Madhupur, Feb. 22: “I miss it so much. I often call up Aunty to ask if I can come back early.” Anandrupa Bagchi, a class IX student of Madhusthali Vidyapeeth, was talking about “coming back” even before the end of vacation to her school — a residential institution in Madhupur subdivision in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district. “Aunty” is the school’s founder-trustee Usha Kejriwal.

Madhupur, once a favourite destination for people planning a refreshing getaway, is a calm and idyllic town anyone would want to keep “coming back” to. And it isn’t any different for Madhusthali students.

The latest addition to the string of residential schools in Jharkhand, Madhusthali Vidyapeeth is an institution inspired by the legendary Nalanda and Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan.

The school was founded by Usha Kejriwal, the daughter of a former Raja of Hatras in Uttar Pradesh. Married in a rich business family in Calcutta, the 60-something Kejriwal gave up a successful career in the gold-silver jewellery trade to set up the school in 1997.

While residential schools like Netarhat Boys School and Indira Gandhi Girls’ High School, Hazaribagh, are in prime locations of the respective towns, Madhusthali is 4 km away from the town centre on 40 acres of land on the banks of the river Patro. The landscape, strewn with rocks and trees, was incorporated into the architecture by Nariman Gandhi.

Madhusthali can take in 200 students. The school admits 25 in each class. At present there are 175 children in the school, which has classes from III to XII and ICSE and ISC affiliation. There are 17 teachers, all residential, and 38 non-teaching staff, all locals. Art, music, computer, taekwondo classes are compulsory here. There are classes for sculpture, dance, yoga, photography and boxing, too.

The school has separate grounds for basketball, athletics, and other ball games. According to Kejriwal: “I want my children to not only be intelligent but also tough. I believe in educationist Trader Horn’s philosophy that education must prepare you ‘to walk alone’.”

The hostel blocks for students are cottages with tiled-roofs. Adjoining every student block is a teachers’ quarter. Almost every wall on the structures is adorned by paintings done by the students as part of their art class. The school often invites renowned artists to conduct workshops for the children.

The main school building is a red-brick structure. Classes are, however, not confined to the building. “The sofa-set — a tiled-roof circular enclosure open on all sides — is a favourite spot during art and literature classes a la Shantiniketan.

“I used to study in Nava Nalanda in Calcutta,” said class VII student Nivedita Ghosh. “My parents decided that I should go to a boarding school. I was not too keen, thanks to horror stories I had heard about the residential schools. But when we came here to check out the place I changed my mind. I love the sprawling and picturesque campus. I love the freedom to roam about without the fear of being run over by a vehicle,” she quipped.

“I liked the serene ambience of the place. Madhupur used to be health resort of sorts in the days gone by. This place is famous for its pure water. Moreover, I found the fee structure (Rs 45,000 all inclusive) affordable,” said a parent, S. Ghosh of Calcutta.

Bishaka Haldar — whose son studies in Class VII — liked the place so much, when she came from Calcutta a year back, to get her son admitted that she stayed back here as hostel in-charge. Kejriwal too stays at the school. Parents, who come to visit their children, are put up at the school’s guesthouse.

“I like it a lot here, but I miss being in a city. I get bored at times. We do have weekend campfires on campus and occasional film shows. We also have town visits but Madhupur is not too exciting. So the visits are not really worth looking forward to,” a Class V boy from Patna said.

Madhusthali has sent up three batches of ICSE and one ISC batch. Principal Matthews said: “We’ve had 100 per cent success rate in the exams. Our students have scored as high as 93 to 95 per cent in their boards.”

“Our cut-off marks for admission are not very high. I think it is a greater achievement to take in a student with 45 to 50 per cent marks and then have him /her pass out with flying colours than to take in one with 80 per cent marks and have him/her do the same,” he added.

Though equipped with all necessary facilities, like a gym, a laboratory, an open-air auditorium, a mini-library, transport, an ambulance, nurses, Madhusthali still has hurdles to overcome. According to Kejriwal funds are a problem. “We haven’t been able to complete the swimming pool for three years now due to a funds crunch.” She refuses to take government aid for fear of interference. “I am also planning a bigger library,” she added.

(Contact Usha Kejriwal at www.madhusthalividyapeeth.org or 033-22185703)