Author: Archana Sharma
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 6, 2006
Introduction: The urban Gurukuls are drawing
students from both, upscale Malabar Hills and Middle-Class Ulhasnagar
In an age where microchips and megabucks make
the man, corporate caliphs are turning to ancient wisdom to navigate the future.
Enter the urban gurukul, where the Upanishads replace Gatesian philosophy,
and serenity and "pure knowledge" edge out competitive classroom
curricula.
The Gurukulam at Girgaum and Gurukul Vidyapeeth
at Ulhasnagar are two traditional cradles of learning, drawing youngsters
from both upscale Malabar Hill and middle-class Ulhasnagar.
Thrishla Kothari (13) typifies this trend.
Daughter of an exporter, Kothari opted out of Cumballa Hill High School to
join The Gurukulam a year ago. "Unit tests and semesters used to stress
me out," recalls this A-grader, who learns Bharat Natyam and pores over
the Vedas, while her friends hang out at malls and multiplexes.
Founded by a group of diamond traders six
years ago, The Gurukulam has 85 students on its rolls. Here, students are
taught Vedic mathematics, geography, history and astronomy, according to ancient
Indian scriptures with Sanskrit as the medium of instruction. Also, the Vedas,
Upanishads and ancient languages such as Praakrit and Ardhamagadhi are at
the core of the teachings while English is taught "to help communicate
in the global world'.'
But are these schools recognised by the government?
"No. Instead, we don't recognise the government's system," says
Anil Shah, seated in his office at Panchratna building, the hub of the diamond
trade at Opera House. Shah and other like-minded friends started The Gurukulam
because they were "fed up with the formal education system." And
his philosophy is finding acceptance among a growing group of people. With
only three students when it opened, The Gurukulal had 50 students on its rolls
two years ago. The number rose to 85 last year, even as the institution plans
to expand to accommodate more.
"Schools today do not stress ethics and
moral values and children graduate without any knowledge of their roots, their
heritage or their culture," adds Shah, who has enrolled all three of
his children in The Gurkulam.
Acharya Umesh Bhardwaj, kulapati (principal)
of the Gurukul Vidyapeeth at Ulhasnagar, couldn't agree more. "At our
gurukul, children learn ancient Indian culture as well as science and maths,
which formal education recognises. "You can become a lawyer, engineer
or doctor but a true human being emerges only through such an education,"
Bharadwaj explains.
Puja Rochlani nods vigorously. She says her
son had turned into a veritable couch potato and "mindlessly watched
television".
That's when she heard about the Gurukul Vidyapeeth.
"We wanted him to grow up respect elders and humanity," Puja explains.
So she got her son, otherwise "a good student" from a convent school,
admitted to the Gurukul Vidya peeth two years ago.
Today, her son wakes up at 4 am and recites
from the Bhagvad Geeta with ease. He visits home in his new uniform-dhoti
and shawl-and chats with the neighbour's kids, oblivious to his unconventional
appearance.
Dismissing the notion that children who graduate
from gurukuls could lack the competitive edge, Shah says, "There's no
question of coping, they will sail through smoothly. As they grow up, they
learn business practices at home and can even be self-employed."
What about students who aspire for a college
degree and a "regular job"? This was what the Sanghvis feared when
they took their seven-year-old son from New Activity School in Peddar Road
to The Gurukulam." My husband is an engineer and he was worried,"
confesses Pinky.
But the Sanghyis were convinced by Shah, who
said that their son could always take the board exams privately. Bharadwaj
is a little more sceptical of "formal education" and says his wards
would not choose certain careers anyway. "MBAs are taught to create desires
and stress on spending power. My children will never subscribe to this even
if they become businessmen," he says.
Clearly, there is a growing niche of people
who share Bharadwaj's views as he plans to open a bigger residential gurukul
in Murbad, Thane.
Since neither of the two gurukuls has a single
"graduate", the world is still to pit itself against the wisdom
of our forefathers.
