Sufi Saint School -
origins

"I am planting a tree which I hope will have flowers of different colours in the future" Inam Hassan Gudri Shah

Inam Hassan relates: "In 1990, when the riots between Muslims and Hindus in India reached their peak, I knew that I had to get up and do something. I had the vision of a school which could prevent the reoccurrence of violence and misery, a school which is a loving and harmonious place and where children learn respect for others and get a thorough education to help themselves in life ... Soon after I taught my first class of Muslim and Hindu children in the Chillah – under a tree on two carpets from home and some chocolate as incentive."

With the help of donations Inam Hassan soon built a very simple school with only a tin roof. The land on which the school sits belongs to his family and is situated on a hill overlooking the town of Ajmer on one side and the Ana saga lake on the other. On this hill is also the burial site of several sufi saints (the Chillah) and it is from this relationship that the school derives its name.

In 1993 the school was recognized by the state. Since then the school has added new classes year on year and new classrooms of very simple construction were provided as means allowed to acommodate the growing number of students.
In the year 2001 Inam Hassan got married. His wife Amina has since worked tirelessly beside him for the wellbeing of the students and the running of the school and took on the role as Director.

The teaching conditions of the original school were difficult: in summer students and teachers coped with temperatures up to 50 degrees under the simple roof, whilst in winter they were chilled to as low as 6 degrees due to the absence of exterior walls! Given the great need, Inam had the courage to take out a bank credit to enable the construction of a new school building, which would, by 2008 house all the school classes.

Photo: The Old School