July 16-18 Pune

Namascar,

Aman Setu School (Bridge of Peace) is a picturesue school located on the outskirts of Pune. Formed by a group of teachers with a common vision for a world of harmony, the school admits students of varying class, caste, religious, and linguistic groups. Children learn and explore through a curriculum developed to teach love, peace, respect, courage, hard work, responsibility, and balance. They garden and take care of animals. Use of recycled materials is prevalent throughout the school. An old school bus on campus is used for small group tutoring. With each of our school visits, I am more inspired and eager to implement new ideas in my classroom.

We also visited the Aga Khan Palace, where Mahatma Ghandi, his wife Kasturba, and his long-time secretary Mahadeobhai Desai were incarcerated during the Quit India Movement. Both Kasturba and Mahadeobhai passed away during this time. The Palace was built in 1892 by Aga Khan III. In 1969, Aga Khan IV donated the Palace to India as a mark of respect to Gandhiji and his philosophy.

Niki, art teacher from Brooklyn, New York and I took advantage of some free time to visit Vaishali Patak and her family on Sunday, July 18th. We had met Vaishali a few days earlier at her school, where she is the art teacher. She specializes in Warli painting, which she studied following her formal university training. Vaishali and her husband Manoj, an executive for Coca-Cola in Pune, welcomed us into their home and were eager to share her vision of the Warli style. Still using the characteristic triangle, dots, and dashes, Vaishali also incorporates pieces of colorful fabric glued into the painted design. The result is a gorgeous interpretation of her subject. Niki and I both purchased some of Vaishali's original work, which I will enjoy for many, many years.