Located at just a six-minute drive away from Jaisalmer’s famous Sam Sand Dunes, this architectural marvel situated in Kanoi village aims to educate and empower girls. The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School is made up of yellow sandstone and has no air conditioners and yet remains cool.
Yes, that’s right!
The school has a unique oval-shaped structure that blends in the desert. The school area, known as the Gyaan Centre, accommodates 400 girls from kindergarten to Class 10th. There’s another building in the school where women are trained in traditional arts like textiles and weaving.
Can you imagine a school so huge?
The facilities of the school include classrooms, a library, a computer centre, a textile museum, exhibition space, a performance hall and a bus facility to transport students from the neighbouring villages. Apart from this, students are also provided midday meals to ensure appropriate nutrition.
Definitely sounds like a dream school, doesn’t it?
Kareem Khan, the contractor of the institution, mentioned that the courtyard in the building can harvest and store 3.5 lakh litres of water. He also mentioned that for construction, the local sandstone has been used to provide protection from extreme heat during the day and warmth in the evening.
TBH, it looks nothing like a school. Does it?
It took a decade for Michael Daube, founder of a non-profit organisation CITTA, to build and conceptualise the entire building. He even roped in US-based architect, Diana Kellogg to conceive the design.
Jaisalmer Maharawal Chaitanya Raj Singh said that the school’s oval shape symbolises womanhood across many cultures and also projects infinity. He also mentioned that the Jaisalmer Foundation president, Manvendra Singh, collected the money for the school himself. Even actor Sonam Kapoor and numerous eminent designers pitched in with contributions.
YES, A DECADE.
With the main objective of encouraging girls to come and study, he believes that this school will be a milestone for shaping the future of girls in rural areas. Students here can study and play in the protected courtyard without worrying about the extreme weather.
Here’s the clip of the school CITTA posted on YouTube:
Note: All the images are taken from CITTA’s clip.
What do you think of this uber ‘cool’ school?