1 Footprints

Footprints Anweshana Montessori House Of Children, No. 154, 9th Cross, Prakruthi Layout, Hennur, Bangalore - 560043.

Footprints 2

School Song

We hold our heads up high,

With confidence we fly,

As we explore with freedom,

Naturally bloom and blossom.

Learning here is such a pleasure,

Something that we would treasure.

Being here is a dream come true,

Beautiful from every view.

At the...

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

School we call Anweshana

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

Our school; Anweshana

Here we work with passion,

A better future is our mission,

Always close to Mother Nature,

Tending to her every creature.

At the...

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

School we call Anweshana

School of wonder, school of joy,

3 Footprints

School of honour for a child!

Our school; Anweshana

Bridge :

We thank Dr. Maria Montessori,

Our beacon of light.

We thank all the educators

Who make everyday a delight!

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

School we call Anweshana

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

Our school; Anweshana

Outro: Its our house of children

Anweshana

Its our house of children

Anweshana

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

School we call Anweshana

School of wonder, school of joy,

School of honour for a child!

Our school; Anweshana

*******

Lyrics by Students and Educators

Music and vocals by Mr. Aryan,

Berkeley School of Music

Footprints 4

I vividly remember the first time I walked into a

Montessori environment. It was in the year 1990

when my search for the ‘right’ school for my son had

taken me to Sishu Griha Montessori house of children.

I was thrilled by the novelty of what I saw! After

interacting with the Principal, Late Mrs. Sunanda

Nagananda, I knew that my search for a school that is

not confined to blackboards, textbooks and rote

learning had come to a joyful end. I enrolled my son

into the school and there began my passion to learn

more about the method.

I keenly observed the Montessori environment, read

books authored by Dr. Maria Montessori and

completed the Montessori training course under the

guidance of Mrs. Meenakshi Sivaramkrishnan.

At that time there were only about ten Montessori

houses of children in Bangalore and I could see that

there was a dire need for more Montessori schools. I

grappled with the idea of opening one myself as the

thought of neglecting my children was too painful.

However, my husband stood by me and empowered

by his constant support and encouragement we

started a house of children and named it Anweshana

which means “to explore”.

Anweshana had its beginnings in the year 1993, in a

small rented house with 12 pre-primary children, my

dear friend and co-educator Mrs. Shubha, Saraswathi

and myself.

A year later we moved into our own campus in

Banaswadi. During that time, not many people had

heard about the Montessori method of education. We

got all the Montessori materials from Kaybee

Manufacturing Company but that was not enough. So

I had to wear many hats - working with children and

familiarising parents about the method during the

day; organising the environment and shopping for

material in the evening and making material for

Language and Culture late into the night.

Gradually our team grew. I pursued my Elementary

Montessori course along with Mrs. Rama who was a

parent of Anweshana and together we started the

elementary environment in 1997. We were soon

joined by Mrs. Jayashree who has been my constant

support.

Our present campus in Hennur was at that point

barren land with boggy soil. With a lot of effort, we

managed to transform it into a green campus and

moved in 2002.

As Anweshana steps into it’s 27th year, I am filled

with gratitude towards our entire team of educators,

non-teaching staff, parents and children who have

made this journey meaningful.

Our journey through the years has been exciting,

fulfilling, challenging and a true learning experience.

There is a lot that I have learnt while working with

children of different age groups. The children have

shown me the beauty of living in the moment, the

thrill in every day discoveries, the equality in inter-

personal interactions, the creativity of an uninhibited

mind and the joy of exploring nature’s abundance.

This is the innate nature of children and in fact all of

us. But for us adults, this innate nature has been

buried beneath several layers of conditioning that we

have acquired over the years.

Children have naturally absorbent and observant

minds. So, it is very easy for us to unintentionally

pass on our acquired insecurities, fears, judgments

and desires to children without even realizing it. We

need to be watchful of what we say and do, because

children observe our casual remarks and actions and

use them to construct their ideas of the world around

them.

The society is merely a reflection of what is going on

inside each and every one of us. So, let us do our part

by leading a more conscious life where we take some

time out from the frenzy of our daily lives and reflect

upon the impact of our thoughts, words and actions

on ourselves, our children, our neighbors, the society

and the environment.

- Bharathi D, Educator

Anweshana-the beginnings

5 Footprints

Anweshana Footprints

My Voyage Through Anweshana

I had dreamt of being a teacher in my childhood, but

never knew who or what Montessori was. I took up

the Montessori training course quite by chance -

accidentally, you can say. I did it mainly to avoid the

tasks of correcting books and setting papers for tests

and exams - the tedious monotony in a traditional

school! But, little did I know that it will alter my

outlook towards education and life itself.

I finished my course in 1997 and stepped into

Anweshana for a brief sojourn. I re-joined as a parent

and an educator in January 2001. From then on, I

have been on a continuous learning spree, where I

have enjoyed, owned, battled conflicting emotions

and opinions and above all blossomed into a mature

human being.

These are the few values which mean a lot to me and

which I have imbibed by working here:

To treat every living being with respect - be it a child, adult, a plant or an insect.

To have faith in the child

To accept and learn from my mistakes.

To face any situation if it’s for the benefit of the child.

To adopt and live a sustainable lifestyle.

Bharathi's gentle ways of nudging and guiding has

helped me develop a philosophical and holistic

attitude towards life. Her positive attitude towards

every individual has rubbed off on me and I'm striving

to develop her creative outlook as well.

I'm truly honored for the opportunity Anweshana has

offered me to mould myself into a better human

being.

- Jayashree C S, Educator

Anweshana

Place of wisdom.

Where learning is fun.

Feels like home.

********

My favourite place

Where I love to go to learn

I build confidence

and feel more independent

Anweshana my second home

- Ishana, 10 years

Footprints 6

My Journey at

Anweshana

My first year at Anweshana

has been nothing short of

joyful. I wake up everyday,

looking forward to go to my

environment and meet my

children. Before starting at

Anweshana, I imagined my

role as a teacher to impart

learning; but I realize now

that I have learnt more than

I have taught. Anweshana

has given me the room to

grow, to think and the

freedom to explore my

personality. I started with a

passion towards Montessori

method, born out of

academic interest. I am very

happy to say that

Anweshana has helped my

passion to grow by leaps and

bounds as it follows the

Montessori method in the

true spirit. More than

anything, I am in awe of my

co-educators. They have

established a very positive

environment based on trust

and respect.

-Bharani Maram, Educator

Thought of a Parent

The fresh being came into my life on a cozy – rainy day

What was he observing? What was he seeing? Very difficult to say!

Absorbing everything happening around, he started growing day by day

Then came the challenging task of finding a school where he can go happily every day!

Started exploring different options, not knowing to look which way?

All I wanted was a place which would not turn a happy child into a battered hay!

A place which can let the child learn and explore everything as if it’s play!

That’s when I came to know about the Montessori Method which looked like a bright ray!

Montessori opens up a new avenue of possibilities and excitement in the child’s life

Every child can here fearlessly and cheerfully thrive

Whatever the child wants it can learn joyfully without having to painfully strive

This is the place where the essence of cosmic learning - every child is able to realize

Here is where the child comes to know how not be selfish and still be alive!

One should live and let others live, so that every creature can survive

This is the only way through which our Mother Earth can revive

Thank you Anweshana for letting my child thrive!!!

- Sheela Dhareshwar, Parent of Shivanga

- Leah

7 Footprints

Anweshana

Filled with kids who laugh and scream,

when we work, we always gleam.

Enjoying our lessons and having fun,

we work as a team all in one.

Going green has been our goal

in this task we’ve put our soul.

- Geethashri & Leah, 11 years

The Right Choice

It is that time of the year again. When we welcome joy

and good cheer into our homes, when we sing carols,

decorate our houses, wear our best, and celebrate

with our near and dear ones. Christmas, the day Jesus

Christ was born, is one of the biggest celebrations

around the world. Anweshana is not an exception.

Here we celebrate Christmas every year with great

enthusiasm.

We had just returned from our trip to Goa and it was

the time for Christmas celebration. We thought about

many options but one thing was agreed upon: that the

entire celebration has to be meaningful. The message

of Christmas is after all spreading love and joy to

others. So then we thought why not spread it with

someone underprivileged. We contacted the nearby

orphanage, where 40 girls of ages 6 to 14 were living.

Fortunately their holidays had started and the nuns

happily agreed. But since they live in a small place

taking our children over there was difficult. When we

discussed it with Bharathi ma'am she readily let us

bring them to Anweshana. The gates of Anweshana

are always open for any such cause. So it was all

finalized. The girls were to come to Anweshana and

spend the whole day with our children, interacting,

learning, playing and having lunch with us. We

planned for a love meal where each child was to carry

an extra lunch box and share it with them.

After all the planning, the day had arrived and we all

were in for a surprise. Each child had not only carried

an extra lunch but also payasam, varieties of

homemade sweets and a box full of Agra petha. Even

the parents were in true Christmas spirit. We were

really overwhelmed. I can't forget one parent who

came with story books, fancy hair clips and hair bands

for the girls. Was he not the Santa Claus who

distributes gifts to the needy? Can we then really say

that Santa Clause is an imaginary person?

Our children were also no exception. They wanted to

share what they had learnt in the class with them,

explained various concepts, served food, sang and

when they danced clapped whole heartedly and

encouraged them.

The true spirit of Christmas comes when we find joy in

making others happy. Sacrificing our comforts to make

life more comfortable for others. This is precisely what

our children did .It was in all sense a proud day for us

adults in the class. If we could instil this virtue of

kindness and respect for fellow beings in our children

then I believe that they are getting the right

education. As Dr. Montessori rightly said...” If

education is always to be conceived along the same

antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge,

there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of

man's future."

It is also said that the entire life of a human being can

be represented with three alphabets ...B...C and D. B

stands for birth and D for death. In the middle is C

which represents all the choices man makes between

birth and his death. This year's Christmas was one

such right choice we did in our short life.

- Dunly Rajeev, Educator

Footprints 8

Anweshana

A place where we learn and play

creative things we do always

filled with greenery and even eco friendly

activities are the main, like art and sports

celebrations we do many in a year

like Diwali, Christmas and New Year

Montessori is the way we learn

freedom is the most I love in the school

Every year we have a big event

all together this is the best school.

- Geethashri, 11 years

My Experiences at Anweshana

My journey at Anweshana started in the summer of

2017. Since then it’s been more of a self-learning

process through mistakes. I still remember when I

would discuss with Lalitha, my co-educator as to why

a particular child would choose the same place to

work day in and day out and would take huge time to

complete his work. I used to think about how to

stimulate him to complete his work in a short time.

In June 2018 when the session started, the child

started to unroll his mat at different places in the

environment and would complete his work in a short

time. What made all these changes in him I still

wonder?? I am yet to unravel the mysteries behind

the happenings in the mind of a child.

The recent change that Anweshana has brought into

my life is to love plants and to avoid using plastic. It

is such a positive change that I am enjoying

gardening and composting. Since July 2018, I wake

up early in the morning, open my patio door and

have a glance at all the plants and the blossomed

flowers while having my cup of tea. Enjoying this

serene beauty I feel rejuvenated.

As far as possible I am trying to avoid plastic coming

into my house. The feeling of giving back to mother

Earth in even a small way makes me feel happy and

great.

-Mrunal Pappu, Educator

G A I A

G.A.I.A or “Green

Awareness In Anweshana”

was an exhibition based on

the theme “Zero Waste“.

This exhibition happened in

3rd November 2018. In the

exhibition, plants which

was planted in milk cartons

was for sale, impressive

badges, paper tokens to

play fun games, notebooks

made out of recycled

paper, cow dung lamps,

tempting homemade

snacks by Seema aunty,

wonderful pani pooris by

Sam uncle and his crew,

Breads, bun and mouth -

watering cake made by

cottage loaf and more

you’d love. Hope it

happens again.

-J P Nathan Samuel, 11 years

9 Footprints

Role of a teacher/As a teacher.....

It has been a successful and joyous 17 years working

with children in the age group of 2-1/2 to 11 years.

I have no idea why I chose to be a Montessori

educator, but being a Montessori teacher is no small

task. It requires a lot of effort from you. Is it worth

it? Yes, very much so. You will find yourself as

changed by the Montessori method as the children;

and together, we’ll be able to change the world.

Montessori Method has helped me to understand

myself and the children year after year, and it is still

an ongoing process. Learning and unlearning happens

all the time along with the children.

Personally, I do not believe that education is all about

marks. Teaching should be life oriented. I firmly

believe a good teacher should have a legacy to leave

behind. Legacy in the form of successful students,

who are lifelong learners, are an asset to the society.

They should take the lead in shaping students not

only for academic pursuit, but for life.

Maria Montessori said early in her work: “The

education of teachers who are able to kindle flames

rather than just fill vessels is not easy.” The

Montessori method is philosophically different from

other educational methods, and also very different

from the personal educational background of most

adults who become Montessori teachers. Montessori

education has worked all over the world, with all

kinds of children and environments. And at

Anweshana Montessori, we believe that it’s not the

richness of the environment that determines the

success of the Montessori method, but the passion

and dedication of one and all as a community.

-Sunitha Mahendra, Educator

Garage Sale

We had a garage sale on Saturday 8th December

2018 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Primary parents

were invited to the sale.

We had to bring e-waste, broken plastic toys, books

we don’t read and toys we don’t play with anymore.

The broken toys and e-waste were sent to recycle

centers while the toys and books were sold to the

parents who came to the sale.

We did this to spread the awareness of how to reduce

waste by exchanging toys books etc. I bought a book

(Best joke Book) of which the original price was

Rs150 but as it was second hand I got it for Rs 70. I

also bought a car for my younger brother.

We raised around Rs 14,000 in the garage sale and

Anweshana used this money to clean the streets

around the school. The leftover books and toys were

given to the orphanages.

-Tannistha, 11 years

ಮೊಂಟೆಸ್ಸೊರಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಗನ ನೀಡಿ ಒೊಂದು ರ್ಟ್ಟಿ ಅಡಿಪಾಯದೊಂತೆ ಆಧಾರವಾಗಿ ನಲ್ುುತ್ತದೆ. ನಾನು ಕ್ೊಂಡೊಂತೆ ಅನ್ವೀಷಣ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲು

ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ಾವತ್ೊಂತ್್ಯ, ಜವಾಬ್ಾಾರಿ, ಸಮಸ್ಯಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ, ಸ್ಾಮಾನಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ ತ್ುೊಂಬುತ್ಾತರೆ. ಮರ್ುವಿಗೆ ಪರಿಸರದ ಅರಿವನುು ತಿಳಿಸಲ್ು ಹಲ್ವಾರು

ಕಾಯಗಕ್್ಮರ್ಳನುು ಆಯೀಜಿಸುತ್ಾತರೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಪ್ತಿಭೆಯನುು ತೆಸೀರಿಸಲ್ು ಮೀಳ, ವಸುತ ಪ್ದರ್ಗನ ಏಪಗಡಿಸುತ್ಾತರೆ. ಇದರಿೊಂದ ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲು ಧೈಯಗ,

ಮಾತ್ನಾಡುವ ಕೌರ್ಲ್ಯ, ಪ್ಯೀರ್ಶಿೀಲ್ತೆ ಹೆಚ್ುುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಹೆಸರ ಜರ್ತಿತನ ಅರಿವನುು ಮಸಡಿಸಲ್ು ಶೈಕ್ಷಣಿಕ್ ಪ್ವಾಸರ್ಳನುು ಆಯೀಜಿಸುತ್ಾತರೆ.

ಮಕ್ಕಳಲ್ಲು ಕ್ೊಂಡು ಬರುವ ಶಿಸುತ, ಸೊಂಯಮ ಮಚ್ುುವೊಂತ್ದುಾ. ಅನ್ವೀಷಣ ಶಾಲೆಯ ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತಲ್ಲನ ಪ್ಕ್ೃತಿ ನಜಕ್ಸಕ ಕ್ಣಮನ ಸ್ಳೆಯುವೊಂತ್ದುಾ. ನನು

ಹದಿನ್ೈದು ವಷಗದ ಪಯಣದಲ್ಲು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಕ್ಲ್ಲಸಿ ಕಸಡುವ ಜಸತೆಗೆ ನಾನು ಕ್ಸಡ ಹಲ್ವಾರು ವಿಷಯರ್ಳನುು ಕ್ಲ್ಲತಿದೆಾೀನ್.

- ಸಿೀಮಾ ರ್ಶಿಧರ್,

Footprints 10

Role of a teacher/As a teacher.....

I do not know anything more fulfilling than being a

Montessori Educator. I believe that investing in young

lives is a calling and this gives a great sense of

purpose to one’s life. It has liberated me from all

kinds of prejudice that I had about children. My

journey as a Montessorian at Anweshana has been a

pleasant one thus far. The way children evolve has

always made me wonder and has challenged my

principles and proven me wrong over and again!

Working with children has humbled me as a person

and has enabled me to become a better parent. The

changing traits in the children, at different stages, is

just like the metamorphosis of a butterfly. In each

period, we rediscover a growing being, but one who is

quite different every time. I have been blessed to

witness such transformation in my children and every

child whom I have touched has loved me immensely

and that’s what keeps me going. The best thing about

being an educator is that you get to laugh every

single day!

-Leeze, Educator

My Journey At Anweshana

When I joined Anweshana I was in Chrysanthemum. I

had two friends, Harshita and Iara. My Aunties were

Dhanalakshmi aunty and Reshmi aunty. There were

25 children in Chrysanthemum. My Favourite activity

was the spindle box.

I like to wear colour dress every day. I then went to

Aster. I still had Iara as my friend. In Aster we use to

have our snack at 10:30A.M. In Aster my favourite

activity was antonyms.

On June 6th, 2018 I went to Dandelion. In Dandelion

my friends are Ritisha and Harshita. I still miss my

aunties.

There are many trees in Anweshana.

- Avani Pappu, 7 years

Christmas

We celebrate Christmas, because Jesus was born on

that day.

We celebrated Christmas on Dec-21 because holidays

started from Dec-22. We went to school around 9:00 clock. There were some orphanage children coming. We had to present some materials to them. I

presented Mesopotamian Civilization. This was there till 11:00 O clock. Then there was cultural program till

12:00 O clock.

Then it was lunch time. We had got one extra lunch

box because they were coming. We had lunch. Then we went out to play. When we came back it was

around 1:15. It was time for them to go. So we did a type of quiz.

E.g. If they tell paint a picture of football ground, we had to act it. Now it was time to leave so we left.

- Shivanga, 9 years

11 Footprints

‘Going out’ at Anweshana

Montessori education is based on a series of genuine

discoveries of Dr. Maria Montessori. Her approach to

education encompasses the whole development of

man from birth to adulthood.

‘Going Out’ is one of the needs of a primary child (age

6 - 12 years). At this age the child shows us his desire

to escape from the house (closed environment).

“When the child goes out, it is the world itself that

offers itself to him.”

“The role of education is to interest the child

profoundly in an external activity to which he will give

all his potential.”

The adults at Anweshana truly believe and understand

this, thanks to Bharathi ma’am! She encourages the

adults to take the children out to help them explore

the world around them, at different levels.

Anweshana has a beautiful outer environment. There

are a variety of plants — medicinal, flowering and

fruiting plants to study. They get to see, touch and

feel various parts of the plants which further help

them to learn the activities related to classification

and determination.

Outings at Anweshana are not limited to the

surroundings. Children are taken to visit lakes,

botanical gardens, stud farm, planetarium, etc., to

give them experiences from the nearby areas.

Children from the age group 8 yrs and above are also

taken to field trips/educational tours for durations

ranging from 2 days to a week for older children.

These excursions are very well organized by the

adults at Anweshana. The purpose of the trip, the

planning-travel by train/bus, simple things to carry,

the places to visit, the places of stay, safety rules to

follow are all well discussed with the children and

decided upon.

All these outings are very well connected with the

Montessori principles:

To help the children become independent

To help them understand the importance of

working together in a group

To help them find the links between, the various

topics learnt in the classroom, to the outside real

world.

To help them explore the place of visit through

Nature - animals and birds, plants and trees

Geographical location and climate, land forms

found there

Sites and Monuments with historical importance

Culturally and socially, by reaching out to the

people/tribes living there. To get acquainted to

their way of life — language spoken, art, craft,

dance forms, their food and occupations.

As a parent at Anweshana, I have seen my daughter,

looking forward to the outings every year and

thoroughly enjoying them. A very big thanks to team

Anweshana for creating such an opportunity for the

children!

-Dhanashree Kulkarni, Educator

We teachers can only help the work going on, as servants wait upon a master. - Dr Maria Montessori

- Ishita

Footprints 12 Anweshana Montessori, A place to self-learn and thrive!

Every time I think of Anweshana

Montessori, I think of a quote from

Dr. Maria Montessori, “The child

has a mind able to absorb

knowledge. He has the power to

teach himself.” It is because, I

have realised that only the skill of

self-teaching, stays forever with us

and helps us succeed in any

environment. We thrive in those

moments when we have discovered

something on our own and that

discovery stays with us forever!

This is the foundation of

Anweshana Montessori. I was told

about this school by one of my

cousins, even before I become a

mother. She had described this

school to be a thriving place for

children where children could be

what they are and flourish without

the pressure of learning. This was

a new concept and opposite to

what little understanding I had

about the happening at any

nursery schools where they stunt a

child's growth by giving them strict

instructions to follow. From that

day onwards, I decided that when

time comes, it will be this school

that my children will go to!

Oh! It was a treasure hunt and

pulling teeth for me when finally,

the time came to seek admission in

this school for our firstborn son. It

took several calls to friends of

friends and cousins to find the new

address and even a telephone

number. But it was worth the

trouble, finally we started our

relationship with this earthy school

that showed more human centric

values and ethos, which are fading

away in our fast-paced society

these days.

From a simple activity of cutting

vegetables or sieving the flour to

difficult activity of working without

materials in the higher grades, I

observed that children are all time

aware of their surroundings. This

awareness makes them connect

with their own inner feelings. When

one connects with their feelings,

the brain automatically performs

the required task with ease. The

teachers in the school put every

effort to push a child’s mind in

discovering the outcome of any

activity in an individualistic

experience that no one can

prescribe for them.

No two children are same while

they do the same activity, the

impact is a world apart. I have

witnessed this in my own children,

hence find the philosophy of

Montessori even more appealing

now than ever before.

This also applies to the child who

may be comfortable and inclined

towards receiving clear instructions

than exploration. But in

Anweshana, eventually that child

also reaches the stage of

independence and explores new

ways to learn. The idea is never to

give-up, if an educator had to give

up on that child, the child would

have never bloomed. That's why

it's important to be a partner with

the educator and implement such

things back home.

What I always loved about

Anweshana was a must-have

observation time. These

observations are not for you to

observe your child, but also to see

how various other children are

performing different tasks without

being distracted by their

colleagues, who are at a very

different level and happy in their

own zone of activity. Rarely we see

these happening in the real life, we

often get bogged down by

competition in normal schools.

The beauty of Anweshana

Montessori in not only in nurturing

and brining up happy, self-aware

and responsible children of

tomorrow, but also the families,

who have been part of this

journey. These are like-minded

individuals who have provided their

full support in keeping their

children until primary grades.

Anweshana Montessori has

provided the best foundation to my

children Gerard, Joshua and Jaden,

their current teachers appreciate

the quality of self-teaching and

connection with surroundings. And

the full credit goes to the educators

at Anweshana starting from Ms.

Sumana, Ms. Dhanalakshmi, Ms.

Hajira, Ms. Anupama, Ms. Anita,

Ms. Dhanashree, Ms. Ramana, Ms.

Dunly, Ms. Jayashree and above all

the leadership and guidance of Ms.

Bharathi.

- Hema Santosh,

Parent of

Gerard,

Joshua and

Jaden

13 Footprints Anweshana through my eyes...

Anweshana has been like a home away from home to

me. It is a spectacular school with fresh air and

green trees all around. Climbing the tough trees and

poles, then dangling down from them, standing on

our toes to pluck the sweet cherries and the sour

gooseberries, I shall cherish these memories all my

life.

I feel blessed to be in this heavenly environment and

the teachers, akkas, uncles and my friends are to be

thanked. With freedom, discipline, independence, and

care, I have been brought up by them.

Many of the most fun memories that Anweshana has

created for me is by taking us to trips. We've been on

so many! and I loved them all!. We have journeyed

to Ankola, Goa, Karle, Coorg, a farm where we star

gazed, an eco-friendly housing community called

Good Earth and many more places. Villages, cities,

beaches, rivers, we have visited all; learnt a tribal

dance, washed our plates with ash, ploughed the

fields in a farm, milked cows, made bricks, played

reach aata with village kids, we have done it all.

Anweshana also teaches us several life lessons

through field trips or classes conducted in school.

We've learnt how to spin thread, carpentry work for

the library, make paper out of old used-up paper,

stitch bags out of clothes, weave baskets with leaves

and branches and many other things that are

important for us to know.

All of this just adds to Anweshana's beauty and

charm. And makes me love it even more!

-Neethi Holla, 11 Years

My Experience with Anweshana

My son shifted from a Montessori environment in

Hyderabad to Anweshana in Bangalore, four months

ago. Initially when I was searching for a good school

online I had liked Anweshana the most due to its natural

green space and a few positive Google reviews about the

school. I visited the school and I really liked the

environment.

With difficulty I got admission in mid-session (thanks to

Bharathi Mam for helping me in this regard), and we are

very happy now. I could really find a great change in my

son in a short time. He never liked to go to his old

school in Hyderabad, but he is really happy here and he

loves to work in his environment, as he gets immense

freedom to choose his activity and learns new things on

a regular basis, which was not there previously. All the

educators are very kind and sensitive about everything

we bring to their notice.

Even for me, I came to understand the real meaning of

what Montessori education is all about from

"Anweshana” only, from their teachers, practicing

parents and the wonderful book "Take Montessori

home”. I got proper self-guidance to handle my child at

home and involve him productively. Real Montessori

ideas to be learnt here and it's really a good and

interactive experience.

Thanks Anweshana and the wonderful and dedicated

Educators! Great effort and keep growing.

- Mona Priyadarshini, Parent of Adwaith Ranjan

- I - Ishita

Footprints 14

Neethi Holla,

Minutes to die: Snake bite - the world’s ignored health crisis:

We went to the Indian

Institute of science on

27th October 2018 in our

school bus. We had lots of

fun, we spoke, played

games and ate our lunch.

There we go ! We reached

the place. We went inside

the auditorium. We saw

the documentary film

‘Minutes to die (snake

bite, world’s ignored

health crisis) ‘ This film

which was directed by

James Reid is about anti-

venom and snake bites.

I was shocked to know

that snake bites cause

more than one lakh

deaths per year and more

than 50,000 people suffer

with injuries and

amputations. The reason

for this is they don’t get

treated and anti venom is

not available to them.

After the film many

people from the audience

asked questions to the

people who were experts

on snakes. Romulus

Whitaker, the founder of

Madras snake park was

also there. We took some

pictures in the institute

and started back to our

school. On our way back

too we spoke a lot. We

reached our school and

here our journey ends.

- Khushi, 11 Years

My Journey in Anweshana

My journey in Anweshana is not a

long one as I joined just a year

ago. Now I am a part of

Anweshana school and have

made a lot of friends whom I will

never forget for the rest of my

life.

I love Anweshana as it gives

opportunities to bring out one’s

best. I learnt how to play football

from my friends and tried to be a

good goalkeeper and striker in

every match I play.

The environment is very peaceful

and quiet. it has also taught me

how to be resourceful in using

things. I thank Bharathi Aunty to

give us all such a wonderful

exposure to nature and how to

save it.

The aunties are very kind and

motivating which has made all of

my boring lessons interesting as

they are very practical. English is

my favorite as it has helped me

imagine a lot of things and with

such fabulous aunties learning

will be a lot of fun.

My friends have taught me

etiquette and manners, and what

true friendship is. They do not let

anybody down and they put

themselves into others’ shoes

and understand others’ feelings. I

will have a great year ahead with

my classmates and such

motivating and fabulous aunties.

-Antara Pappu, 13 Years

Waste, Waste, Waste, Everywhere

See here and there everywhere, waste

OK let us reduce making waste

If we have a plastic cover

Let us try to reuse it

So will you help us reduce waste

- Khushi, 11Years

15 Footprints

Learning at Parent-teacher meetings

In our childhood, a parent-teacher

meeting was an unscheduled

encounter between parent and

teacher on the road. It would start

with a greeting and end with the

teacher's answer to the parent's

inquiry about how the child is

doing. So we were excited to

attend our first parent-teachers

meeting at Anweshana. We

reached early. There were a couple

of parents already waiting. They

appeared like new parents, just

like us. After a few minutes of

small talk, the meeting started.

Among other talks and

presentation, one of the teachers

demonstrated how a presentation

is offered to a child. It was

dramatic and elaborate,

highlighting each step, starting

with taking the mat, executing the

activity, keeping the items back,

folding the mat and returning the

mat to the same place where it

was taken from. When the floor

was opened to parents, they

started asking questions. Some

were curious. Some questions were

on the border of 'Why not

appreciate children with a star of

appreciation to increase the

confidence in them?' For every

suggestion and question, reply

from the principal, Bharathi was a

not-so-obvious nod. I am sure it

left the parents further puzzled. As

with every parent who is new to

the Montessori method, we had our

doubts. Once when we saw our

son, at the age of four, joined the

letters written on the back of the

bus and started making words he

never heard before, the doubts

vanished.

As the children grew, so did we.

Our confidence in the Montessori

method increased. We attend the

orientation for new parents just to

clear other young parent's doubts

and questions. All the actions or

inactions that puzzled us in the

beginning, started to become clear

as we grew along with our children.

We realized why competition is

ineffective in motivating children,

why we should do things that we

do for self-satisfaction, why we

should learn 'how to learn' rather

than learning things.

-Padmanabha Holla, Parent of

Navaneeth and Neethi

Montessori is an education for independence, preparing not just for school, but for life - Dr Maria Montessori

Footprints 16

Memories

I shall never ever forget my memories,

Of the path I have taken to become me,

Storing them carefully in my mind's treasury

Walking through my school,

Always I shall remember, my teachers,

With all perfect and imperfect features.

Some strict, some friendly, some meek,

All ready to help me.

I, the captain of the boat of my life,

Had them always by my side,

Helping me steer through seas of

Maths, English, History, Science and more.

Guiding my life through stormy oceans.

My friends were plenty and I was happy.

They stood by me when sad,

Laughed with me when merry

Supported me when life seemed low,

And teased me when I was joyous.

Bad and good memories with each other,

We have carefully stored in separate containers

To laugh over them when time is ripe.

Nature too played its part in bringing me up.

Well acquainted am I

With trees, flowers, animals, birds and insects.

The trees whisper stories of generations gone,

Old soldiers reminiscing the days of their prime.

Children clamber up in fruitless attempts to perceive

The words are not heard only the rustling of leaves

The insects listening closely to tales of sorrow and joy

Glide away to share them to those who enjoy.

The vain birds regardless that the old are wise

Thinking that life is full of clear skies

Chirp away with stories containing no moral or use

Flying everywhere to share their views

The flowers swaying with the caressing wind,

And with the fancies of innocent minds

Never remain stationary for long

Their flowers form decorations on cakes of mud

Their leaves, green flags on caves shaped by tiny hands

Trampled underfoot by mischievous guys

Torn apart for childish games

Beautify with their statuesque prescence

The snakes too visit like old maiden aunts

Without informing their arrival.

They create quite a sensation,

And their visits are not missed.

They are seen by sharp and clear eyes

Seeking excitement in a normal school day.

All this I have learnt to interpret

Through natures gentle guidance.

A special place in my heart holds this school

With my teachers, friends and nature

All instruments of God

Their roles in my life planned by Him.

I am grateful for these blessings endowed upon me

And for so much more.

-Niveda Mariam Rajeev, 12 years

17 Footprints

Parent’s View

Real success is to find pleasure in

what we do every moment,

regardless of however magnificent

or trivial it is to the society. This is

the key to lead happy and fulfilling

life. We wished to bring in this

kind of ‘passion for life’ in my

daughter. And my quest ended in

Anweshana with its Montessori

system.

I found, Montessori Method seeds

all the possible, necessary

qualities in a child for the

wholesome growth. Apart from

teaching fixed scientific /

mathematical systems, it also

teaches the core human values

and life skills. Like empathy,

focussed involvement, respecting

an individual with his needs and

spaces, taking turns, sharing,

being considerate, working as a

team etc. It also focuses on

enhancing the capabilities of all

our sense organs. Any article on

parenting or studies on child

psychology, will invariably have

one or other aspects which

Montessori system follows. I

realised if we apply this system

completely, then there is no need

to refer anything else. It has all

the right guidance for parenting.

In the process of practicing it with

our kids, it becomes a part of us

and we start vibrating its

philosophy. In turn we reap our

own benefits which are beyond

words.

Anweshana has imbibed

Montessori philosophy completely.

It has taken a step ahead and also

teaching my child humility,

simplicity, healthy eating,

conscious use of resources, being

sensitive to nature and its

inhabitants, being inclusive and

the list goes on. In short it’s

“conscious living and conscious

learning” which is the need of the

hour.

They say, with every child a

mother is born. And with my child,

I am also evolving every day. Be it

in terms of improved patience,

conscious effort to make our

experiences enriching, steps to

improve quality of our living,

observing and taking positives

from day to day mundane affairs.

Hearty thanks to Anweshana for

facilitating all this.

Anything which refuses to grow or

change becomes obsolete or

extinct. I appreciate team

Anweshana’s positive spirit in

being open to diverse opinions and

humility in acceptance. I am sure

with this spirit Anweshana will

continue to surpass its own

standards and soar high with its

values.

-Sheetal Kumaresh, Parent of Khushi

“I always felt our Education

system needs to transform and we

need to look at new ways of

teaching our Children”

In the year 2012, I came across

Anweshana Montessori house of

Children and was very keen to

enrol my 1 year and 10 month old

daughter into this type of

Education. I met Bharathi Mam

and we had a very interesting

conversation on the Montessori

learning methodology. At the end

of the half hour discussion, I was

very clear this is the school for my

child. That is how it all started.

My daughter is currently studying

in the Dandelion Environment

(Primary Section) and is enjoying

every moment of her schooling at

Anweshana. This school was the

perfect choice we made for our

child as each day she is all excited

to go to school and comes back

from school completely energetic

and lively.

The traditional learning model says

to children, “Do what you’re told

when you’re told to do it.” Then

after twelve years, the expectation

is that children will become

successful, independent adults. In

the Montessori Education, children

learn how to be self-directed. They

choose the activities that most

appeal to them and they are free

to explore these activities at their

own pace. Sometimes they make

mistakes, but that is the beauty of

independence.

The mixed age group learning

brings in responsibility, team

work, discipline and leadership

naturally to the child.

The concept of no exams, allowing

the child to explore and learn at

their pace is the key to this

education system.

We congratulate Anweshana and

its teachers on the successful

completion of 25 years of

contribution towards building

powerful leaders for the future.

The greatest sign of success for a

teacher... is to be able to say, ’The

children are now working as if I

did not exist.’--- Maria Montessori

-Aruna G, Parent of Gamini N

Footprints 18

Parent’s View

Anweshana means “Search after”,

“seeking for” and “inquiry into”. As

the name suggests, “Anweshana

Montessori House of children” lead

us into a new space in education.

Anweshana guided us to ‘search

after’ new boundaries in the

holistic way of looking at life with

our children.

With Anweshana we learned a lot.

We saw both our children grow as

independent, confident, caring,

calm and composed human beings.

Anweshana taught our children

“how to learn” in the true sense of

what education is supposed to do.

With Anweshana, we have become

true believers of Dr Maria

Montessori and the Montessori

Method of education. We

experienced our children’s

foundation becoming strong and

saw them better adapt to any

changes in their living

environment. We can confidently

say that our children are more

matured, confident, self-

disciplined, joyful and playful than

any other children of the same age

group of other traditional

methodology of teaching. Our

children have grown academically,

emotionally and socially strong.

When it comes to adaptation to

change, which is very much

required in the changing world, we

realize that Montessori is the best

methodology to prepare the child.

Our seventeen years of connection

with Anweshana taught us to

believe that Bharathi is this

century’s Maria Montessori and she

breathes Montessori in the true

sense and leads Anweshana

implementing Montessori ideology

to the fullest.

Along with Montessori ideology,

Anweshana cares to educate

children on ‘caring for mother

earth’ and ‘green environment’.

Every year’s Mela themes are

evident to this. Anweshana also

tries to mould children on

Becoming Minimalist. The way

Anweshana organizes their annual

Mela, field trips, garage sale,

child’s birthday celebrations are

illustrative of this. Charging

nominal fees and following “Right

to Education” long before the

actual Act (enacted in 2009) itself

is Anweshana’s, in turn, Bharathi’s

service to the society and

humanity.

We are really grateful and

fortunate for getting involved and

connected with such a holistic

school and to see our children

flourish to their fullest through

this. On the occasion of

Anweshana completing 25 years of

its journey, our heartfelt wishes for

Anweshana to serve humanity

many more years with its own

ideologies and footprints, and

become one of its kind.

- Savitha Holla, Parent of Navaneeth and

Neethi

My experience in Art class

Arpitha aunty takes our art classes

at our school. We work individually

most of the time. She gives us

creative topics to draw, sometimes

we will have to work in pairs. Once

the topic was to draw about a

mirror of any shape and decorate

the frame using our creativity.

Another day she gave us a topic on

festivals. Jahnavi, Malavika and I

drew about Diwali. I along with

Jahnavi drew a girl holding

sparklers and Malavika drew lamps.

I love art class because I feel very

relaxed and creative.

-Mahima, 10 years

19 Footprints

ಅನ್ವೀಷಣಾ ನಾನು ಕ್ೊಂಡೊಂತೆ

ಈರ್ ನಮಮ ಶಾಲೆಯು ಬೆಳಿಿ ಹಬಬ ಕ್ೊಂಡಿರುವುದು

ತ್ುೊಂಬ್ಾ ಹೆಮಮಯಾಗಿದೆ. ವೈಯಕ್ತತಕ್ವಾಗಿ

ನಾವಲ್ುರಸ ಬೆೀರೆ ಬೆೀರೆ ಕ್ುಟುೊಂಬದವರು. ಆದರೆ

ಇಲ್ಲು ನಾವಲ್ುರಸ ಒೊಂದೆೀ ಪರಿವಾರದವರೊಂತೆ

ಕಾಯಗಪ್ವೃತ್ತರಾಗಿದೆಾೀವ. ಇದಕಕ ಮಸಲ್

ಕಾರಣ ನಮಗೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಸವತ್ೊಂತ್್ತೆಯ

ವಾತ್ಾವರಣ. ಇದೆೀ ನಮಮ ಶಾಲೆಯ ವೈಶಿಷಿತೆ.

ಈ ವಾತ್ಾವರಣ 'ನಾನು', 'ನೀನು' ಎೊಂಬುದನುು

ಮರೆತ್ು ನಾವಲ್ುರಸ ಒೊಂದೆೀ ಎೊಂಬ ಭಾವ

ನಮಮಲ್ಲು ಮಸಡಿಸಿದೆ. ಇದರಿೊಂದ

ಎಲ್ುರೆಸೊಂದಿರ್ಸ ಬೆರೆತ್ು, ಅೊಂಜಿಕಯನುು

ದಸರವಿಟುಿ, ನಮಮದೆೀ ಆದ ಇತಿ ಮಿತಿರ್ಳನುು

ಅರಿತ್ು ತ್ೃಪ್ತತಯೊಂದ ಕಲ್ಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಅವಕಾರ್

ನನಗೆ ಬೊಂದಿದೆ.

ಸಮಾನತೆ, ಸಮಯಾವಕಾರ್, ಸದವಕಾರ್

ಎಲ್ುಕ್ತಕೊಂತ್ ಹೆಚ್ಾುಗಿ ಗೌರವದಿೊಂದ ಕಾಣುವುದೆೀ

ಇಲ್ಲುಯ ವಿಧಾನದ ನಯಮವಾಗಿದೆ. ಕಲ್ವು

ಸನುವೀರ್ರ್ಳು ಈ ಮೀಲ್ಲನ ವಿಧಾನದ

ವಿಷಯರ್ಳನುು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕಸೊಂಡು ಉಪಯೀರ್ಕಕ

ತ್ೊಂದಾರ್, ನನುಲೆುೀ ಮನವರಿಕಯಾಗಿ,

ಪುನಃಪರಿವತ್ಗನ್ಗೆ ಅನುಭವದ ಮಸಲ್ಕ್ ಅವಕಾರ್

ಲ್ಭಿಸಿದೆ. ಅದು ಹೆೀಗೆೊಂದರೆ, ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲು ಕಲ್ವು

ಕಾಯಗಕ್್ಮರ್ಳನುು ಹಮಿಮಕಸೊಂಡ ಸೊಂದಭಗದಲ್ಲು

ನಯಮಿತ್ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಅವರ ಪಾತ್್ ವಹಿಸಲ್ು

ಸ್ಾಧಯವಿಲ್ು ಎೊಂಬ ಭಾವನ್ ನನುಲ್ಲು

ಉಧಭವಿಸಿದುಾೊಂಟು. ಆದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲು ಪ್ತಿೀ

ಮರ್ುವಿರ್ಸ ಅವರದೆೀ ರಿೀತಿಯನುು

ರ್ಮನದಲ್ಲುಟುಿ ಅವಕಾರ್ ಕ್ಲ್ಲಿಸಲೆೀಬೆೀಕ್ು

ಎೊಂಬುದು ದೃಢಸಸತ್್. ಇದನುು

ಕಾಯಗರಸಪದಲ್ಲು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕಸೊಂಡು ಅವಕಾರ್

ಕಸಟ್ಾಿರ್ ಆ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹುಮಮಸುೊ ಮತ್ುತ ಅವರ

ಸೊಂತೆಸೀಷ ಹೆೀಳತಿೀರದು.

ಅೊಂದಿನೊಂದ ಎಲ್ಾು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿರ್ಸ ಅವಕಾರ್

ಕ್ಲ್ಲಿಸುವುದು ಮತ್ುತ ಅವರ ಅವರ್ಯಕ್ತೆಗೆ

ಅನುರ್ುಣವಾಗಿ ಸ್ಾಧಯವಾದಷುಿ ಸಮಯಾನುತ್

ಸಹಾಯ ಹಸತವನುು ನೀಡಬೆೀಕ್ು ಎೊಂಬ

ಸಸತ್್ವನುು ನನುಲ್ಲು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕಸೊಂಡಿದೆಾೀನ್.

ನಮಮ ಶಾಲೆಯು ಪರಿಸರ ಸೊಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ

ಕಾಯಗಕ್್ಮರ್ಳಿಗೆ ಕೈ ಜಸೀಡಿಸಿದೆ. ಇದು ನನರ್ಸ

ಆಸಕ್ತತಕ್ರ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಿದೆ. ನಾನು ಆದಷುಿ

ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಅನಾವರ್ಯಕ್ವಾಗಿ ಹೆಸಸದಾಗಿ ಪಾುಸಿಿಕ್

ನುು ಉಪಯೀಗಿಸುವುದನುು

ನಯೊಂತ್್ಣದಲ್ಲುಡಲ್ು ತಿೀಮಾಗನಸಿದೆಾೀನ್.

ನನು ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತ ಇರುವವರಿಗೆ ಹೆಚ್ಾುಗಿ ಸಸಿ

ನ್ಡಲ್ು ಉತೆತೀಜನ ಮತ್ುತ ನನುೊಂದಾದ

ಸಸಯರ್ಳನುು ಕಸಟುಿ ಗಿಡ ಮರರ್ಳನುು ಬೆಳೆಸಲ್ು

ಮುೊಂದಾರ್ಲ್ು ಆಸ್ಯನುು ತ್ುೊಂಬಲ್ು

ಪ್ಯತಿುಸುತಿದೆಾೀನ್.

ಇೊಂತ್ಹ ಒೊಂದು ಸಮೃಧಧವಾದ ಶಾಲೆಯ

ಪರಿಸರದಲ್ಲು ಹಲ್ವು ದಿನರ್ಳಿೊಂದ ವೈಖರಿಯನುು

ಸುಲ್ಭವಾಗಿ ಮತ್ುತ ಸಫಲ್ವಾಗಿ ಮುೊಂದುವರಿಸಲ್ು

ಅನುವು ಮಾಡಿ ಸದಾವಕಾರ್ ಕ್ಲ್ಲಿಸಿದಾಕಕ ನನಗೆ

ಬಹಳ ಸೊಂತೆಸೀಷವಾಗಿದೆ.

- ಧನಲ್ಕ್ಷ್ಮಮ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಕ್ತ

Footprints 20

Parent’s View

"Montessori".....This word came to

my life when I was about 20 years

of age. My uncle and aunt were

bringing up their infant in a

Montessori way. The then-6 month

old was given a choice. They

waited for a response and MOST

important part was that choice was

respected. I used to be super

amused with that whole scene.

Like “you want to read this book or

that book?” “Do you want to eat

this banana or that banana?” There

were quiet periods of work and

play with the baby. Lots of books

were read for the infant. Lots of

water play. I, her much older

cousin was the wild and noisy

person in her life.

Cut to the year 2001, my aunt was

pursuing a Montessori course.

What hit me hard there is that the

amount of writing and reading she

did for the course as assignments

and the exams was WAY MORE

than what I did in my school,

college and endless tuitions put

together. I made a mental note to

myself: This course is not for you.

So never do the course.

The now-turned toddler was

thriving in a healthy environment.

She was folding clothes, mopping

the floor, washing clothes, washing

dishes, washing vehicles, watering

plants, flipping through pages of

books, reading. Every toddler does

it. Except here, she was never a

hindrance to the adults. She was

very much part of the house as a

respectful member. The things

around her height were child-

friendly. The adult-only-friendly

items were stashed away into

oblivion. THIS experience will stay

with me for life.

My first visit to Anweshana was

sometime in 2002-2003. My pre-

primary aged cousin was put in

Anweshana almost right next door.

I was visiting them at that time. I

had volunteered to drop her off at

her school out of excitement. That

day, she was crying loudly that she

did not want to change her clothes

to go to school (she was in her

sleepwear). The parents packed a

new set of clothes for her and

asked me to just tell the adult

about it. That was my first shock. I

had NO IDEA how this was going

to work since the only “schooling” I

know was the strict one where by

now the child would have been hit

and the clothes changed forcefully.

Reluctantly I took the crying child

with a packed set of clothes and

set off. When I reached

Anweshana campus, I thought it

was a park. Lot of trees, no-frills

classroom and everything very

school-unlikely...The child stopped

crying as soon as she stepped into

the campus. The adult was

standing at the entrance (It was

Jayashree mam). She said a

Namasthe. And the super-

embarrassed me meekly told her

she did not want to change her

clothes from her sleepwear. She

turned to the child, made an eye

contact and respectfully asked

"Will you please change your old

clothes?" The child immediately

turned to me for the change and

then went into her environment

and started her work as though the

tsunami before never happened.

The Montessori adult and the child

were very calm. The other

“adult” (me) could not make head

or tail of that situation. That day

another switch happened in my

life. A child is treated like a little

and real person. I decided that day

that when I have my own child,

she would definitely be put in a

Montessori house.Fast-forward 15

years later, my daughter Swathi

joined Anweshana. Life came to a

full circle. It has been 2.5 years

now and we are happy parents.

How is the Montessori Method of

education helping my child? How

we as parents support Montessori

at home?

Well...

The adults in her environment

have had a very positive impact in

her.

She cried every single day until

she was 3.5 years of age inside her

environment. Now it is fuss-free.

We ensure that we her parents,

and the Montessori adults in her

environment are on the same page

and consistent with her about her.

She gets good peaceful sleep on all

days. We don't need to wake her

up in the mornings.

We do follow Montessori

Philosophy at home for most part

and that itself has had a huge

positive impact in our life as a

family.

- Parvathi Subramaniam, Parent of

Swathi

21 Footprints

Blessed to be an Educator

I am an educator, presenting my

ride of 12 years through the

amazing world of Anweshana house

of Children. It was in 2006 while

undergoing my Montessori training I

had an opportunity to visit

Anweshana for my Observation and

that’s when I felt that it was my

calling. After I finished my training

successfully I had called Bharathi

Ma’am to check about an

opportunity to work, the meeting

was set for the next day and it was

very informal, then she said I can

join. Thus my journey began.

When I joined there were only 2 pre

-primary environments. Now there

are 4 pre-primary environments and

good to see the institution grow and

for being part of its 25 years

journey. It sure has given me plenty

of experiences both good and bad,

which have helped me groom

myself personally and

professionally.

Learning in School is not limited to

children, we teachers learn a lot

from the children. Children are very

spontaneous and look at everything

in a very positive way. They are

open-minded and have no

inhibitions in saying whatever is on

their mind. They analyse what ever

taught to them in their own special

way. Children find everything

around them exciting. They are so

full of energy, which surely is

contagious for us teachers and

makes us feel a lot younger too. I

can proudly say that I am lucky and

blessed to be an educator.

Apart from the children who were

with me, those who have added

lovely flowers to the bouquet of my

memories are Mrs. Bharathi, who

has been so supportive and helped

me in grooming myself. How can I

not mention Mrs. Jayashree, who

has been a pillar of immense

support through thick and thin of

various experiences at Anweshana.

What do I write about my

colleagues? They have a major

share in shaping the person I am

today. All of them have been loving

and helpful, some though not so

much.

Never the less all have taught me

that always accept the people as

they are, like the saying goes “All

fingers of a hand are not same”. To

conclude it, the management has

always been a role model. We are

constantly motivated to give our

100%, 12 years has not changed it,

I have a few more working years

ahead. I am confident I will

continue to relish the relationship

with Anweshana. I would like to end

with a cliché “Anweshana is a

second home to me”

-Sumana, Educator

A - An awesome place to be

N- Nature all around

W- Where there is lots of laughter

E- Every second is fun

S- Smart children around

H- Happy kids everywhere

A- Amazing place to play

N- No time to waste

A- Anweshana is the best

-Lipi, Aliza and Chaarvi, 9 years

Footprints 22

There is a school that we can’t imagine.

It is like the place we are meant to be.

It is the place where we learn happily.

It is the place where we have a lot of fun.

It is my school it is my school it is my school

Anweshana.

It is the place where we have so much to do.

It is the place where children wear colourful clothes.

It is the place where we learn to save our planet.

It is my school it is my school it is my school

Anweshana.

- Aahana, 8 years

Testimony On Silver Jubilee

Hey, beautiful people! I hope whoever reading this

right now is having an amazing day!

I would like to share a few thoughts on what

Anweshana Montessori House of Children means to

me.

As people would say, home is where is the heart is.

That's what I would consider Anweshana to me as it

has made me what I am, as a person, given me a

basic foundation to live life the right way and to treat

all people with utmost respect. I joined Anweshana in

the year, 2000. I was a pretty tiny tot back then.

Well, I could say that my parents made the best

decision of their lives to make me be a part of such a

wonderful school. I am absolutely blessed to have

received my education from Anweshana as it was no

ordinary school. I had the privilege to learn

everything, the way I wanted. The first word that we

all learnt in the school was Namaste, which means

greetings in the utmost respect. Well, isn't that

enough for you to know how awesome my school is?

Anweshana is what has moulded me into an

independent, responsible, and a happy go lucky

person after being able to go through the whole

Montessori Method of learning. The multiple

excursions, the early morning yoga sessions, the mid

-day singing classes, the rolling of the mats, the

world books, the Melas we had every year, the eco-

friendly way of living and everything that happened in

Anweshana are what I'm nostalgic about every day

and I can't imagine experiencing all of this in any

other school. Hence, I am forever grateful to all my

teachers, friends, Akkas, Shakti uncle and Mariappa

Uncle for learning a new lesson of life every day.

I was pretty devastated to leave Anweshana and join

a public school in my later years as it was a

completely different environment compared to that of

Anweshana. That claustrophobic feeling of having

being restricted to learn what I want came into

existence and the whole idea of school changed for

me.

Well, in short, I believe, once a student of

Anweshana, always a student of Anweshana!

Thank you!"

-David Mathews, Batch 2000

23 Footprints

Anweshana - Alumni View

A typical mainstream school would

consist of chairs, desks,

blackboards, pen, paper and

exams. Well, this wasn’t the case

for me. I studied at Anweshana, a

school that followed the

Montessori methodology of

teaching. We sit on the floor on

mats and use a variety of

materials to develop not only our

education but other aspects of life

as well. Working with materials

gives us a freedom to work at our

own will and learn at our own

pace. At a young age, we as

children do not have the capacity

to concentrate on what the teacher

is teaching. We would want do

things ourselves and try out

things. Teaching on a blackboard

would seem very monotonous and

boring. Learning by working with

materials, makes it enjoyable for

the child and brings a sense of

pleasure as well. There is no

pressure of being forced to learn.

Why are children’s books colourful

and lively? Because children find it

more interesting to look at visuals

and extend their imagination. Just

like that I would gladly say my

education was also colourful and

lively. Like an old saying goes "I

hear and I forget. I see and I

remember. I do and I understand."

– Confucius. This is what the

Montessori system teaches us. We

learnt to do things ourselves,

stumble upon questions ourselves,

and discover the answers

ourselves.

Often, when talking about which

school I go to, I find myself

sharing that I did not have exams

in school. This is another highlight

of the Montessori system. Well

then, what’s the point of studying?

That is exactly what the

Montessori system has taught me.

Education isn’t about studying to

clear exams but to learn for the

joy of learning. We learn for

ourselves; not for the sake of the

teacher or our parents but for

ourselves. In fact, exams more

often than not, discourage one's

abilities and talent and hinders the

growth of a child. I can proudly

say, not having to write exams

helped me enjoy and cherish my

childhood, unlike many others. No

fear of failure, no pressure, no

stress; just like how a child should

be. One might question the

absence of exams in my childhood.

At some point in life, we should

get used to writing exams, isn’t it?

To answer that let us dig deeper

into what exams actually are

meant for. They are basically

meant to test our understanding

and knowledge of a subject. If we

are well prepared for an exam,

there is no need to fear it. It is

just a matter of displaying our

understanding on paper. Having

studied at Anweshana, I can say

that I did not have to put much

effort into exam preparation. My

way of learning was such that

what I learn will stay with me for a

long time and I did not have to do

any special preparation for exams.

Of course, from high school

onwards a minimal effort was

required but I feel I had it easy.

When one learns for the joy of

learning, the knowledge obtained

has more value and is retained for

a longer period.

- Navaneeth Holla, Batch 2002

Footprints 24

My Experience at Anweshana

From the age of five, I have known

that regular schooling methods was

not for me. Obviously, I wasn’t

“aware” of it, but a part of me

knew it. And so did my parents. I

remember spending hours on math

homework in LKG and having to go

to the principal’s office every time I

removed my braids. And I then

joined Anweshana. Anweshana was

like being at home. I would go to

Chrysanthemum class and pull a

chowki and start on my latest

fascination. We had Headquarters

for secret members meetings and

tall trees for best friends. And I

remember when these huge

classrooms got emptier with

parents pulling out their children

because they thought Anweshana

was idealistic and not practical in

the real world, which I never

understood. And to date I am

grateful to my parents for putting

me here and for not taking me out.

Anweshana ignited a new way I

wanted to learn. I think it’s

completely pointless putting

children below the ages of 13 go

through tests and exams because

it’s not the years of exams that

give you the knowledge you need.

It’s the years of learning square

numbers on the peg board, of

actually feeling the material in your

hands, not just pencils. It sets a

solid foundation because your mind

is learning at its pace. I could

spend the entire day on one

material or a few minutes. It was

up to me. It got me where I am

today.

Adapting to different environment

Moving out of Anweshana was hard

at that time. How do you find a

place that could match up to

picking gooseberries behind the

school during lunch to learning

about carnivorous plants in

Wayanad’s Botanical Gardens? But

it was the next phase. Everyone

talks about how tough the real

world is, that it’s a competitive

world and you need to be the best

to be anywhere worthy. It’s

unnecessary pressure on kids. And

I know that I could never work

under pressure.

Moving to a new school was not a

problem. It was an alternative

school, but it was still different

from what I was used to. We didn’t

have materials anymore, the

campus was so much smaller, and

there were these new classes that I

had never heard of. But learning

was never an issue. I had the

materials from Chrysanthemum

class at the back of my head,

helping me with long division and

square numbers. The years of

practice was stuck in my mind.

The first time I wrote an exam was

my tenth grade boards. And I think

one of the reasons I am where I

am right now is because I practice.

I spent years working on the same

materials, until I learnt everything

that I could from them. Even

today, I need to write my notes at

least three times because that way

I feel like it will stay in my head.

That’s what I did for my twelfth

boards. And it has worked

tremendously well for me.

-Yasha Chandradeep, Batch 2005

25 Footprints

My Journey at Anweshana

Namaste,

Today if there is any foundation

which exerts the greatest influence

equivalent to my family, it is

Anweshana. Close to a decade and

a half that I spent in school it was

not merely time spent in learning

and filling my mind with

knowledge, but also time spent in

moulding my whole self, acquiring

various attitudes and imbibing

basic principles of life and being

humble all the way.

There are innumerable memories

that I reminisce, be it the pink

tower, be it tracing on the sand

paper letters, Bharathi Aunty

making me sit in the corner for

being a distraction in my pre

primary days or for that matter

even coloring within the outline of

geometric shapes. I will cherish

them for my entire lifetime.

In real life, Anweshana was a place

that always encouraged us to color

outside the lines and follow our

true calling. This helped me

become an independent and self-

reliant individual with no fear to

express my true emotions and

points of view under any

circumstances.

Every single day, we were always

empowered to choose our own

activities and given utmost

freedom. This freedom leads to a

sense of ownership and a sense of

responsibility in any choices we

make. This empowers me to take

decisions in life even till today and

stand by it through tough times.

Reminiscing my journey at

Anweshana without taking a

moment to thank Bharathi Aunty

would be incomplete. Epitome of

grace and patience, she has truly

been a person I always looked up

to since I was two and a half year

years old. I am so grateful to have

her in my life. When I decided to

take up a course in the 0-3 age

group in order to understand how it

would be to become a Montessori

teacher, she was such a great

mentor who encouraged me to go

ahead, guiding me through the

obstacles that came my way.

Summing up my experience, they

say that the most unique people in

the world are the people who fully

embrace who they are and are

willing to live life according to

everything that makes up who they

are. At Anweshana, every single

child’s uniqueness was celebrated.

I strongly believe if there is one

deep-rooted value which

Anweshana stands by it is:

“You are you, and no one else. You

are unique. You are special. Every

single person is different from the

other in one or more ways, and so

are you.”

I am humbled and truly privileged

to be a part of this family. Once a

Montessori Child Always a

Montessori Child.

Pooja Kamath, Batch 1995

Anweshana

A journey to find something new

A path trodden only by few

A cruise enriched by its crew

Anweshana is as pure as the morning dew!

Systematic yet it remains simplistic

Advanced yet attached with nature

Gifting the world, the citizens of future

Anweshana is a thought we all need to nurture!

Excellence takes precedence over exuberance

Empathy marches well ahead of economics

Engineering the social fabric of well being

Anweshana unravels the best of your child and the

parent in you!

- Karthik, Parent of Pranav

Anweshana is an institution where the teaching

are beyond books, exams and classrooms. Here we

learn about what we want rather than what we

should. Students are let to open their imaginations

beyond the syllabus. The most beautiful part is no

student is forced to do anything, and are free to

express their interests.

- Jeevan, Batch 1999

Anweshana, the best school

Anweshana is the best school I have seen in

Karnataka. We have fun and interesting activities like

making floor cleaner, pesticide, dry leaf compost,

dishwashing liquid and lip balm. We also made

papaya face pack. So if we make it at home, we

don’t have to throw plastic.

- Daniel, 6 years

Footprints 26

The influence of " The Little Things "

I had NO intention to pen down

anything for the school Magazine,

though I was a part of the

supporting parent group.

Things changed! One day returning

home from school, my son and I

stopped by to drink tender coconut.

He casually remarked, “I have my

water bottle to drink and you can

drink directly”. He stressed WE

CANNOT USE THE STRAW. Then, a

little girl with her mother, returning

from school, stopped by and

purchased a tender coconut to

drink. The little girl immediately

reached out to the straw. By then,

my son had finished drinking. Whilst

I took out my wallet to pay, he ran

to the little girl and told her," Do not

use straw. It's bad for our Earth. It

takes 200 years to decompose". I

was astonished by this act, not that

of avoiding the straw, but the out

forth confidence in telling what he

has imbibed from his school. From

the day he has visited the tender

coconut stall with his friends and

aunties at Anweshana, we as a

family have started avoiding straws.

The little things do make a larger

impact. One more incident is that he

was offered home made nannari

sarbath (which is also his favourite

juice) after a tiresome sport activity,

by his friend's mother in a plastic

glass. He not only denied the plastic

glass but also the juice. He instead

emptied the water bottle he had

carried along by pouring it to the

Plants and agreed to drink the juice.

He insisted his other

friends do the same.

Then his friend's

mother commented,

"Little ones teaching

BIG THINGS". Every

time we go shopping,

he rechecks if we have

carried a cloth bag

along. When we parcel

food home, we carry

our own containers.

We as a family are

enduring to practice

these little things that

are taught to our children at school,

in our daily lives. We are slowly

making our kitchen to a Plastic free

one. We are using natural bath

powders, natural hair wash, and

going to flourmills to grind our own

powders .

Then did I realise, last year he was

always on "SAVE WATER" and this

time "NO PLASTIC" and "GO

GREEN". We are making our school

a Zero Waste centre. We decompose

and make bio enzymes. It dawned

on me that at most importance is

given to teaching children about the

natural world and which is indeed

the need of the hour.

Thank You Anweshana and team for

instilling young minds and creating

beautiful souls. We, as parents

would stand by and inculcate the

good things that are taught at home

too. Not that we have not done or

we do not know, now we are

enduring consciously to go back to

the eco friendly way. The Ripple

effect of the "THE LITTLE THINGS"

help Parents create a better world

for our children in the smallest way

possible. Once again THANK YOU for

influencing everyone to be BETTER

HUMAN BEINGS.

-Rashmi Menon, Parent of Aarush &

Vrushali

Anweshana and Me

My earliest memories of Anweshana

dates fourteen years back when I

came to enquire about admission for

my daughter. The roads leading to

the school were mud roads with lot

of vacant land beside it and we had

to make our way through herd of

cows and goats to reach the school.

Though reaching the school was

difficult, once inside gave us a

pleasant feeling with lot of greenery

and sereneness around. Although I

couldn’t join my daughter, the

beauty of the environment and

simplicity of Bharathi mam brought

me back for the admission of my

twin boys.

Later attending workshops at school

motivated me to take up the course

on Montessori education and thus

became an educator here. It’s

wonderful to see how abstract

concepts are materialised and how

children slowly come out of the

material.

Over the years, I have seen children

with varied interests. Some are

highly interested in mathematics,

some in doing experiments, some

are very good in writing poems and

stories, some in illustrations, few

are extremely interested in reading

and have gained knowledge to such

an extent that they have been

nicknamed as `dictionaries’ and

`encyclopaedias’.

The learning here is not only limited

to children but also for the

educators. The topic for the mela

each year is different and gives us a

totally new experience with new

learning and it’s a real celebration.

Looking back, Anweshana has given

me pleasant, memorable and

knowledgeable experience and am

grateful to my co-educators, other

staff including the support staff and

Bharathi ma’am - who is an epitome

of genuine love and care towards

children!

-Anita Nair, Educator

27 Footprints

Anweshana - Alumni View

I joined Anweshana when I was 2

years old. I studied in the old

campus which was in HRBR layout.

Anweshana is always different

from any other schools I've been

to in my life. I learnt a lot of things

in Anweshana. I learnt my

manners, how to respect people,

how to accept them in the way

they are, I learnt the ethics and a

lot more. For anyone in their life,

the base always has to be strong

and for me Anweshana made it

strong. Anweshana was always my

2nd home. All the teachers were

like my parents. The whole time I

was studying in Anweshana all of

us had to call our teachers aunty

and uncle and the non-teaching

staff was called as Akka and Anna.

I still call all my teachers at

Anweshana aunty and uncle itself.

I don't really remember having any

text books for our subjects except

English which was called

Gulmohar. We worked out stuff

only with materials physically. It

was always fun. We had to

compete with our friends when we

had to work with any materials. I

learnt my basics like this. Not just

me, but all of us did.

Our classrooms were named after

different flowers. We were never

separated grade wise. We were all

together at all times.

We moved on from HRBR layout to

Hennur campus which is next to

Bharathi aunty's house. It was

such a beautiful campus filled with

greenery. I never missed going to

school.

My class was of two grades.

Though they were my juniors, they

studied with us. Talking about

friends in Anweshana, they were

the best. Whatever happened we

all stood by each other at all times.

The bonds, friendship, memories

can never be changed.

All students in Anweshana loved

the trips that we went to. We have

been to so many places and every

place that we visited to, all of us

have made amazing memories that

can be cherished throughout our

life.

After 5th grade because of reasons

I had to shift my school. At the

beginning I was very scared

because I didn't know what exams

were and I had to write an

entrance exam. I wrote my first

exam and my parents were called

by the principal. I had 2 papers

(Maths & English). I did my Maths

paper very well, but English was

bad because I had not learnt essay

writing. Finally, I got into that

school. I walked up to my Principal

asking whether I should call her

ma'am or aunty. She laughed and

she asked me to call her ma'am.

Since that day I started addressing

my teachers as ma'am and sir.

In the beginning, it was very

difficult for me to get adjusted to

the ambience and the people

around me. Though all my

classmates were very sweet to me,

I always had that fear if they

would accept me the way I am. I

stayed away from them for a year.

I used to get scared of exams

because it was all very new to me.

I didn't know how to prepare for

the exam. My teachers suggested

that I read daily whatever has

been taught for that day. It was

very difficult for me to get used to

that. But as days passed, I got

used to the way they teach, text

books, exams, etc.

When I was in Anweshana, I

always wanted to see how other

schools looked, taught and were

with students and only when I

changed, I got to know how other

schools work. I learnt a lot from

that school also. Again, how

Anweshana works is completely

different from other schools as far

as I have seen.

Today, I stand here studying my B

Com at Mount Carmel College

Bangalore. Every time when

someone talks about Anweshana, I

proudly tell that I'm a student from

Anweshana.

-Vidisha Reddy A, Batch 2001

Footprints 28

My unforgettable journey through Anweshana

First of all I would like to thank

God for giving me this golden

opportunity to be a part of

Anweshana and thank my parents

for choosing the best one among

all schools for me. An inestimable

thanks to our most beloved

Bharathi aunty for creating such a

beautiful environment where

Montessori reveals its true identity.

My journey through Anweshana

was wonderful, where I felt

Anweshana more like my abode

rather than a school, since the

atmosphere and environment was

more liberating and empowering.

Our teachers at Anweshana, I felt

were the most loving, most friendly

and motivating and always

supporting

The teaching techniques were

always with the agenda of learning

with freedom. The concepts were

explained from the basics to the

most intense and complicated ones

in the most fascinating and

uncomplicated ways using

materials which helped in easy

grasping. Learning like this was the

main reason for our improved

concentration and focus.

We understood everything without

the need to mug up at Anweshana,

unlike most other schools. We had

a lot of practical exposure as we

grew up, which made things even

easier. The methodology was very

different comparatively, since

individual attention was given to

each and every student. There was

minimal or no chance of any

student to lag behind. Teachers

made sure that every student has

perceived whatever was taught and

then progress further once

everybody was clear with it.

From the basics such as rolling

chapathis, extracting sandalwood

paste, how to use scissors, cutting

patterns from paper, learning to

colour, sandpaper tracing to

reading, writing on air to writing on

paper, learning long division,

square roots, fractions, chemistry,

physics and other subjects,

everything was easily learnt by us.

We all just knew we were having

fun, but didn't realize we were

making memories. If I were given

a chance to choose the everlasting

bits of memories, they would be

Dancing, balancing a row of pots at the age of five

Playing with fish and turtles at our favourite pond

Trip to Mysore at the age of six

Plucking and eating gooseberries and cherries everyday

Playing holi with 100% natural colours

Playing hide and seek with my huge bunch of friends throughout the school campus

Celebrating almost all the festivals following its own particular customs and rituals

Singing and learning to dance with Uma aunty and Vidya aunty

Playing Secret Santa and receiving such a beautiful handmade gift from Bharathi aunty

Adventurous trips to Chitradurga and Avalanche

Making mini chocolate houses @ Bharathi aunty's kitchen

My presentation on homoeopathy in the Mela And lot more.

Anweshana was basically the best

ever foundation possibly built in

our lives. This foundation formed

the strongest roots and has been

the main cause of the growth of

this huge luscious green tree. And

the tree in turn has remained

fruitful and serving, and helpful by

providing shade and other

possibilities to others.

I thought getting admitted in other

traditional schools after Anweshana

would be very difficult, but

fortunately it wasn't. All of a

sudden wishing Namaste changed

into good morning maaaaaaaaaam

songs, staying confined to our

particular desks the entire day,

wearing uniforms was all like a new

experience. I definitely did take a

few days to get accommodated to

the new set up and was later

almost completely adapted in the

new environment also. I never felt

much difficulty with academics. In

fact most of the things were easier

now. I was happy to top in my

exams for all 3 years of high

school.

Anweshana was the best thing that

has ever happened to me.

- Pragnya Jahnavi, Batch 2002

29 Footprints

This Academic Year At Anweshana

My school started in the year

1994. It is 25 years old now. In

my school there are lots of trees

and plants. I like my school

because it has a different way of

learning.

On 18th January I went to a trip

with my friends in Anweshana. It

was a night stay trip. I got to stay

without my parents. We went to a

dam. We played in the water. We

also found shells near the dam.

On 4th February we went to a

tender coconut stall. We drank

only the tender coconut water.

We did not use the straw, carried

our own water bottle or glass.

When we went back to class we

ate the tender coconut flesh.

On 13th February we had taken a

class photo. On that day we had

to wear green dress because

green stands for go green. We

are going to have a go green Mela

on March 2nd . We are going to

get a partner and a topic. My

topic is about tooth powder.

In our school we had a GAIA

Mela for pre-primary children. I

had taken kheer. Aunties had

organised some games for us. In

one of the games I won and got

a prize. The prize was a key

chain. We also grew new plants

in our school.

When I celebrated my birthday

at school I took oranges. I chose

Veeraa as my birthday helper.

Veeraa had to put a chowki and

on that she placed a globe and

candle. Veeraa also had to light

the candle. I had to go around

the chowki with the globe seven

times (representing the age).

After each round my friends

used to ask me questions. Then

I would blow the candle and all

my friends used to sing happy

birthday song.

I love my school.

-Samara Abishekam, 7 years

Footprints 30

Transition From a Montessori Parent To A Montessori Educator

This is my ninth year as a parent

and first year as an educator in

Anweshana. I believe that I am

blessed to have found such a

school (in fact another home) for

our children. Initially, it was a

bundle of doubts and fears. I just

could not take it when I was told

there is no board as such. But

slowly and gradually, I grew (still

growing) with my children to

understanding the method and the

impact it is having on the children.

The orientations held every year

were very helpful, especially the

times when we parents were

taught like children. Every time, I

came for an observation, my only

regret was that I did not get such a

school when I was a child.

As the years went by, I became

fascinated with the Montessori

method so much so that in 2017, I

decided to do the Montessori

course. I must admit that it was

far more difficult to transition from

the role of a parent to that of an

educator. What appeared to me as

a parent as a stress free and

involving way of learning turned

out almost the opposite for me.I

had to unlearn everything I had

learnt till now and had to come

down to the level of a first timer in

school. Unlearning took a long time

and just when I thought that the

worst is over, I had to start

learning the art of teaching from

scratch. Easier said than done !

The method demolishes and grinds

to the dust everything you have

carefully nurtured, built and

understood about education and

the way it is taught. This method

forces you to get down to the level

of the children, think from their

point of view and make the

method appeal to them. It is a

liberating view for both the

educator and the child once we

understand the intent behind the

method. Education becomes an

experiential, relaxing, knowledge

enhancing experience which is

what it was supposed to be instead

of the results driven, pressurized

and restrictive environment it has

become now.

I am grateful for all the wonderful

and unique experiences being

woven into our lives. If I do not

mention my colleagues who have

helped me in this journey of

discovery, it would be unfair. Even

as I was dreading the start of my

alternate career and joining

Anweshana, my teammates put me

completely at ease. Here it was a

completely different world. I

nervously joined the school but my

fears were unfounded. They put

me at ease and helped me sail

through. Even as I asked doubts,

clarifications and suggestion many

times, they patiently dealt with all

my queries and fears. They kept

reassuring and encouraging me by

relating their own experiences and

the challenges they faced and how

they overcame it.

I wish that my children will be able

to finish their education here

before going on to college.

- Pushpa Thomas, Educator

Waste, Waste, Waste

No waste in Bangalore

Let us reduce making waste

Let us recycle, reduce, reuse

Things that we use in our life

Let us not make waste

Let us stop.

- Khushi, 11 Years

31 Footprints

Our Adventurous Trek

I had never ever expected that the trek was going to

be so hard though I knew we were climbing Goa's third

highest peak. With us several villagers, kids and

adults, Shraddha aunty and Parag uncle came. The

trek was steep and therefore very tiring. The more I

walked the more drenched in sweat I became. At the

bottom it was shady but humid. On top the air became

more dry and so it was much more hot. We saw many

different kinds of plants, we also saw a Green Vine

snake. It was thin and humble. But, as it noticed the

loud and noisy children standing around it, it became

proud and arrogant. This caused it to puff up and get

spots all over itself. When we reached on top I felt

exhilarated and energetic which made me feel I could

do anything. It was a nice feeling but I would have

preferred to feel it while climbing up. The wind blew

strongly, cooling our sweat drenched bodies. The view

was breathtaking. Everyone's spirits soared high with

the wind. None of us felt like going down to the

commonplace world. It was a nice experience...... The

wind mischievously blowing our hair about our faces,

the sky stooping low to embrace us with its blue arms,

the Sun's golden rays dancing about, the clouds

putting on a show by displaying various - rather vague

- figures and the mountain holding not only our heads

but our whole body on cloud nine.

Going down was much harder than I thought. It was

really slippery as the path held loose soil. Everyone

kept falling down. The villagers climbed up and down

blithely. While we took about one and a half hours, the

villagers usually took only half an hour. We all got

down dead tired. But everyone had enjoyed and this

was an experience I don't think anyone would want to

forget. I shall never ever forget this memory.

- Niveda, 12 years

Ploughing:

When we journeyed to Goa, there were many activities

that we did; ploughing the fields was one of them.

Although I wouldn’t consider it fun, it was a very

memorable experience.

We walked through the wet, slushy mud with utmost

disgust. Our legs were coated with a thick layer of the

mud and we stood there carefully listening to the man

who owned the farm. He explained what our task was

and why we were doing it.

“This soil has cow dung and other substances to make

it fertile so that plants can grow quite easily,” he

explained. We erupted into “Eww!” and “yuck!” and

other expressions of disgust. Eventually, we got used

to the soil..

We were to mix up the soil in the nursery, where the

initial growth of plants would happen. Later, when they

mature enough, they would be placed elsewhere. So

we held ploughs and dug deep. Then we brought the

soil from underneath to the top and mixed it all up. I

have to agree, the work of a farmer is hard and tiring.

Then we had some water to wash up. Some of us kept

falling and falling, it took a while for them to clean up.

The rest of us had a quick wash and then we headed

back to our stay where we were served a traditional

farmer’s snack.

- Neethi Holla, 11 Years

Footprints 32

Village Vs City Life

Verlem

They keep their whole surroundings much

cleaner and have many trees.

They have much healthier life style which

includes the food they eat and work they do

They learn to live with the bear minimum and

to value everything they have

People in villages have to really struggle and

travel a long distance to get education and health facilities. Every week or so doctors

from cities go to villages to visit the patients

Bangalore

We can look around and see that our surroundings

are not that clean or green

We don’t have such a healthy lifestyle, our foods are

mostly pesticides and junk the greens and proteins

Our jobs just include sitting at a desk

We need so many things in our life that we forget to

value what we have, our lives are more materialistic

Cities have better education institutes and health

care available with ease

As a summary, we see that life in a village is much more better, healthier and more

contended than city. People are more happier even though they have less. Maybe is it

because they have less??

- Ishita Pisute, 11 Years

33 Footprints

A HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY

It was a bright sunny morning and

I had just reached school. There

was a lot of hurry, noises, and

laughter from the little boys and

girls and the adults.

The school was filled with well –

wishes from children of all ages

and thank you’s from the teachers.

Well by now I’m sure that

everyone would have known that

this day of joy and laughter is

‘Teacher’s Day!’ What makes

today so special is that my group

is organizing the whole

programme ; and that included

dances, skits, magic shows,

sports, songs, activities, and lots

more.

As soon as I entered the class I

ran up to my aunties and gave

them all my warm hugs and

wishes. Once all were settled we

rehearsed few last times until we

were confident.

In about 2 hours, it was time to

start. While we arranged the

chairs and mats, the teachers

started flooding into the hall and

few of us distributed the key-

chains that we bought with the

little money we all had.

Now all were ready, and I took

one last breath hoping it all to

come out well and before I knew

it, the show began …

First we started with a song to

praise the teacher’s guidance that

a few girls from Aster class sang.

Then came a short skit to explain

the importance of teachers and

what they stood for. The program

continued for almost one and a

half hours which included quizzes,

songs, dances, magic shows, and

lots more entertainment, and then

we had a short lunch break.

Once every one gathered back, we

had two more shows after which

we finally ended the performances

with a song that few of us sang to

thank the teachers for the

difference they have made in our

lives …

Later that day we all assembled in

the basket-ball ground for a few

more challenges, games, sports

and lucky-dips that were a total

surprise for the aunties.

Soon it was 3:15pm which meant

it was time to start winding-up to

leave. We finally gave our last

greetings to our aunties before the

day ended.

I finished packing and while

heading towards the gate, I just

looked back and reflected: “Today

is the day we celebrate the being

of teachers, with happiness,

laughter, and love; Today is the

day we feel joy in celebrating, not

ourselves but someone-else who

has changed our minds”.

Therefore today I wish all the

teachers who have put all of their

effort, time, mind and soul, in

raising their students….

“A VERY HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY

…”

-Leah, 11 years

Footprints 34

Silver Jubilee of Anweshana- GAIA - Green Awareness in Anweshana

The shops in the mela had many

things. But my mother did not let

me to buy enything.The program

was very nice .The song of our

school no i liked it like so so much.

The dance was wery joyful and

beutyful very very beutyfull. When

the old students were talking, I

felt like so many years back

Anweshana was bilt. And when

Bharati aunty was talking on stage

i felt so proud of our school. In the

food stall, pulao and curd was so

nice.

I did face pack but I likes Manav’s

terrarium. it was so beutyful. I

also liked parbatis decorative glass

jars. The stage preparations were

very beutiful and when children

from every class presented how to

recycle, I felt so nice. I am trying

to make the jeens pouch in my

home. I have many recycled door

mats in my home. all of my

parents and relatives came there.

Not all some of them came to the

mala.

--Medha, 7 years

Anweshana

We are a family here

In a match all of them cheer

We go to trips every year

Now the school is all in tears

Because the trees and plants have

been cleared

Rules we try to adhere

The teachers are always a dear

— Nanda Krishnan, 11 years

Uses of Bath Powder

1. It makes our body clean.

2. It makes our skin glow

3. It has no chemicals

4. Bath powder has antiseptic

5. Bath powder is natural

6. We have added neem leaf and it is antibacterial

-Vihaan, 8 years

Visit to a Farm

I visited a farm with my school friends,it was very nice.We saw a big

stone quary,but a lot of plastic was around the quary.I saw ap-

ple,mango,chicoo,watermelon,banana and guava. We saw two

farms,there were dogs in both the farm.Isaw many animals also, like

ducks,birds,cats and dogs.I like the trip.

-Ritisha R, 8 years

GAIA

I liked how they was dance and liked the songs.We was prasanting like

puck bag,door mat oil lamps,pencil stand and papya face pack.We had

back for play then.we want to are plus and prasanting are

prasantashan.i liked the toy shop,poch shop and tarmiyms

- Parbathi, 8 years

My Trip

We started our trip at 7:30 a.m. and reached at 8:45 a.m. We went to

the room and kept our bags. Then we ate poha for breakfast. We

played in the rocky hills. We went to a tank and it took one hour to

reach it. Then we went to a temple. Then we came to Advaitham farm.

We had dinner. Akhilesh, Shiv, Maneesh and I made a camp fire. We

had a good sleep. We had thatte idli and drank pure cow milk.

-Amogh, 9 years

My School

My school’s name is Anweshana. In my school there is a ground, gar-

den, kabaddi court and a hut. We wear color dress in school but other

kids wear uniform to their school. We don’t work on tables, we work on

mats. We don't use plastic, we recycle paper. We celebrate all the festi-

vals. I like my school.

-Dhruthi A, 9 years

35 Footprints

Bangalore Civic Fest

Waste, Waste, Waste. We wanted

to learn more about it. So we went

to the Bangalore Civic Fest to see

what we can do to our waste. We

didn’t listen to only about waste

but we also listened to things

about other Civic issues. The

Palladium group, Iridium group

and Chamomile class set out in the

bus on February 14th towards

Freedom park, Bengaluru. Once

we reached, we saw that around

50-60 stalls were arranged around

us. Around 15 stalls had children

in them talking about reusing

plastic and about what they did

about cleaning garbage in some

parts of Bangalore. The rest of the

stalls had grown ups in them and

they were talking about Civic

issues. Some of the school

children had reused plastic bottles

and others had recycled paper to

make diaries. We ate our lunch at

a place called ‘Trapezium’. It was

a very hot day so many people

began complaining about the heat.

However I enjoyed it all and would

like to go for the next civic fest if

there are more to come.

--Paul Ruhan Thomas, 11 years

Write-up on Mela – 2019

There were stalls in Mela. There

were story books, hand bags,

Kashaya Pudi, photo frame and

many things in Mela. I was telling

about Kashaya Pudi. There was a

group dance. I ate Pulav and Curd

rice. Bharathi aunty gave plants to

Aunties and Akkas.

-Aarabhi Madhukar, 6 years

Homemade / Organic Tooth Powder

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients required

to make the tooth powder

1 Sea salt - 3 tsp

2 Star anise powder - 1 tsp

3 Guava leaf’s powder - 3 tsp

4 Fennel - 1 tsp

5 Clove powder - 1 tsp

6 Neem leaf’s powder - 1 tsp

7 Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

8 Turmeric - 1 tsp

9 Atimathuram powder - 5 tsp

We made tooth powder using all the

above ingredients, our regular tooth

paste contains lot of chemicals. By

using this tooth powder, we will

have no side effects. So, our tooth

will stay strong as ever.

- Samara, 8 years; Harshitha, 7 years; Sai

Pranam, 7 years

Footprints 36

37 Footprints

Footprints 38

39 Footprints

Footprints 40

41 Footprints

Footprints 42 - Leah

43 Footprints

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45 Footprints

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49 Footprints

- Leah

- Likith, Dahlia

Footprints 50

51 Footprints

Footprints 52

53 Footprints

1993 - the first batch

Arpitha Gupta

Mounika Amaresh

Niketha

Shekar V. Reddy

Tilak V. Reddy

Malashri

Anurag K.

Varun Vijayakumar

Navyatha L.

Keerthana

Ashwini G.

Ajay G.

Tanmayi G.

Ipshita Ghosh

1994

Shravya D.

Tejash S. Uchil

Tarun D.

Dheeraj Yadav

Joel Peters

Vaishnavi A. D.

Chandan R. K.

Gokul G.

Meghashree P.

Shwetha S. Kumar

1995

Meghashree P.

Tejas M. Reddy

Manasa

1996

Pooja Kamath

Abhimanyu K.

1997

Abhishek S.

Amiti Verma

Veena N.

Lakshmi Bhavana

Nikith

1998

Mathew P. Abraham

Srujana S. Ramaswamy

1999

Shivangi K.

Shreya S. Rao

Jeevan Kamat

Pavan Sai Brahma

Hitha C.

Keerthana

2000

Chiranjeevi

Vathsa Rao Pawar

Krupa R.

Jaydeep Prakash

Supreeth S. Chadaga

Anu J. Reddy

Charita I.

David George Mathews

Natasha Sathyaraj

Bhoomika N.

2001

Pranav Prasad G.

Shourinanda P.

Gayathri S. Uchil

Shreya D. Kumar

Shika Pai

Adreeja Bardhan

Divija G.

Yaami Gupta

R. V. Prithvi

Tanisha G. Hegde

Tanvi Bala Waghray

Shivani

A few of our Alumni

Footprints 54

2002

D.R. Rakshith

Keya M. Shaw

Vishnu M.

Pragnya Ramjee

Riya Varma

Lavanya S. M.

Vikas V. S. Gowda

Hari Rohit M.

Vidisha A. Reddy

Daraqsha I.

Adesh S.

Pragna Jahnavi

Aileen Sarah Viji

Prathap P.

Sankalp Narahari

Navaneeth Holla

2003

Keerthana R.

Likhith Bhargav

Sneha S. Karanth

Revathi A. Nair

Varun Hemanth

Krithika S.

Akhila Sasikumar

2004

Shreshta Satheesh

Ishaan Pai

Pradyumna Maiya

Reshma R. Prakash

Shawn Shashank

Sujay K. J

Suraj S.

Elia

Shravan S.

Yuktha N.

Sudhanva R.

Vaishnavi J. Reddy

Manavi Rao

2005

Srishti Karanth

Yasha Chandradeep

Hiba F. Zamindar

Suraj Subramani G.

Adith John Rajeev

Rohan Prakash

Susan Anthony

Siddhanth S. Ramaswamy

Dhruva D.

Tarun Muthyala

Vinay M. Kolekar

Keerthi Narendran

Kanya C.

Akshaj Gupta

2006

Aparajitha Dutta

Karan Sai R.

Yashvardhan J

Smrithi Viswanathan

Lena Sosa Viji

Paavana Pawar

Akshayaditya N. S.

Himaja Bardhan

Shreya Viswanathan

Rose Maria Alexis

Santosh S.

Jahnavi H. Reddy

Shruthi Rajiv

Saahil R. Menon

2007

Shradha Avanshi

Hithashree

Shreeja Aryahi S.

Dhavala T.S.

Nandana S.Kumar

Ron Aby Alexis

Manas Gowda M.

SiddhanthSingh Rathore

Vyshnavi Kathrine Sebastian

Suryanarayan Prasad

A few of our Alumni

55 Footprints

A few of our Alumni

Jahnavi M. Reddy

Saranya S.P.

Chandana Ganesh

Adam Saidu

Aida Saidu

Niharika Hemanth

Abraham

Ahana Devaraj

2008

Bhuvanesh P.

Reyhaan Parambath

G. Pranav

Dikshith R.

Harshith R.

Gerard Joseph Santhosh

Aaron George Abraham

Disha Sri G.

Arunduti Banerjee

Rishitha Reddy V.

Aarush C. B.

Yesmithaa R.

Siddharth Nagaraj

Jayanth R. P.

Arjun M. S.

Ram Babu B.

Rakshitha S.

Joshik M.

Nikhila T. S.

Greetal Pawar

Mithil Kumar

Tanushree S.

Vaanya Manoj

Talha I. Hussain

Kiranatrupti Shree

2009

Joann Reha Paul

Adwitha P.

Kashvi Chandan

Pranathi Agnihotri S.

Amrita Chhabra

Tejas Nandakumar

Sudiksha Singh

Naiesha Nawle

Christopher

Harshini Potu

Adwait Zorba Bhave

Gnanendra S. Santhosh

Pratyusha Satheesh

Sandeep R.

Rishab Nair

Rishan Nair

Reva Subramanian

Sarayu Subramanian

2010

Niharika Vincent

Aniket Bardhan

Ponnappa K.K.

Laasya S.

Nidhi Kolekar

Krishith Vadivel

Hari Arun

Eva Maria Babu

Dylan Babu

Shatha Keerthi

Fathima

Adithi Hanninamane

Adithya H.

Vivek Acharya

Sneha Vibin

Ethan Vazhappilly

Aniket M. Shastri

Footprints 56

A few of our Alumni

2011

Khyathi J. Vangali

Tara Menon

Ritwik Sharma

Dhruvansh Goud

Dishan Jason

Sachi Jain

Nishchal P. Goud

Mahima John

Taha M. Hussain

Charvik C.

Shravan Nagaraj

Sri Nandana

Prisha Shodhan

Bhargav Balaji

Sai Surya G.

Jedidiah Arun

Nidhi Nagaraj

Lavanya S.

Joshua Gareth Santhosh

2012

Gnana Vinayaka K.

Tharun Kumar A. R.

Pragati M.

Sampratha R. Pillai

Tanmay Santrupt

Vinil Sherwin Cutinha

Madhav Kiran

Zarah Vincent

Akhil M.

2013

Saanvi

Vishal Gowda

Ridhima

Skanda

Ameya Harathi

Pranit

Sai Rithika

2014

Avner Varghese

Phalguni

Venya

Yaana Somanna

Kriday B.

Devasena

Siddharth G. Reddy

2015

Achintya

Sai Darsh

Saahithi Reddy

Deepak Reddy

2016

Caroline Zita Dias

57 Footprints Classes of 2018 - 2019

Bottom Row: Saathvik, Pranav, Nevan, Kriti, Juanita, Shreyansh, Rayansh

2nd Row: Umayal, Manav, Risheel, Tashvi, Vihaan, Jayadev, Vishodhan, Arjun, Tina, Esha, Adithya, Mira, Dhanvi, Bharani

3rd Row: Kripa, Leanne, Tanav, Akshara, Ananya, Paritosh, Sri Kushal, Khushi

Top Row: Ashwini, Sumana, Bharathi, Maryline, Uma, Jayashree

Bottom Row: Manasvi, Thaksheel, Abhay, Aarush, Nimay, Parinithi, Likhith, Riya, Sai Adithya, Siddhant

2nd Row: Leeze, Samkith, Justin, Vinesh, Swathi, Yudhav, Srihaan, Shaurya, Yojith, Kushi, Hitha, Dhanalakshmi

Top Row: Rebhathi, Dheemahi, Jonathan, Aadya, Ishitha, Vandana, Nuthan, Ishat, Aarav, Laasya, Jaysukh, Lakshmi.

Zinnia

Marigold

Footprints 58 Classes of 2018 - 2019

Bottom Row: Manasvi, Viaan, Dev, Sandesh, Maanini, Aditya, Kyra, Leah, Vidhur, Aishani, Haarika

2nd Row Row: Reshmi, Simran, Maheedhar, Avantika, Shriya, Shloka, Angha, Advyth, Samruddhi, Shreyash, Varsha, Arushi.

Top Row: Rani, Lekhan, Jayaketan, Navyashree, Deborah, Agamya, Ohanna, Shlok, Rishith, Charith, Samvith, Akshaya

Bottom Row: Shresta, Yana, Khushi, Akshay, Siddhanth, Saanvi, Hima, Dhannya, Smriti, Varna Lekha.

2nd Row: Mrunal, Vrushali, Prateek, Purvi, Adaa, Vriddhi, Santina, Sujan, Sarvesha, Advaith.H, Siddharth, Abir, Lalitha

Top Row: Saraswathi, Abhaya, Aashka, Namasya,Tanvi, Aadya, Dashwin, Rehan, Debajyoti, Huvika, Adwait Ranjan.

Chrysanthemum

Daisy

59 Footprints Classes of 2018 - 2019

Bottom Row: Aarush, Shardul, Harshitha Raaga, Aarabhi, Yuktha, Isha, Prathika, Prabodh, Namith

2nd Row Row: Jayanthi, Diyanshu, Sai Pranam, Bhumikashini, Zainabbi, Iara, Inara, Saanvi, Nandesh, Akhil, Zakwan, Pushpa

Top Row: Pranathi, Haritha, Praizen, Titus, Ashith, Thoshika, Veeraa, Vihaan, Shashank, Maneesh, Samara

Bottom Row: Dronaa, Chegu, Raech, Aksha, Dhruti N, Swara, Hasan, Sujith and Harshitha

2nd Row: Pallavi, Arianna, Joanna, Sri Raksha, Unnathi, Nehal, Aadithya, Asha, Daksh, Myra and Sonali

Top Row: Yesudhanam, Avani, Gamini, Akhilesh, Shiv, Ritisha, Druthi A, Rithvik and Dhanyamithraa

Aster

Dandelion

Footprints 60 Classes of 2018 - 2019

Bottom Row: Piyush, Harshvardhan, Manohar, Medha, Siddhi, Jaithra, Dhruthi, Samaira, Aariv

2nd Row: Shwetha, Manav, Parbati, Jishnu, Bhuvan, Akhila, Niharika, Stalin, Daniel, Sathvika, Ramana

Top Row: Shreyank, Harshith, Alexi, Aadya, Amogh, Praghav, Aahana, Riya, Likith, Shalini, Sujatha

Bottom Row: Viditaa, Janya, Mahima, Malavika, Chaarvi, Lipi, Aliza, Shravan, Mohith, Vishal, Samarth, Shivanga

2nd Row: Seema, Dunly, Dhruthi, Ananya, Gauri, Jahnavi, Shreeya, Vibha, Ishana, Akanksha, Anitha

3rd Row : Lishya, Narendra, Nikkil, Ananth Krishna, Rishidhar, Nanda Krishna, Vyom, Dhruva, Vybhav, Nathan Samuel, Paul, Sunitha

Top Row: Sobhana, Benitha, Mercy, Khushi, Geethashri, Leah, Tannistha, Jayashree

Dahlia

Cosmos

61 Footprints Classes of 2018 - 2019

Bottom Row: Rashmi, Janaysha, Tara, Abhinav, Nakulan, Aryan, Shalini

Top Row: Shilpa, Jayashree, Bharathi, Maryline, Tarakram

Bottom Row: Sitting from Ishita, Aaratrika, Antara, Ria, Richa, Neethi, Niveda, Ridhi

Top Row: Lishya, Uma, Sobhana, Bharathi, Jayashree, Maryline

Sunflower

Chamomile

Footprints 62 Educators of 2018 - 2019

Footprints

Bottom Row: Pallavi, Arushi, Sujatha, Shalini, Leeze, Reshmi, Sonali

2nd Row: Bharani, Mrunal, Umayal, Uma, Maryline, Jayashee, Bharathi, Jayanthi, Lalitha, Seema, Ramana

Top Row: Anitha, Lishya, Lakshmi, Rashmi, Sobhana, Sunitha, Sumana, Dunly, Pushpa, Shwetha, Dhanalakshmi

Bottom Row: Maryline, Bharathi, Jayashree

2nd Row: Mariamma, Saraswathi, Lingamma, Rani, Shilpa, Jaya, Shrimathi, Ashwini, Rebathi

Top Row: Mariyappa, Shakthi, Ganesh, Neelakanta, Elisha

Support Staff 2018-2019

63 Footprints

Footprints Anweshana Montessori House Of Children, No. 154, 9th Cross, Prakruthi Layout, 5th Block, Hennur Main Road, Bangalore - 560043.

Anweshana Montessori House Of Children

Footprints 64

Leave nothing

behind but

footprints

Anweshana Montessori House Of Children, No. 154, 9th Cross, Prakruthi Layout, Hennur, Bangalore - 560043.