Our Garden Gooseberry

Our Anonymous Man says "A “garden” is thus a state of the world where there is cooperation and equilibrium between Spirit and Nature", where Spirit is to be understood as the domain of human pursuits. And as only our Anonymous Man can (seamlessly traversing between western esotericism to Hindu philosophy)…

Neem

I am older than I seem‌‌ Come, sit near me‌‌ Let me see you dream‌‌ Up above there is a Seraphim‌‌ But down here with you‌‌ I am the Neem. So we begin our wander around the campus, looking at our trees. Northstar's campus is home to many trees. Most…

Trees of Northstar

Trees of Northstar. Our guardians. Custodians of memories. Listeners of our tales. They will be here when we no longer are. This is our attempt to share the beauty and grace of our trees. These are our stories and this our art. In the next weeks, we will share some…

Revamping K12 Education Methodology

This article originally appeared in Financial Express on October 8, 2023 It would be unnecessary to overstate the prevalence of mental health challenges faced by teenagers and adolescents in the present world. It would suffice to reflect on one's self and surroundings to see the prevalence of mental health disorders…

One Year of Raga Svara

A year of Raga Svara. It has now been 1 year since we opened for guests. When we started building this place, many summers ago, the thought of operational functioning was far away, nearly impossible and, honestly, a bit repulsive. One cannot see a thing of beauty suddenly have practical…

Dying of Our Dreaming

What was it you haunted so far that we must dream of it always, dying of our dreaming? And of what other state do you speak so low that we cannot remember it? -George Seferis This poem has haunted me for as long as I can remember. I never knew…

Folk Tales Project at Northstar

I have started a small new project to bring Folk Tales (and fairy tales) from around the world to learners at Northstar, with a particular focus on tales from India. I have, since quite a long time, felt the need to tell and hear stories that feel rooted in our…

Landscapes of Aravalli

One of my goals at Raga and Northstar is to understand our ecology; our relationship to it and our perception of it. Landscape affects us: the trees, the plants, the rocks, the crevices, the contours, the undulations, the textures, the smells, and all the minutiae that fill every corner of…