VAIKHA

VAIKHA, MY GRANDDAUGHTER She is very excited, because they are giving a farewel party to her in her Anganwadi. She is 3 years 3 months old and her parents have decided to shift her to CNN school at Cherpu, where I too studied for some time These days, children are tied to schools, even before the end childhood. It is a pity. Rabindranath Tagore hated schools and he started Shantiniketan, where children sat under a tree in the open and learned under the guidance of a Guru. I could have easily prepared for my tenth year exams, in just three years, concentrating on mathematics, science and geography. Languages can be learned easily by reading books. Today’s system aims at learning by heart, and discourages free thinking.