When it came for me to decide where to do my Professional Development Grant (PDG), I really struggled to find another non-profit school with a unique focus on music and yoga like my placement, Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV). When I began asking my Senior Fellow, Gaurang, about recommendations, he pointed me to Ashram Paryavaran Vidyalaya (APV), a school based in the Himalayas of rural Uttarakhand which was a Host Organization for an AIF Fellow in 2013. Prior to visiting APV, I was most curious to see the similarities between KSV and APV, especially since they have such similar ethos’ and mentalities towards student welfare and education. However, despite the alikeness between the two schools, I personally found the most interesting aspects when comparing the two schools to be the differences in how the shared mentalities manifest.
The most notable differences in APV and KSV are their school structure and student base. KSV is based in rural Northern Karnataka and is a residential music school with about 175 students from 1-10th standard who come from disenfranchised backgrounds. KSV provides housing, food, and education to these students with the aim to break their families from the cycle of generational poverty. APV is a mindfulness community in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand that was initially connected to an ashram where thinkers from all over India could come together in an intentional community. APV serves 1-8th standard with about 50 students in a non-residential capacity. APV’s student population includes children from all different backgrounds, regardless of socioeconomic status.
KSV and APV both utilize holistic education and the natural surrounding environment to help their students with their education. KSV follows the Karnataka State Education guidelines, but also weaves in the arts, storytelling, and the environment to provide a well-rounded educational experience for its children. APV takes the concepts from government syllabus and instead demonstrates them to students in ways connected to the local Himalayan culture. APV also has its students take on a peer learning role. APV also does not give exams or final marks, instead providing a detailed report on the student’s skills with creativity and skills such as rationality and compassion. APV also takes its students on exposure visits across India, such as Hyderabad and Chennai.
Both APV and KSV aim to empower students through meditation and music. At KSV, every morning before breakfast begins with a 15-minute meditation for students to center themselves for the rest of the day. Older students also have the option to attend yoga at 5:30 in the morning if they wish to practice mindfulness. Students at KSV also receive traditional music, dance, and drama training in Hindustani and Carnatic style. Every morning and afternoon students also have mandatory music practice to instill routine and discipline in their day-to-day routine. KSV believes that every student is a young artist with their own special skills and talents. Additionally, KSV aims to build and cultivate intrinsic motivation through music education which will serve its students well into the future. APV does not engage in formal music education, instead choosing to start each morning with an hour-long music meditation as a way to bring the school community together. This comes from the belief that music engages every part of the brain, and that beginning each morning with music means that the student is more absorbed in their formal education. At APV, the music meditation helps students educational abilities since it forces the child to point out differences in form, structure, and pitch. It also helps with emotional intelligence and community building since the students must collaborate with each other when performing, requiring students to be aware of themselves and those around them. All of the music sung is written by APV staff to help convey emotions which traditional words might not encapsulate, and the students pick which music to sing at the beginning of every morning.
The most interesting difference between KSV and APV I found when I visited was how, despite the same fundamental goals of student empowerment through holistic education, music, and meditation, the schools operate on vastly different mentalities when it comes to funding their programs.
KSV has a wide range of funding programs, such as the child sponsorship program and Annadaan, where individual donors can respectively sponsor a specific child’s education or a whole meal for the school. KSV also has some major CSR (corporate social responsibility) partners, such as Feeding India, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, and the EdelGive Foundation. KSV also receives a lot of international FCRA money, something made incredibly prominent because the cofounders of the school are French-Canadian couple Mathieu and Agathe Fortier. KSV’s ultimate goal is to mostly be funded by large organizational donors, who can promise large sums of funding for extended periods of time (3-5 years). KSV’s leadership staff believes that this is the best way to ensure long term stability for the organization to provide the best services to the children and their families.
APV’s leadership team believes in the opposite approach to ensure the long-term financial stability of the school. APV does not have a single CSR, FCRA, or large organizational partner funding their school. The APV mentality is that money coming from an organization is money with stipulations attached to it, such as what the money should be used for. APV believes that this is not okay because the school staff ultimately know what is best for their students, and they do not need outsider input in how their organization should function. APV is entirely financially reliant on individual donors, believing that individuals are more financially reliant in the long run because they are donating to the school because they have an emotionally attachment to the school’s mission.
So, while KSV and APV have very similar missions and go about their education in similar manners, they ultimately function as vastly different entities. This is because of their very diverse methods of education, approaches to the music and meditation elements, and perspectives on funding their organizations. However, both of these organizations are ultimately success in their approaches because they both center student welfare at the core of their missions.
