17th July 2023,, 2.00 Pm - Secmol School
Personally, I'm not a movie buff. I have lost that ability to sit through even a movie under two hours let alone a three hour blockbuster. The last full length movie I watched was Kantara, only because it took me back to my days in Manipal and Udupi. Most other movies, when I do see anything is watched in bits and pieces, with my family.
The "3 Idiots", is a 2009 movie starring Aamir Khan in the lead role of Rancho. It explores the college education system and how it puts students into pressures of different kinds. Aamir Khan's character is loosly based on the life of Sonam Wangchuk an innovator and education reformist of Leh. (More details if you click the names).
RANCHO' SCHOOL
If you are taking the regular tourist circuit and are very keen on visiting the "3 idiots' " school and shooting location, you will, most likely, be directed to Rancho's School which is actually the Druk Padma Karpo School. This school is located in Shey village, about 15 kilometres along the Leh-Manali Highway (NH 3). After it became famous, tourists to Ladakh make a bee line to this school for selfies and photo opportunities at the 'Rancho Wall'.
However this popularity has proved to be more of a bane than a. blessing. Unruly tourists posing for photos at the wall in peeing posture, perhaps peeing too, and photographing students and teachers inside the classrooms, without permission, have made the management build a replica Rancho's Wall in a separate area inside the campus.
All over the world, Indian's as tourists are looked at with disdain because of our unruly behavior. While all of us don't behave like idiots, the few who do, give us all a bad name. So it is not surprising that the school management learnt the hard way.
Anyway, cut the story short, we didn't enter Rancho's school! (All photos, above, (and a few below) have been sourced from the internet as we didn't go inside). That was because, we had already been to the school that was the inspiration for Rancho's School in "3 Idiots", Sonam Wangchuk's Secmol School.
SECMOL SCHOOL
On our return leg from Indus Sangam, Tsewangji said that we could drop in at the Secmol school on our way back to Leh. Since it was already lunchtime, we stopped to eat at a restaurant just before the turn off from the highway to Phey village, and theron to Secmol campus. As you reach the arched gates, the first thing you see, on the left, are the two solar panels that form a part of the grid providing power to the campus. It so happened that we reached beyond the 'free' visiting hours and so, entry and campus tour was chargeable after 12 noon!
The unique thing about this school is that you can get admission only if you FAIL in your 10th standard! The education that is imparted in this school is not your typical subjects that you find in schools in other states or even in Leh. The objective of the Secmol method is to teach you how to survive in real life, meaning education for sustainable living, through experiential learning. SECMOL is an abbreviation of Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh.
Students enrolled here learn English because eventually they have to go out into the world, and communication is critical. All other things are very informal. While we were there, the students were involved in their designated daily activity. One student, who was assigned to us as the guide, took us around the campus and introduced us to the innovative methods they use to run the school.
The campus, almost entirely, runs on solar power, though there is also a backup generator for emergency. The solar energy is used for lighting, charging batteries, heating water and also cooking. They have an innovative way for using solar power for cooking using solar panels made with mirrors to reflect light onto the vessels. (Check the website for details). Drinking water is from a deep bore well, pumped by solar energy.
The buildings are also uniquely constructed. They are built with 'rammed earth'. It means exactly that, a mixture of sand, slit, gravel and clay are poured between two panels and 'rammed' so that it becomes compacted. Layers on layers are applied till the requisite height is reached. The walls of the buildings here are two layered with the gap stuffed with sawdust, small wood bits, paper and such stuff that act as insulators. It serves as ventilation in summer and helps keep the heat inside in winters.
Another unique feature is that the the buildings are 'sunk' one metre below the ground level. This is to make optimum use of the earth's temperature, which is comparatively warmer than the external temperatures outside in winter and cooler in summer.
The windows of the buildings in Secmol School face south so that natural light is available all year round. There are also additional skylights covered with glass or plastic keep in warmth and let in the daylight in larger rooms. Another unique feature is the use of plastic sheets in winter that are draped at an angle outside the buildings in winter. These become greenhouses for the buildings, keeping the heat in during winters and allowing for growth of vegetables. They are rolled up in summer to prevent overheating. (More about the unique architectural features here)
The school is run by its students. By that, I mean exactly that. While food is sourced from the local market, the school has a fairly large kitchen garden growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. Apricots, a very popular Ladakhi fruit is converted to preservative free jam!
Even during winter they grow leafy vegetables under the 'greenhouse' sheets. What was once barren land is now swathed in green along the bank of the Indus. The produce, grown by the students are used in the the school's kitchen. A good part of the harvest is stored in an underground cellar for winter, when all roads to Leh remain closed, and produce from outside is not available. Some are also dried and stored.
The toilets are dry toilets with two composting chambers. When one chamber is filled, the other is used, while the first one is allowed to compost. The manure is then used for in the vegetable and fruit garden. The wastewater from kitchen and bathrooms are allowed to run to the trees through small canals. The other waste generated; be it paper, plastics, wood or anything is collected and recycled.
All in all, a very unique school in a very unique location. It might have a very unconventional approach to education but it teaches the students how to manage in real life, when faced with the extreme conditions of Ladakh. It may not be for everybody but it seems eminently suitable for Ladakh.
Inside the main block, as we entered we found a plastic bottle hanging beside the door. It wasn't a decorative piece but the bottle filled with gravel was serving as an 'automatic' door closer!
We also learnt that the school is run by very smart children. We ended up buying souvenirs before we left the campus!
If you go to Ladakh, don't just go to Rancho's school. Make time to visit Secmol school too. After all Sonam Wangchuk was the inspiration for Rancho! He is the man who made the ice stupa, a very unique water storage system that helps store water during arid summers in Ladakh.
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