25-year-old Shrivishnu, strongly believes that education and knowledge are different, and is greatly satisfied that he got both from Agastya International Foundation.
“Education is what you learn from school, but knowledge is something you gain by understanding people, interacting with individuals, learning their language, culture, traditions, food habits, etc.,” he explained.
He hails from the small town of Challakere, Karnataka, about 180 kilometers northwest of Bengaluru. Vishnu’s father is a farmer and TV technician, and his mother manages their home.
Vishnu was introduced to Agastya in the eighth standard at Infant Jesus High School in Challakere, when a Mobile Science Lab, driven by a pair of Agastya instructors, arrived in his village.
“Agastya’s programmes [cater primarily to government schools], so coming across Agastya was complete providence,” he recalled. “When I was 13 years old, a colourful van with vibrant pictures came to my village. Two instructors warmly greeted me and said I was most welcome to try and conduct science experiments by myself, and that they would support me.”
Since young Vishnu was keenly interested in science, this idea interested him. He immediately bought into Agastya’s innovative methods, realising that to him, practical training was more effective than learning theory for remembering course material.
“If you hear a story, you will forget it, but if you see and hear a movie, you remember much more,” he said. “Theory and visualisation are very different. If you practically do projects, they remain in your memory. Performing chemical experiments, seeing, and smelling the reactions with your senses makes learning a memorable and enjoyable activity. If you do it yourself, you will enjoy it. When you enjoy it, you understand, and it will be with you forever.”
His memorable exposure to Agastya was just the first of many, as he would continue learning with the organization over the course of the past 12 years, allowing him to develop confidence, independence, and skills. His experience with Agastya was so effective that he was able to take up a part-time job in a lab and start earning money while in the eleventh and twelfth standards.
“The first thing I got from Agastya is education, second is self confidence, and third, I learnt to overcome my fear, besides learning science in Agastya[‘s] method, which developed my analytical skills,” Vishnu explained.
Years later, he still looks fondly upon his time with Agastya.
“I used to travel in one of the mobile labs and would perform ‘Pavada Rahasya Bayalu’ or the tricks behind superstitions in front of people,” he recalled. “I used to demonstrate experiments, do projects and build models that would inspire students from other schools to come and visit Agastya centres.”
But it wasn’t just students who Vishnu was able to inspire. In 2012, hundreds of visitors attended the Mega Science Fair at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, where Vishnu led a group of students in a presentation. He, along with his team, built a working telecommunication model to demonstrate how communications systems transmit and receive data. They built a four-foot tower with bamboo sticks and created a circuit to showcase the system.
“As a student who could not even speak in front of his class, I was able to present and demonstrate a model in front of hundreds of people,” Vishnu said with a hint of pride. “I truly owe this personal development to the education, knowledge, and exposure gained from Agastya.”
Vishnu’s appreciation for Agastya extends to the faculty, who always provided opportunities for Vishnu and his friends to learn extra material and never said no when he asked for guidance.
“The instructors would always put in 200% of their effort when it came to guiding and encouraging students,” he said. “I can tell with hindsight that every teacher who joins Agastya has a student mindset — they were constant learners themselves, and they would teach everything they learned.”
Over the last dozen years, Vishnu has grown and changed, joining the Army six years ago. As he has matured from boy to man, he has recognized continual growth in the organization that has been so foundational in shaping him.
“Today, I see Agastya has many knowledgeable and resourceful people,” he said. “It has developed in leaps and bounds. Students are getting even better exposure and opportunities. Now, they are even able to build their robots.”
As Agastya continues to grow, Vishnu hopes that its programmes will become even more widely available.
“Education should be free and available to all. Education is not for sale, it is for students to earn. Agastya never formally came to my school or taught my class. I went myself and they welcomed me, and this continues even today,” he said. “I am extremely grateful to Agastya International Foundation, which is like my second home, and I will be with Agastya forever. The major difference between school and Agastya was practically experiencing theoretical concepts, which completely transformed me. Students go for tuition, but I strongly suggest that they visit Agastya learning centres to improve in leaps and bounds.”
