To The Prakriya Family

September marks the completion of 150 days since I graduated from Prakriya. I remember the day – the 31st of March, 2026. I vividly remember the emotions I experienced as I set foot into the campus for the last time. I was simultaneously excited, nervous, and upset that it would be the last day of my schooling journey with Prakriya.

If anyone told me that they’d spent 13 years in a singular institution, be it as an employee or student, the word that would come to mind is “gosh!”. An employee who has worked at a single company for 13 years, for example, would be considered an extremely loyal, attached and devoted employee. Well, I bring this up because my schooling journey in Prakriya spanned 13 years, and the 150 odd days since that chapter of my life officially came to an end have exposed me to so many new things, and have left me reflective of my life in Prakriya. I have much to say about this part of my life, and I would like to put it out there for the Prakriya Family. This is partly because I wish to express my gratitude for all my experiences here, and because I wish that you don’t compromise on some beliefs and values, which make Prakriya what it is. And on a lighter note, I’m also aware of how many pieces of writing you receive, which are far from a showering of compliments.

The first part of Prakriya I have nothing but praise for is the staff. Be it the teachers, bus akkas and annas, or any other staff; they were always extremely welcoming and accepting, and you could tell that they genuinely liked being around children. To me, the teachers are more like friends, someone you can trust with any issues you face, and just chat with whenever you’re bored. This dynamic is something I hope you never lose. In the school I am currently in, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of skill pertaining to dealing with children. From the outside, I can tell that there is a struggle regarding managing children and this is always addressed with shouting and brute force. I believe Prakriya’s model of love (and less shouting), and mutual understanding both works better, and is more pleasant. The lack of a “power gap” between students and teachers is something I believe is priceless, and in my opinion, is to be safeguarded. I believe that teachers raising their voices has no real effect as it does not solve the underlying problem which leads to said situation in the first place.

The fact that teachers are always approachable and happy to help is extremely warm and sweet. The fact that they’re always concerned about how the students feel is extremely comforting, and separates it from the traditional mechanical nature of schooling nowadays. I distinctly remember how during field trips, the teachers and students were always together in one group, and this lack of any hierarchy is something I miss. I remember my class anchor coming and sitting with me when I was alone during an event in school, which feels like something a friend would do. This care for students is something which is Prakriya’s greatest asset – regardless of academic prowess or anything of that sort, the Prakriya family was always great at producing great humans and making the school feel like a family, instead of a school. Like a home away from home. We students always felt at home.

On the topic of students’ welfare, I recently overheard someone in my bus talking about how they “have to get 95% in their mid-terms”. I looked up to see that this ‘someone’ was a young child, probably in third or fourth grade. I genuinely got quite frightened hearing this, and when I was that age, I probably did not know what a “mid-term” was. This made me ponder over Prakriya’s academic policies.

I concluded that the way in which Prakriya structures the courses, helping children live their childhood to their fullest without the pressure of examinations, and how higher-grade students also do not face significant academic pressure, is an idea I find noble. I find the thought of children stressing over exam results and whatnot quite revolting. However, I have noticed this attitude in my juniors in Prakriya too, and I think it is worth addressing. Marks are not the only thing in this world (I know that this is a lot coming from someone who has achieved a grand total of zero notable things in his life so far), and Prakriya did a good job with exposure to new ideas, opportunities and many other activities which are not strictly curricular in nature, have helped shape who I am. Prakriya’s field trips, real life projects and many other such events gave me practical experience and helped give me some skills which I couldn’t learn from a textbook. I hope you continue doing such things, and keep the students curious and not only marks-oriented. I’m sure you know of the dangers of the “I have to get 95%” attitude and I think children definitely underestimate the side effects of it.

Apart from this, I would like to highlight one of Prakriya’s unique traits which I did not realise when I was in school. This is that, Prakriya did a great job of making students feel special. That is a statement which is rather vague, but I’ll try to put my point across here. Partially because of the small class size and because of the way that teachers would encourage us students, I feel like every student had their own unique skills and they felt special themselves. They felt smart, and not necessarily in the academic way, and the atmosphere in school acted as a great booster to students’ confidence. The usual way of making a student feel special in normal schools is purely based on academic prowess, specifically based on grades. I feel like in Prakriya, every child felt special in their own way. They possessed something that no other child had in school. This is something which is a gem, and I feel like it is to be safeguarded. Children (more so with adolescents) really need the self-confidence and drive to be themselves, which the mechanical systems in place fail to offer, which Prakriya’s methods do a great job of achieving. This is something which you should please attempt to preserve, in any way possible. Prakriya made every child feel like they belong.

The exposure that Prakriya offers to students is unparalleled and I am eternally grateful for all of the experiences I’ve had with Prakriya.

I could go on and on about the school, but I’ll reserve that for another time :)

Thank you for everything. This was intended to have reached you on teachers’ day, but regardless, Happy Teachers’ Day!