Set in the quiet hamlet of Jyothipalya, Ajji’s Learning Centre (ALC) is a non-profit educational trust and resource centre endeavouring to provide a conducive environment for learning, discovery and transformation in a rural setting. Ajji’s Learning Centre was a long-awaited dream of Dr Sabiha Hashmi to support and supplement educational and vocational learning through workshops and regular classes for rural folk in and around Magadi Taluk of Ramanagara. Since its inauguration on March 5, 2022, the learning centre has made remarkable progress through its outreach and interactive programs. In a short span of time ALC has earned the goodwill and support of the rural community as an inclusive, future ready, vocational alternative learning centre.
Dr. Sabiha Hashmi, a graduate of Fine Arts from Delhi College of Arts, MA in History of Arts and a PhD from the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology (on Dunhuang Cave Paintings), was an art educator for over 40 years. She introduced thousands of young children to the world of colours, sketching, painting, printing, art history and aesthetics.
Post-retirement, she decided to spend her time supporting the education of young girls in a small village in Karnataka. She bought a piece of land near Magadi, built a cottage and moved there. Soon, the village children started calling her Ajji, an endearing term for ‘grandmom’ in Kannada, the local language, and her land, now converted into a farm, became Ajji’s Farm.
After working in her individual capacity for 8 years, Sabiha realized the need for a more organized approach. She saw the vacuum that needed to be filled. The children and youth in Jyothiplaya and nearby villages needed access to books, a reading room, training in modern technology like computer literacy and more opportunities to spend time in creative activities.
Putting her experience as an art educator to use, she designed learning modules to encourage story writing, painting, sketching, wood block printing, collage making, stitching and tailoring, recycling waste fabric and cardboard cartons to create useful items such as pen holders and organisers not just for children but rural women too, as a source of additional income. A fierce advocate of women’s empowerment and an educator who adopted an unconventional approach to learning and teaching.
She lived by the proverb “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. She believed that teaching self-sufficiency through skills and knowledge was more beneficial than mere temporary aid or assistance. That knowledge is not from books alone. Knowledge has to be gained by doing, so that one could earn a livelihood from it. To her, learning had to be hands-on. One had to learn a skill, keep at it to get proficient, and thereby benefit and earn from it. Sabiha believed that all learning is learning for life. This became the core tenet and foundation of Ajji’s Learning Centre.
She emphasized the need to focus on the welfare of underprivileged children from dysfunctional families and single mothers in particular. She hoped to motivate them to become more financially independent and thereby mitigate potential chances of exploitation and abuse. Built on the philosophy of simple, creative and compassionate living, the centre has emerged as a space where local youth can upskill and train themselves for better livelihood and job opportunities through its various courses and collaborative activities. Exactly a month after the inauguration of Ajji’s Learning Centre, Sabiha passed away on April 5, 2022. Yet, her legacy is being carried forward by her committed team of trustees and well-wishers.
Manju Balasubramaniam is a passionate educationist with more than three decades of experience in K-12 schools.
A firm believer in Inclusive Education, Manju believes that education should bring the marginalised to the mainstream and should help create society that provides equitable opportunities for all children to live, learn and play together. Manju has been our Managing Trustee since the inception of Ajji’s Learning Centre.
Suja Swaminathan is a teacher with a Master’s in Education from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai. She runs an alternative learning centre in Bengaluru called Bidiru. She believes in the transformative power of teaching-learning spaces and the need to nurture children’s voices and their agency.
Suja has been keenly involved in enabling frequent interactions between the members of Ajji’s Learning Centre, school children as well as different resource persons from Bengaluru.
Pervez is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. He designs all the visual communication for Ajji’s Learning Centre.
Pervez (aka Puru Sir) also conducts open-air classes amongst the rocks and bamboo groves for students who wish to polish their English diction. Using a book on Ornithology of India (a generous patron donated several copies of the book to the ALC library), he combines an appreciation for nature while helping children and adults speak better English in an interactive, relaxed and casual atmosphere.
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but
that makes our life in harmony with all existence.” – Rabindranath Tagore