the land. It was mainly envisioned and managed without a sense of hierarchy, by a small group consisting of Kabir Jayathirtha, Amarendra Roy, K M Sripada Rao and Kamala Subramanian and M K Anantha Swamy. They were supervised and helped by G Narayan, principal of Rishi Valley School.
The Valley began with 110 students—boys and girls in classes 5 to 7. The primary grades had more students than grades 5 and 6; grade 7 had only 7 students. The ICSE Board was chosen for it allowed a flexibility in including other curricula and activities. There were 17 teachers, while chosen mainly for their competency in teaching the subjects but notably for they were open to adopt and learn new ways of teaching and engaging with children. Day-boarding was selected for more than one reason—convenience of school, teachers and parents. Within three years, Valley developed into a full school with 10 grades, with a strength of about 220 students and 35 teachers.
The greater challenge for the core group was to live and introduce Krishnaji’s teachings in the school. K began writing fortnightly letters to the schools from September 1978–this was both helpful and demanding. To quote from it: “When these three are in complete harmony—that is, the mind, the heart and the body, then the flowering comes naturally, easily and in excellence. That is our job as educators, our responsibility, and teaching is the greatest profession in life”
We had a very small team of support staff; we depended on Khodays for their help for quite some time. In the initial few years, it was expected that multiple tasks and responsibilities were held by teachers, the core group and support staff. Our bus drivers were helping in the kitchen; the soup prepared by one of them was a hit with the children! Many parents, particularly mothers, helped in the kitchen. Our house in Jayanagar was not just the city office, but the hub of many activities, including interviews of teachers, staff, students etc. It was also an unofficial guesthouse for a number of foundation members, visitors and guests. My wife, Vijaya, helped with organising the school kitchen, dining, menu etc.; she was the crisis manager in case of transport breakdowns—which was very often the case with old buses. Mind you, there were no mobiles or even landlines at the school. It was a collaborative effort, the endeavour of the many people that came together.
I would like to end with an excerpt by Kahlil Gibran:
Your children are not your children.
They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
Wishing all the very best to the school and study centre.
MKA
(Anantha Swamy uncle)