Taking students close to village culture

by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

Located about 77 kms from Mysore is a town called Kollegal, in Chamarajanagar district. Until 1956, Kollegal was part of the Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 moved Kollegal to Karnataka primarily organising it along linguistic lines. Kollegal is a name derived from the names of two hermits namely ‘Kauhala’ and ‘Galava’ who were believed to be have been instrumental in the development of Kollegal.

Kollegal, also called ‘Silk City,’ is famous for its handloom silk saree industry. Some historians believe that Silk was introduced in this part of the State by Tipu Sultan, who learnt the secrets of silk. But there is no evidence to prove the matter. Kollegal also has a very rich forest land with Sandalwood and Teak grown in abundance. The town is surrounded by Siddappana Hills, Edni Hills, Koteboli, Kanchanboli, Mallige Boli, Dupada Boli, Biligiri Rangana Betta and Malaki Betta.

A second range of forests include Gunndal, Daigallu, Bombegallu, Burude Forest, Dodda Sampige range, Chikka Sampige range, Kere Dimba, Nallikadru, Dodda Kallu, Atthi Kane estate, Kadigere, Beduguli Estate, Jodigere, Gaddesala, Dimbam, Thalai Male, Adunmale, Satekhana, Akka Thangi Bole(Sisters Hill), Devargatta, Sebunkube, Havina moole, Ere kadu, Ame Kere, Purane, Kyathadevangudi and Banglekodu.

Kollegal was one of the areas which played host to the activities of Sandalwood brigand Veerappan who also poached elephants for their tusks. The town also plays host to many tourist spots which include Malai Mahadeshwara Hills, Hogenakal falls, Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki at Shivanasamudra (also known as Bluff) among many other. Also there is a small hill called ‘Maradi Gudda’ which is located in the heart of the city where the foot prints of the Sri Mahadeshwara Swamy are preserved. It is believed that Lord Mahadeshwara Swamy first stepped at this place above the hills.

Though Kollegal is located in Chamarajanagar district, which is one of the backward districts of Karnataka, it has produced some eminent personalities who have gone on to make a name for themselves in society. Among them are the famous sculptor Shilpi Siddalingaswamy, former AICTE Chairman Ramegowda, former BEML CMD K. Aprameya, former HMT CMD N. Ramanujan, who is now the Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Karnataka among others.

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s presence in Kollegal

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), has gone to become a huge intellectual, cultural and educational movement. The institution was founded by K.M. Munshi, a multi-faceted personality, who was a lawyer, author, constitution-maker, statesman and a social reformer. Now after more than six decades, BVB has become one of the premier institutions in the country and abroad. The institution has been offering education in various subjects which include Sanskrit, Indology, Indian Culture, Indian Classical Music, Dance, Drama, Yoga, Classical Languages, Ancient Scriptures, Arts, Science, Commerce, Modern Management, Mass Communication and Information Technology as well as foreign languages such as French, Spanish, Russian, German and Japanese.

Institutions run by BVB range from Kindergarten to Post Graduate and Research levels. The main objective of BVB is to provide a modern bridge to span the past, present and future built on a strong foundation of the fundamental values of life.

BVB has also set up Centres in London, New York, Lisbon, Mexico City and Durban. There are also plans to start BVB Centres at Geneva, Singapore, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait. The institution not only aims at providing quality education with modern facilities to urban students but also to students in rural areas. Besides having a global presence, BVB has also been concentrating on taking quality education to rural areas. A recent endeavour of BVB is the Bhavan’s Geetha Vidyalaya in Kollegal. The School, originally known as ‘Geetha Shishuvihara’ was established in the year 1954 by a team of philanthropists. In the year 1995, A. Krishna Shetty, a philanthropist, donated the site to Geetha Shishuvihara on which the School was constructed.

It was in 1991 that Geetha Shishuvihara started a primary school and since then it has added one class every academic year. Currently, the institution caters from kindergarten to Class 8. Next academic year, the institution will be starting Class 9 as the Department of Public Instruction has given its nod for the same.

Geetha Shishuvihara was taken over by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in the year 2009 and was renamed ‘Bhavan’s Geetha Vidyalaya.’ An important personality responsible for BVB taking over the Shishuvihara was A.S. Devendra Gupta of APS in Kollegal. He was instrumental in running the school for many years. Sadly, he passed away in July 2013, soon after the School laid a foundation stone for the construction of a new building. The School has a separate committee headed by K. Shekar as the Chairman. It also involves members of BVB Mysore, who have been guiding the committee on various issues.

After BVB took over the school administration, the school has seen several changes right from providing quality infrastructure to salaries for staff members. The student strength has also increased over the years and slowly, Bhavan’s Geetha Vidyalaya is becoming one of the most sought after institutions in Kollegal and surrounding villages.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, School Secretary Girirajan, said that the school had seen a lot of improvement since BVB took over. “Student strength has gone up, amenities for the school have improved and staff benefits have also increased. Currently, the school administration has also taken up construction of new building which will provide classrooms for students. Slowly, the existing building will be demolished phase-wise to make way for the new building. We have added a Computer lab, Educomp Smart Class and transportation facilities,” said Girirajan.

Village Vocational Venture (V3)

BVB’s activities in Kollegal doesn’t stop at that. One of the unique features of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s education system is that it provides an opportunity for the students of Bhavan’s Priyamvada Birla Institute of Management to learn and educate themselves on rural system of living. Not many institutions which offer management courses concentrate on taking the students to villages to allow them to learn and get hands-on experience of life at grass-roots level.

Under the initiative Village Vocational Venture (V3), the management students are taken to Kollegal during their academic year and are made to understand different scenarios that villagers encounter in their everyday life. The two days and one night programme involves a batch of 20 students who are introduced to cottage industry, pottery, sericulture farming and jaggery manufacturing unit.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Karnataka Chairman, N. Ramanujan said that students who are the management executives tomorrow should understand the hardship of the rural people, who work as agriculturists, in rural industries, labourers and also the exploitation meted out to them by the middlemen. This apart, the programme also focuses on making students understand the rural lifestyle, which is filled with healthy food and a care-free life.

“They do a lot of work but at the same time they also enjoy life’s simple pleasures. Students are made to experience rural lifestyle by introducing them to different cultures, traditions and rural sports such as kabbadi, lagori, marakothi and others. This programme is to make students understand that the simple joys that they derive actually originate from villages,” said Ramanujan.

The most interesting and fun part of the entire programme is the stay. Students are accommodated in an ancient house believed to be over 300-years- old. The house is the ancestral property of N. Ramanujan, bought by his great grandfather Narayana Iyengar from Krishnaraja Wadiyar II on April 18, 1760 AD. The sale deed executed by Krishnaraja Wadiyar II is well preserved by Ramanujan, who has now donated it to be used for V3 project. The house is located on Doddamane Narayana Iyengar Street near Lakshmi Narayana Temple.

There are around seven rooms where the students are accommodated during their stay in Kollegal. The pillars of the house are made up of Teakwood which adds to its antique value.

Though the house has been maintained in its original state, a few changes have been made to make the students’ stay comfortable.

During their stay at the house, students get to relish some of the best village food served on a plantain leaf. The scheduled morning walks are a delight for the students, as they get to enjoy sugar-cane juice, tender coconut directly from the nature’s bed. They are also taken to paddy fields, jaggery manufacturing units and are briefed about different business opportunities in villages.

Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘India lives in her villages’ and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, through its Village Vocational Venture programme, has been successful in introducing the urban students to India’s rich rural culture.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / March 01st, 2014