Page:Rabindranath Tagore - A Biographical Study.djvu/166

 are held in the open air when the weather is fine; in fact, then the whole life of the school goes on out of doors. It is a garden school. The various classes meet under different trees in the grounds, each boy, when there is writing to be done, taking his own mat, ink-pot, paper and pen.

At twelve o'clock they have their dinner. Because of the afternoon heats of India, practically all the hard work of the school is got through in the morning hours. In the afternoon the work is light; they have their lessons to prepare; then comes tiffin, and games, drilling, gardening follow. In place of joining in the games some of the older, more capable boys go to the neighbouring village, where they hold evening classes to teach the village-lads. After games come the evening bath, meditation, and the chanting of a Sanskrit hymn before the last meal, and when the meal is over the scholars have an hour of story-telling, acting dramatic scenes, singing, and so on. This pleasant time is not shared in by the older boys who are working for matriculation; in their case extra hours of work are necessary, but for all the rest evening study is forbidden.