‘This was that paradise that gave me wings’

This is as close to Shantiniketan as you get here Enveloped by palm trees kissed by beach breezes kids romp about tilting watering cans towards bushes swaying in the verdant garden acre Others empty dust from baby brooms into toytiny ldquosuprasrdquo scooping the ground cleanHard as it is to figure this is really a school Its children grasp basic learning concepts organically working with materials recommended by the Montessori method of educationmdashwhich follows rather than prescribes their developmental needsldquoIt was Madam Montessorirsquos confirmed belief that what you put into a child till the age of seven remains lifelongrdquo says Kavita Rode the primary section headmistress ldquoMontessori is a method not a system of education A method is flexible as per the needs of each childrdquoTeachers with their first batch of children in 1948Even as she makes this distinction a wandering music teacher strums a shoulderslung guitar stopping wherever he sees interested children bunch around They run up to him of their own will freefloating without any specified ldquomusic periodrdquoAs Partho Gupte the Stanley Ka Dabba actor describes ldquoImagine a paradise without high boundary walls or intimidating iron gates where little angels flaunt mighty hearts on their sleeves Thatrsquos Besant Montessori for you And I was in that paradise that gave me wingsrdquo The happy vibe wafts serenely into the teaching spaces which are in fact called ldquoenvironmentsrdquo rather than classrooms Arundhati Choudhury the Montessori head explains ldquoWe have six environments Toddlers and five Montessori environments Children join Toddlers at the age of 20 months as of June Each environment has a separate setup with 3032 children assigned three Montessoritrained teachers and a helperrdquoTehmina Wadia the schoolrsquos first directress trained by Maria Montessori with school benefactor Gulistan Jussawala and Albert Joosten the Montessori communityrsquos India representative Pics CourtesyBesant MontessoriEvery such environment has three groups Group 1 from 25 years onwards Group 2 from 35 years and Preparatory 45 years Completing three Montessori years children enter Std I to transit gradually to traditional methods of education From Std II to V the school follows the ICSE syllabusA democratic attitude extends admissions to pupils ranging from movie star kids to children of carpenters and contractors A seat stays reserved for one special needs child each year supervised by a shadow teacher How did this almost Utopian institution begin instilling confidence character and integrity in the young to realise the ideal of universal brotherhood centralto theosophyDr Maria Montessori seated left Mario Montessori behind with Rukmini Devi and George Arundale in AdyarHer observation of underprivileged kids in the slums of Rome led physician and child rights sympathiser Maria Montessori to devise a unique learning philosophy that embraced the realities of childhood She opened the first Casa dei Bambini house of children in San Lorenzo in 1907 and in 1929 founded the Association Montessori Internationale AMI in Denmark it is now headquartered in AmsterdamDr Montessori was unable to return to Italy from India once World War II broke That was when George and Rukmini Devi Arundalemdashtheosophist disciples of Dr Annie Besant the British freemason Theosophical Society president and Home Rule activistmdashinvited her to Adyar in 1939 to conduct teacher training courses Tehmina Wadia enrolled for the first and became the Founder Directress of the Besant Montessori SchoolThe name is a combined acknowledgement of Dr Besant as the school opened on January 6 1948 just after her birth centenary And Madam Montessori because it adopted her approach to education Dolly Wadia the schoolrsquos legendary former principal for over five decadesWith opportune financial aid from Gulistan and Jehangir Jussawala and premises from Adi Vatcha the school was inaugurated in the Theosophical Colony at Juhu by Irach Taraporewala a scholar associated with Besant and the Arundales With Dr Ajay Hora and Dr Shaunak Hora Gulistan Jussawalarsquos granddaughter Zenobia Khodaiji is a school trustee todayTehmina Wadia fondly dubbed Aunty Tehmi welcomed a batch of 11 pupils which expanded to fill two more rooms And the rest is 75year historyOffering primary education rooted in theosophical concepts that adhere to childcentrism the school was the first in Bombay Presidency and fourth in India and Pakistan to receive recognition from the AMI Adapting to the changed postwar world it imparted life skills and selfdiscipline as against imposed discipline through a proper and continuous use of Montessori materialSara Ali Khan as a toddler playing with Montessori materialThis is evident as tender lisp and toddler chatter fall soft and soon still within seconds of the noon bell ring for a daily minute of silence Whether neatly folding small sitting mats or jumping in a patch of lawn they all calm to a hushed halt Straight after a merry trio comes bounding up to us Flushed with excitement curious Pia and Om and twinkleeyed Husain Ali want to know who I am Theirs is the treasured legacy left by a most loved principal Steering the school with legendary devotion and passion Dolly Wadia no relation to Tehmi a walking encyclopaedia on the Montessori method helmed it from the 1950s with competence and compassion till her death in 2019 ldquoThe sincere hard work of teachers mentored and motivated by Aunty Dolly is paying offrdquo says Choudhury ldquoThe pandemic was a difficult time for us as Montessori techniques encourage children to learnbydoing in open spaces Though the shift to online learning in the first year of closure posed problems we worked to do better while remaining committed to Montessori pedagogies till things picked up postlockdownrdquoOther important lessons proved practical when COVID struck ldquoI love that the Montessori method makes kids sweep the floor wash clothes and water plants I have two children in Besant aged 10 and four During the pandemic I noticed the elder one was up for helping around the house and I blessed the schoolrdquo says Hrishi K national brand head of the RadioOne India NetworkFrom ensuring the enjoyment shine on the face of a boy peeling potatoes to the rapt concentration of a girl balancing on a beam the focus is on practical life exercises Sensorial apparatus addresses the strongest milestonebuilding between the two to sevenyear span when children test independence to attain gross and fine muscular movement progress The control of socalled ldquoerrorrdquo is in the material itself Kids read and write at their pace through the natural language tool of phonics not formal letters of the alphabet Math is picked up through numerical rods beads and counter symbolsMost refreshing in the current scenario pushing children much beyond their capacities and capabilities is the clear cognisance and unwavering acceptance of individual sensitivities and differences In Dolly Wadiarsquos time a boy reluctant to enter class stood outside for six months before spontaneously deciding he was ready to walk in after a whole term ldquoParents then were also less pressuring and demandingrdquo points out Mamta Karalkar the school administrative headldquoBesant prepared me to think instinctively tap into my potential and approach hardships with a positive outlookrdquo says hotelier Columbus Marquis from Goa ldquoWe were lucky for this safe place that felt nothing short of going to a second home every day The Besant style of learning gave us understanding and resilience to explore our strengths and core values through the curriculum A fourhour school day allowed me time for competitive tennis with teachers going out of their way with support We could skip school to travel for tournamentsrdquoParticipation in interschool programmes necessitated the designing of the white and blue uniform in 1964 worn on Mondays and sports days Sports teachers have always been an integral part of the faculty grooming students who have shone as national level footballers among other games ldquoA true Montessori environment is an extension of homerdquo says Rode ldquoOur parents too are as involved A mother like Aanchal Kannan for instance has changed the face of our Parent Teacher AssociationrdquoActress Sara Ali Khan thanks her formative years here ldquoThe attention to details and a rounded education was inculcated at a very early age My desire and joy for learning started in Besant and continues to growrdquoNo doubt the Juhu location attracts a starry roster of film industry pupils including Alia Bhatt the Deol and the Khan kids besides famous parents like Kailash Kher Prahlad Kakkar and the Goenkas But the longlasting Montessori ethos bears an indelible imprint on contemporary educators who replicate its invaluablelessons wellldquoLooking for a school for my son in 1994 I fell in love with Besant the moment I entered it The environment the teachers the bindaas children and kind warm Aunty Dolly the principalrdquo says Nyla Masood cofounder of Dhai Akshar ldquoThe Montessori material which was new to me Irsquove now introduced in the Dhai Akshar Educational Trust I run We have a lot of support from the school for my NGO The bond with Besant is unbrokenrdquoSimilarly Anansh Prasad founder and MD of SkillSphere Education says ldquoWhen Besant alumni look back at lifetransforming experiences we unanimously agree on the holistic education received at Besant In a personalised environment deeply entrenched in experiential education each of us received full opportunity to explore ourselves and pursue unconventional paths successfully What I do as a pan Asia educator is a result of the Besant years Travelling to many schools across the country I state with utmost convictionmdashyou cannot replicate Besant MontessorirdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom