TUITION
During your stay we can arrange for you to learn Yoga, handloom weaving, classical Indian singing or cooking from the family and other people from the local community. The knowledge of yoga and traditional arts, crafts and music is dying out in the Kullu Valley, and very few people in the new generation wish to, or can afford to take it on.
Local people are often very surprised to see western
tourists interested to learn their arts & crafts, which they consider
to be rather backward - a simple past-time of uneducated villagers.
By going to India with a genuine interest to learn
Yoga, local arts, crafts and music, not only can you provide artisans
with extra income, you can also boost cultural self-esteem, which is
often eroded by modern Indian society promoting idealised images of
western consumer culture.
Ananda is not meant to be an arts & crafts school; we simply provide the opportunity to learn, and exchange knowledge with local artisans of a different culture. Our teachers are not trained to teach foreigners, not all of them speak perfect English and they may not understand your sense of logic - and this is part of the experience. Every teacher is very skilled at what they do, and if you go into the lessons with an open mind, you may learn much more than you bargained for.