"The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility. These are the three forces which are the very nerve of education." - Rudolf Steiner was an Austrian philosopher who believed that education should enable a child to become a special person - successful in practical life driven by an inner divine inspiration.

Tridha has chosen the Rudolf Steiner's method of teaching because the curriculum is designed on the basis of a deep understanding of children. Overloading a child with memory oriented learning can cripple a child's innate sense of wonder and fascination. With no relevant life experience accommodated with learning a child can burn out and altogether loose interest in learning very early. The ability to think independently and seek its own answers is endangered forever. Teaching should enrich a child's capacity to cope with life. Such then is the quest of all independent education. For instance, Patrick Brilliant, one of Tridha's founding members says, "When we want to teach numbers and maths, we don't just stand in front of a black board and write what 1 + 1 = 2 first we physically make them understand what 1 is, what 2 is, and then how we you put 1 and 1 together how they become 2.Or when you break up the 2 it becomes 1."

Therefore, the curriculum at Tridha is artistically structured to nourish all the important aspects of a human being chiefly the head, the heart and the body. So music, craft, art, drama are all mediums used to teach mathematics, literature, science and social studies, over and above the traditional                                              black board and chalk method of cramming.

Tridha founded in June 2000 is registered under the Maharashtra Board and is affiliated to the I.C.S.E. Board. The children will have no examinations till Class 7 and homework will begin only from Class 4. I.C.S.E. Board requires a mandatory syllabus from Class 8 onwards which will be adhered to keeping in mind a creative methodology. Even though the pace and method may differ from other conventional schools the child will still be well equipped to learn independent of pressure and, therefore, give the Board examinations successfully, "Maybe even more successfully then other kids going to conventional methods of teaching schools," says Patrick.

"Being French," Patrick says, "but having lived here for almost a decade now, and being married to an Indian woman, I consider India to be my home. So when we had our daughter and it was time to put her in the school, I came to realize that something was drastically wrong with the system of education here. My child at a very early age was carrying so many books, was leaning so many subjects, subjects that were of no consequence to someone of her age deeply moved me. That's when I realized that something should be done about this, children should not be subjected to forced educational systems and traditional teaching methods and the thought of setting up a school first set root in my mind. Then, as it turned out, I was not alone in my concerns, a lot of other parents were feeling the same sort of anxieties for their children so we all joined hands and founded the Indian Education Revival Trust and opened this school in June."

"So now in our kindergarten, or for children between the ages of 3 - 6 we do some cooking, painting, finger knitting, sewing, beeswax modeling, gardening, singing, storytelling, and just an introduction to the letters of the alphabet and numbers. Some of our teachers in training are also into natural sciences such as Reiki and Meditation, so I suppose we'll have some of that to teach the children soon."

The Indian Education Revival Trust conducts intensive training programmes with the help of Steiner educationalists from all over the world. These programmes involve artistic and musical activities to help the teachers express their innate abilities. The course also includes a psychological understanding of the human being from birth to adulthood.

Patrick says, "Right now we have only Nursery, Kindergarten and Class 1 but with every year we intend to add one class, till we have a full fledged school till Class 10. Tidha is just one of the 780 Steiner schools worldwide including 'SLOKA' in Hyderabad. The Steiner motto is compassion and an inner sense of values to know and love the world and their fellow human beings. And that's what we aim to achieve, better human beings in the end."

- Nisha Chainai