Mysuru: Books for studies, free meals and clothes to wear reminds us of a normal school many a times. If one adds agriculture, a bank and a fitness centre, a genius will run out of words to give a title to such an institution. However, the people behind such a venture have termed it as ‘Kaliyuva Mane’ (House of learning) considering the inmates  who are orphans, destitute, physically challenged, school drop-outs and child labourers before joining this abode of knowledge.

The couple behind this unique institution is MR Ananth Kumar, an engineer by profession and his wife Padma. Anath lost everything during his childhood and his onward struggle for identity gave birth to this project in 1992. He started giving tuitions to children who failed in exams and street children at Srirampuram in Mysuru. Later, he involved himself in screen printing which provided little income and gave an opportunity for few youths to stand on their own by printing visiting and greeting cards.  

Not satisfied by the developments, he raised a fund and managed to get donors for his dream project in terms of land, infrastructure and operational costs based on which Kaliyuva Mane (House of learning) came into existence. With 14 children to begin in the year 2005 in a plot of 2.38 acres, there is significant improvement in the number of children and the delivery mechanism from the institution to make these special children self-confident and self-reliant.

Kaliyuva Mane is run under the auspices of Divya Deepa Charitable trust located in a village Kenchalagudu on Mysuru-Manadvadi Road. Today it has many donors and institutional support and is involved in making learning for deprived children a joyful experience. Every tutor dons the role of an elder brother and aids in the child’s learning based on individual capacity and not by exerting pressure.

Today children learn the various aspects of their curriculum and are also involved in other activities like singing, physical fitness regime, yoga and storytelling among others. In addition, they are taught regular subjects like mathematics, science, social studies and languages. They are trained in English to help them to be in par with other school children. Epic tales like Ramayan, Mahabharath and Panchantantra are narrated and autobiographies of renowned personalities are made known through storytelling. The children are made to show case their talent and periodic exams are held to assess and motivate them. The greeting cards made by the children have many takers because of their quality and this gives some income to manage institutional overheads.

Children’s Bank, a unique concept

A boy lagging in mathematics was once sent to a shop to purchase 3 kilograms of rice. After paying the shopkeeper Rs 50, he managed to procure the exact change back after working many permutations and combinations. This gave room to a Children’s bank where passbooks and cheque books are provided to children to make them financial literates over a period of time. The bank contains a cash box, challan book and a register so that the children can keep track of their expenses. The children are a given a fixed amount in the beginning  and are asked to buy toothbrush, paste, sweets , stationary  and other daily requirements and keep track of the cash outflow. The amount earned by them through their efforts gets added to the deposit. Each student takes up the role of a Bank Manager for a specific period to oversee the operations in the children’s bank.

Computer literacy is a part of the project to make the children tech savvy.

The ambience, caring attitude, brotherhood associated with service makes learning a joyful experience for neglected group of children who dream of building their future in this house of learning.

Those who wish to reach out and contribute towards a noble cause can contact:

Kaliyuva Mane,
Divya Deepa Trust,
Near Saluhundi,
Rayanakere Post,
Manadavadi Road,
Mysuru – 570 008.
Ananth Kumar 9341369901