I still remember my first visit to Marudam Farm School in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
The day was overcast, with a light drizzle that softened the muddy paths beneath my feet. At the entrance, I paused between two diverging trails, unsure which to take. Then I heard something — a tune drifting across the campus, an instrument accompanied by a voice, drawing me in.
Standing there in that gentle rain, listening to those distant notes, I found my way to the campus where the school was situated. This entire scene is etched into my memory because it was then that I knew I had found somewhere inexplicably special.
From all the classrooms I visited during my three-day visit, there are two experiences that would give you the essence of the school and its environment.
The first one was a Class III and IV where they were exploring the topic of grains.
Children were asked to form teams and walk around the farm looking for different grains. Their lesson on grains transformed into a dynamic, multi-layered investigation that took them beyond textbooks and into the real world. The children, organised into small teams, spread out across the farm like young botanists. They carried notebooks and collection bags, while searching for different grains and seeds, carefully noting exactly where each one was discovered — under trees, near the kitchen garden, in storage areas, or scattered across the farmland.
But the learning didn't stop with the collection.
The students then became researchers, approaching farm workers, kitchen staff, and teachers with thoughtful questions: "What do you use these grains for? How much would they sell for at the market?" Through these simple conversations, what started as a simple grain-hunting exercise bloomed into lessons about agriculture, commerce, and community knowledge.
The project ended with a creative documentation exercise where each team created their own charts, carefully sticking the actual grains and seeds they'd found next to their written observations. This lesson shows you how learning becomes interconnected with life around them while they use all their senses: Touch, smell, sight and sound.
The second experience was in a kindergarten classroom where the children were taken out on a walk to a small forest patch. They were made to sit in a clearing and asked to observe the colours and sounds around them.
I was astonished to see how children as young as five could name birds that they spotted around them. A few of them could even tell you the name of the bird by listening to its call! Now people might say, “How is learning about birds or knowing their names useful?” But education is not only about employability but it's also about feeling empowered about our own identity.
The only way to be at ease with one’s identity is to learn about our immediate environment and context. This gives us a deeper and richer understanding of who we are in this world and what makes us unique.
Here are a few points that make this school unique:
Learning through nature
The entire school is built on farmland which creates an extraordinary learning environment where children can grow up intimately connected with nature and treat it as a part of themselves.
When talking to Poornima, one of the Founders, she said that at the end of a child’s education here, the least she hopes is that they walk away with some sort of deep connection and respect for nature. This concept has become alien to children living in urban areas as academic life is separate from the life around us, thus, a disconnect between nature and humans keeps growing.
Marudam’s daily education involves hands-on exploration using simple tools like magnifying glasses and measuring tapes, allowing them to make sense of the world around them.
Here is an example I witnessed: A six-year-old girl studying ants observed them relocating their colony and transporting larvae. By watching their behaviour and understanding the weather patterns, she correctly predicted the approaching rain.
Unlike urban children with limited access to nature, Marudam's students learn directly from their environment rather than relying solely on books and videos.
In this simple way, the focus for children is to build a sense of confidence in their own abilities and build a sense of appreciation of their context and roots.
Balancing traditional and alternative education
Since receiving recognition from the Board of Elementary Education in 2012, Marudam has operated as an elementary and primary school up to Class V. Recent expansions include new classrooms, a library, and a laboratory, preparing for recognition up to Class VIII. The school founders have been taking the necessary steps to meet the demands and requirements of the Tamil Nadu Government.
They balance the demands of our current education system with their unique approach to learning. This is best illustrated through their student-led learning philosophy.
Take the case of a student who initially showed no interest in reading or writing. But the teachers around her took into account her fascination for birds. Instead of forcing or coercing her to write out of fear, they used her desire to learn about birds and nurtured that.
They guided her to document her observations and write her reflections. Gradually without too much effort, she organically developed these skills at her own pace. This exemplifies Marudam's belief that children possess an innate drive to learn — they just need the freedom to find their own path.
Community connection
The school made a deliberate choice to remain non-residential. With most students coming from nearby villages, this decision helps children maintain their cultural roots and understanding of real-world contexts.
Students learn to navigate between their school learning, personal aspirations, and the realities of their lives.
The backgrounds of the students were very diverse. There were students from the nearby village, a few from the town of Tiruvannamalai and others are the children of those who live on the farm.
There were others who were children of foreign families which added to the diversity of the community.
Immersive learning in action
Marudam emphasises experiential and project-based learning over theoretical knowledge.
A perfect example is the approach they took when studying streams and water systems. Instead of merely reading about water connectivity, students physically walked up the Arunachala Hill, tracing stream paths, leading to unexpected discoveries — like how tree bark varies in different water bodies and how water moves downhill.
This organic learning process demonstrates how one observation naturally leads to another, creating a rich web of understanding. Whereas if the same topic was learnt through a textbook or a video, the outcome of that process would be linear and not as rich.
It’s just the beginning
Marudam is still in its nascent stages, it is growing alongside the children.
The curvy, fluid structure of the space creates room for children to grow without fear and fills the nooks and corners with a sense of ease and well-being. The school began with a vision to create an environment where children are able to understand their community and surroundings with empathy and compassion.
Instead of pushing children to race through textbooks and lessons, the school is trying to actually help them feel at ease with the world inside and outside of them.
