Vidyabharathi English High School

Up in the hills of Chikmagalur, in the Gowri Kaluve area, is where Vidyabharathi English High School sits. We don't think about the scenery much when we are busy with the daily classes. The air is usually a bit cooler here than down in the plains. The school building is tucked away on a side street, so it's not immediately obvious if you are just driving through. It’s not a huge place, just a few floors with enough rooms to fit the different grades we have. We have a small yard where the kids gather for their morning assembly. You can hear the birds from the trees nearby even when the kids are making quite a lot of noise. Chikmagalur is a small town at heart, and Gowri Kaluve is a quiet, friendly neighborhood. We’ve been here long enough that the shopkeepers nearby know all the teachers by name. We don't have a lot of modern technology, but we have enough to get the daily lessons done. It’s more about the actual interaction between the students and the teachers here. We don't use a lot of fancy jargon. We just teach English and the other required subjects. Sometimes the power goes out when it rains in the hills, and we just carry on with the windows open to let in the natural light. It’s a very normal, old-fashioned way to go about things. We aren't trying to change the whole world; we just want the local kids to have a good place to go to school every day.