Mountains of Questions: Vimukt Shiksha Yatra 3.0

The centerpiece made by the young participants of the Yatra on the first day at Dharamshala

Vimukt Shiksha Yatra 3.0

"Sometimes the greatest gift of a journey is not the answers it offers, but the questions it leaves behind."

Participants gathered beside the river during the opening ceremony in Dharamshala

The mountains have a way of slowing us down.

Perhaps that's why the third edition of the Vimukt Shiksha Yatra began in the foothills of the Himalayas. Before visiting schools or meeting educators, we gathered by a flowing river in Dharamshala, leaving behind expectations and stepping into a journey shaped by curiosity rather than certainty.

For seven days, 37 participants—students, educators, parents, unschooling families, and lifelong learners—travelled together across Himachal Pradesh. Rather than searching for the "best" model of education, we carried a different intention:

To ask better questions.

Questions about learning.

Questions about childhood.

Questions about freedom.

Questions about the kind of future we are quietly creating.

Every Stop Offered a New Lens

Yatris interacting with students from Nav Gurukula, understanding their day to day lives

Each organization became a chapter in an unfolding story.

At Nav Gurukul, we explored how self-directed learning could coexist with preparing young people for the realities of work. The conversations revealed the delicate balance between nurturing human potential and navigating a world driven by corporate expectations.

The ever sunny “Guruji” speaking about his journey and how the school instills qualities such as empathy and kindness within the students of their school on the second day of the Yatra

At Tong Len School, Guruji shared a vision where kindness and empathy were given the same importance as mathematics or language. Walking through classrooms where compassion itself was treated as a subject left many of us wondering:

What would education look like if becoming a good human being mattered as much as becoming a successful professional? 

Learning to Question

Yatris during the sharing session at Avishkaar Learning Center on the 3rd day of the Yatra

One recurring invitation echoed throughout the Yatra:

Slow down. Notice. Question.

At Aavishkaar Learning Centre, we discovered that curiosity is not something children need to acquire—it is something they need permission to keep.

The facilitators spoke about classrooms where children are encouraged to ask why before memorizing what. Even multiplication tables became an invitation to wonder rather than simply repeat.

Learning, we realized, is less about collecting information and more about remaining awake to the world.

Families Reimagining Childhood

Jim and Pashwa in a conversation Yatris during the un-schooling families’ session

Some of the most intimate conversations happened over tea rather than in formal sessions.

Parents who had chosen unconventional paths shared their journeys of raising children outside mainstream schooling. They spoke honestly about uncertainty, trust, freedom, and the courage required to choose relationships over rigid systems.

One sentence stayed with many of us:

"When our boys were born, we fell in love with them, and we didn't want them to spend their days in places where people loved them less than we did." 

It wasn't offered as a prescription.

It was simply an invitation to reconsider what children truly need.

The power couple Suarabh and Preeti sharing their unSchooling journey with the Yatris on the second day of the yatra

Travelling as a Way of Learning

Traveler’s University Co-creator's Aashik, Rahul and Ashwini sharing about their initiative.

The Yatra also introduced us to initiatives that viewed travel itself as an educational practice.

The founders of Traveller's University challenged the idea of tourism and instead invited us to travel with intention—to build relationships, learn from local communities, and preserve indigenous knowledge through meaningful encounters rather than consumption.

It reminded us that sometimes the road itself becomes the classroom.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

Yatris at the Shoonya farm

Yatris learning about the Deer Park Institute

As the journey unfolded, our conversations gradually expanded beyond schools.

Education led us to farming.

Farming led us to ecology.

Ecology led us to economics.

Economics led us back to ourselves.

At Shoonya Farm, we reflected on self-reliance in an age of climate uncertainty. At Deer Park Institute, conversations with Ashish, Anshul, and Manish Jain invited us to examine the deeper systems shaping modern life—from consumerism and economic dependence to the stories we tell about success and progress.

By then, education no longer felt like a separate topic.

It had become a doorway into understanding how we live.

Yatris in a conversation with Manish Jain Founder of Shikshantar Andolan, Swaraj University and Ecoversities Alliance

The Mountain We Carried Home

A gratitude circle to wrap up the Yatra!

On the final day, there were no examinations.

No certificates.

No graduation ceremony.

Instead, participants shared poems, theatre, songs, stories, laughter, tears, and gratitude. The journey ended not with conclusions but with conversations that continue long after returning home.

The mountains gave us many gifts.

Not certainty.

Not easy answers.

But something perhaps even more valuable—

A deeper relationship with questions.

Because the most meaningful journeys do not simply change where we have been.

They change how we see.

Journey at a Glance

Duration	7 Days
Dates	14–20 May 2019
Location	Dharamshala, Palampur & Bir, Himachal Pradesh
Participants	37
Theme	Reimagining Education Through Learning Journeys
Places Visited	Nav Gurukul, Tong Len School, Aavishkaar Learning Centre, Traveller's University, Sambhaavnaa Institute, Udaan Learning Center , Shoonya Farm, & Deer Park Institute