Valley Came Home

Dear Valley,

This is my fourth year as a Valley parent. In the last four-odd years, every time I have visited Valley—from study meet sessions and orientations to the School's birthday and Art Mela—I have felt an inexplicable sense of calm and peace while entering the Silence Zone stretch.

After spending a couple of hours at Valley, chit-chatting with fellow parents, attending some thought-provoking sessions, soaking in the atmosphere and the familiar favourite spots, discovering new ones and, of course, indulging in the wonderful food, chai and the occasional chakli, I would return home very content. It always felt like a day well-spent. My fitness tracker would show 7,000 steps and I would be in that ‘Valley’ zone in my head all day long! Back then, I did not really attempt to understand what was so different about that pleasant feeling.

While driving back home, I would often wonder, what if Valley was set in a building complex… In town, with minimal free area? Would it have the same appeal? Would Valley even be ‘Valley’ then? We might never know, is what I would tell myself.

In March 2020, we were struck by the news that the pandemic had hit home and that schools would be shut ahead of schedule. I was mildly upset about missing the chance to visit Valley and the PTM experience of interacting with various teachers, in person. Little did we know then that the cruel virus would affect us all in multiple ways and would change our lives in the coming months and year(s). As the summer months rolled by, it became increasingly clear that school is not going to be near Thataguni, and we will not have our rushed morning routines to catch Tirichmir.

Just like that, one fine June morning, Valley came home! For over 14 months and counting, you have been as much a part of our daily lives as our child’s. In the truest sense for us, you became the place of learning for the adults too!

You touched us in a million ways:

You came home through Zoom calls,

You came home through lovingly-created welcome songs, dances, poems and skits,

You came home through sensitively told stories,

You came home through hand-holding us as we were struggling with work and homework,

You came home to give us a virtual hug when we were grieving,

You came home to tell us “it is okay and you are doing more than okay,”

You came home as worksheets that sought to ignite the child’s imagination,

You came home as the love, attention and care from the educators,

You came home as the child’s wonder while watching a Brahmini kite from the balcony,

You came home as the child’s curiosity in waiting for the first Brahma Kamala to bloom,

You came home in the child’s volunteering to do dishes, saying, “we do it in school always,”

You came home as a chance for us adults to experience school again,

You came home in the tamarind pod that was picked up during weekend visits,

You came home in the lessons of patience and acceptance we learnt as adults,

You came home in the memories of the rocky slide, jungle gym, machan and guppy pond,

You came home as the Mysore Pak recipe in the school newsletter,

You came home to dwell in our hearts.

I felt then that Valley is not just a place or geography. In some sense, you are timeless, space-less, a spirit, a thought, a community, and made up of myriad intangibles.

In much gratitude, I wish our dear Valley a very happy 43^rd birthday. Here’s hoping the gates open once again to allow us the touch-and-feel experience of the abundance that is The Valley.

Warm regards,

Padmapriya