At Aurobindo Integral School Matruvihar

"True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are: it is what you become."

                

 -Sri Aurobindo & The Mother

Sri Aurobindo and the Holy Mother gave the concept of Integral Education for the holistic development of the child. The concept of Integral education takes into account the development of the child in all the domains of development. At a stage when the education system is being highly commercialized the existence of such institutions across the country appears as hopes for many. I got this rare opportunity to visit the institute and interact with the stakeholders involved. Located far away from the capital city of Bhubaneswar, Tangi is a must-visit place for all of those who wish to seek out some time for themselves away from the hurly-burly of everyday life. Home to many birds Tangi has also to its credit the presence of many wetlands which has attracted bird watchers from around the globe. Mangalajodi is located in Tangi which is also known as Birds Paradise.

Click on the link below to get a glimpse of Mangalajodi

Birds' paradise Mangalajodi

 Under the able guidance of a visionary to pursue the noble mission of empowering village youth through education the school was started some 30 years back. Today it is a full-fledged institution with a total of 800 students,350 of them who stay in the campus, and the rest from villages of nearby areas. In spite of having a busy academic schedule whenever we get a holiday in between, we never fail to lose any opportunity to execute our travel plans. The teachers from the Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneswar inspire us for more field visits. NCERT which is involved mainly in the training of teachers has also many courses for students. Our teachers try their best to have more and more practical experience as part of our course. When we planned out for Tangi it was difficult at the initial stage. Yet we had hope that we would plan out a trip. When we heard about the school from one of our teachers, we were very excited to visit it. Trying to find out the location of the school was really difficult as there were many such schools in the capital city Bhubaneswar. With the help of one of the retired army officers whom we are immensely grateful we finally got the location of the school. It was a clear day when we started out for Tangi. There was a slight drizzle on our way. The hot coffee offered to us while waiting for the principal was enough to cheer us up after the tiring journey. When we reached the school the daily routine of the school already started. We could hear the music of meditation from the classes. The discipline of the school was something to be appreciated. All the slippers of the students as well as teachers were kept outside. Each classroom had some words written outside like in front of the principal office the word was written as Service. Our meeting with the principal was very interactive. The teachers at the school explained to us about the activities of the school. The walls of the school had boards hang on them for students to study through group activities during summer. The cowshed had many cows and has been named Kamadhenu. Visiting the vegetable gardens maintained by the students was a delight. There were separate patches of it with one part for the vegetables and the other for the flowers. A monkey jumped from a tree and disappeared among the groves while I was lost in the beauty of the flowers blooming bright kissed by the rays of the morning sun. The blooming flowers of the school garden, the freshness of the vegetables, the cute smiles of the children, the welcoming attitude of the teachers and the commitment of the principal was really a thing to applaud about. Bowing before the relics of Sri Aurobindo and The Holy Mother I returned when one munchkin touched my feet. The map of 'Akhanda Bharat' reflected the vision of Aurobindo. Meeting Chulbuli a name given to a duck, seeing the beautifully arranged vegetable garden and the cow shade, it all seemed like an Ashram. Everything tuned with the rhythm of Nature. We thanked the teachers at the school and returned back to Bhubaneswar. This is the kind of education system which is the need of the hour where every child gets the best of opportunities to bloom in their own way.

Wayside picnic on our way to Tangi 

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Sayonara💕