Leena Sarabhai, one of the founder members of Shreyas Foundation, is 95 years old but her memory is sharp as ever. She has the names of the students of the first Shreyas batch on her fingertips and still vividly recalls the time she spent with Maria Montessori in 1947, when Shreyas was in its embryonic stage and was housed in Mud Bungalow, Shahibaug, and they were conceptualising a bigger institution which would eventually come up in its present premises at Ambawadi.
"Working with the first president of Shreyas Foundation (Madame Maria Montessori) was quite a learning experience, though we did not communicate in the same language," says Leena Sarabhai. She adds that while Montessori would speak only Italian and she could understand English, her son Mario Montessori was their interpreter.
Leenaben says that at Shreyas the students are not taught just bookish knowledge. "This is the only school where students have the space to indulge in activities like swimming, carpentry, sewing and have direct contact with nature. She said that they are taught to be humane and encouraged to care about nature.
"The protection of the environment and love for nature and the greenery of the campus have convinced even the state government to utilise the centre as a peacock conservation centre," Leenaben says.
Leena Sarabhai still does not call it a school: she speaks of it as a centre where children come to enjoy space, learn the lessons of life and walk together without the feeling of competition.
She pointed out that craft, music and dance are things that are denied to children in many schools across the state. She does not advocate the system of examinations at all and says: "Just by making students sit and write down for two to three hours at a stretch, you cannot adjudge a student's knowledge."She says that the students of Shreyas know that their knowledge is for life and not for examinations.
The grand old lady also says that they included both English and Gujarati mediums so that they could involve a larger section of society in their system of education.
"Our students are not just taught traditional things. We have seen to it that our students and staff are computer friendly as well," she says. She says that students at the centre also learn to protect animals and birds in the campus.
While Leena Sarabhai is still an active president of the institution and moves around on a wheelchair, she sees to it that the campus is kept clean and places like the amphitheatre which is a one of its kind in Gujarat, are utilised for the benefit of the children.
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