“I walked in expecting to feel sorry for someone. I walked out wondering why I'd ever felt sorry for myself over things that, frankly, sort themselves out.”
• Tariq Sallam, The City 24/7
I went to Sri Rakum School for the Blind expecting a quiet, slightly sad afternoon of nodding solemnly and taking a few respectful photographs.
What I got instead was a kid beating me at a memory game, a Braille lesson that left me feeling functionally illiterate, and a fierce urge to donate my entire wardrobe on the spot.
If you're Googling "Sri Rakum School for the Blind" because you're planning a visit, looking to volunteer, or just heard the name and got curious (hi, same), buckle up.
This one stayed with me longer than most places I've written about for The City 24/7.
Tucked away in Indiranagar, this isn't your typical "school" in the blazer-and-backpack sense.
It's a free, residential home-cum-school for visually impaired children, and, increasingly, for sighted underprivileged kids too, that's been quietly changing lives since 1998.
No fees. No frills.
Just a small army of people who decided that "impossible" was a word worth ignoring.
Quick Information
Because you clearly don't have time to read 2000 words before deciding whether this place is worth your Saturday. Here's the cheat sheet, minus the drama.
So, What Exactly Is Sri Rakum School For The Blind?
Sri Rakum School for the Blind was founded in June 1998 by a man who, and I cannot stress this enough.
Walked away from a career in martial arts in Japan and India to start a school for blind children in Bangalore.
If that sounds like the opening scene of an inspirational biopic, you're not wrong.
Acharya Sri Rakum is still the school's principal today, and the place essentially runs on the philosophy he built it on.
Education, dignity, and zero excuses.
The institution, often searched online as Acharya Sri Rakum School for the Blind, offers completely free education, lodging, and boarding, right from kindergarten all the way to post-graduation.
Children learn to read and write through Braille, get mobility and orientation training so they can navigate the world independently, and are prepared early for the very real, very tough journey of completing school, college, and eventually finding a job or a vocation.
It's registered as a non-government organisation, and it survives almost entirely on donations, volunteers, and what I can only describe as sheer collective will.
The Man Behind The Mission: Who Is Acharya Sri Rakum Ji?
Every time I think I've heard the most unlikely origin story for an NGO, someone tells me about Rakum ji, and I have to sit down again.
This is not a man who woke up one day and decided to start a school.
This is a man who appears to have lived at least four separate lives before he got there, and honestly, reading his story felt less like an NGO founder bio and more like a screenplay someone forgot to option.
As a kid, he was already the sort of over-achiever the rest of us resent quietly.
A serious long-distance runner, a football stopper, and someone who seemed to dabble competitively in every sport with a ball involved.
Cricket, basketball, volleyball, badminton, you name it.
Somewhere in between, he decided sport alone wasn't disciplined enough, so he picked up Judo, Aikido, Kalari, gymnastics, stick fighting, and Praying Mantis kung fu, because apparently one martial art is for beginners.
By 17, he'd opened his own dojo. By 20, he was a certified yoga teacher. By 21, a black belt and branch chief of an international karate organisation.
I say this as someone who, at 21, could barely commit to a gym membership.
Then he went to Japan and learned the tea ceremony and Ikebana flower arrangement from actual Japanese masters, picked up kickboxing in Manchester along the way, and somewhere in this whirlwind of black belts and flower petals, life handed him the moment that actually mattered.
In 1982, while teaching children affected by polio, he stumbled onto a form of movement-based treatment that helped many of them recover mobility without medication.
It drew serious media attention at the time, and it seems to be the moment his path quietly shifted from martial arts champion to something far more purposeful.
Seeing how much unmet need existed among children with disabilities, he started teaching a handful of them in Indiranagar.
That small, informal effort eventually grew into a registered charitable trust in 1987, and by 1998, it had become the Sri Rakum School for the Blind we know today.
Beginning with just three students and growing, over the decades, into an institution that has supported hundreds of children.
What I find most telling is how he actually teaches.
Rakum ji doesn't run the school like a strict disciplinarian barking timetables.
He leans on Zen philosophy, storytelling, and leading by visible example, the same way a martial arts sensei might quietly demonstrate a stance rather than just describing it.
It explains a lot about the atmosphere at the school. Calm, disciplined, but never cold.
The kids don't just get an education. They get a genuine philosophy of self-reliance, handed down by someone who spent his whole life mastering exactly that.
What Is It Like to Visit Sri Rakum School for the Blind?
I walked in with a notebook and my usual "I'm just here to observe" journalist face.
That face lasted about four minutes.
A student, who could navigate the corridor faster than I could with functioning eyesight and Google Maps, casually asked if I wanted to try reading a line of Braille.
I did not manage a single word.
She read an entire paragraph while smiling at my visible struggle. Humbling doesn't quite cover it.
What struck me most wasn't the disability angle at all. It was how ordinary the day-to-day felt.
Kids ribbing each other, someone humming a film song slightly off-key, a genuinely competitive game happening somewhere in the background.
The school doesn't feel like an institution you visit with hushed tones. It feels like a home with excellent comic timing.
How Does Sri Rakum School for the Blind Work?
Here's the part that genuinely impressed me. This isn't a "drop in, feel good, drop out" charity.
The children live on campus, which means the school isn't just handling academics. It's handling everything.
Meals, healthcare, emotional support, life skills, the works.
There's a buddy system where sighted children help look after and guide the visually impaired ones, which honestly sounds like the kind of programme every regular school should be forced to adopt.
Students aren't just taught to survive. They're trained to thrive independently.
That means everything from using a cane confidently on a crowded Bangalore street (a skill I, a fully sighted adult, still don't have) to computer literacy using screen-reading software, music, and vocational training that sets them up for actual employment later.
Several alumni have gone on to college, jobs in the corporate world, and even leadership roles.
A fact the school is, understandably, very proud of.
Why Does the Indiranagar Location Matter?
The Sri Rakum School for the Blind Indiranagar campus functions as the school's headquarters, and its location isn't incidental.
Being centrally placed in Bangalore makes it accessible for volunteers, donors, and CSR partners who want to actually show up rather than just transfer funds and forget about it.
If you've ever wanted to volunteer somewhere in the city that doesn't involve a three-hour drive out of town, this is about as convenient as "life-changing" gets.
The campus has, over the years, expanded its footprint with additional facilities in and around Bangalore to accommodate the ever-growing number of children who need a place like this.
The core mission across every location remains identical.
Free, dignified, world-class education for kids who'd otherwise have none of it.
What Do Visitors and Volunteers Say About the School?
If you go looking for a Sri Rakum School for the Blind review, you'll notice a pattern pretty quickly.
Visitors, volunteers, and donors consistently mention two things.
The transparency of the organisation, and how much more "alive" the place feels compared to what they expected walking in.
Corporate volunteers have spoken about how well-organised the school is, despite operating almost entirely on donations.
Former students describe an environment where they were pushed to be independent rather than coddled, which, if you ask me, is the actual definition of good education, disability or not.
People also frequently mention that the school welcomes more than just cash.
Old clothes, packaged food, kitchenware, and even furniture are gratefully accepted, and anything that can't be used directly is sold to raise funds.
It's refreshingly practical for an NGO.
How Can You Help Sri Rakum School for the Blind?
Look, I'm not going to pretend this section is neutral.
After spending an afternoon there, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you exactly how to get involved:
- Donate money. even small, one-time contributions go toward food, educational materials, and Braille resources.
- Sponsor a meal. for a child: a small act that has an outsized impact.
- Donate goods. clothes, non-perishable food, kitchenware, and furniture are all welcome.
- Volunteer your time. whether it's teaching a skill, helping with fundraising, offering medical support, or just showing up to spend time with the kids.
- Corporate CSR partnerships. the school actively works with companies looking to fulfil their social responsibility mandates meaningfully.
What Recognition Has the School Received?
Over the years, the school and its founder have picked up a fair number of accolades.
Recognition for social service excellence, and civic honours acknowledging decades of quiet, unglamorous work with some of the city's most vulnerable children.
None of this comes up in casual conversation at the school itself, which tells you a lot about the culture there.
Nobody's chasing a trophy cabinet. They're just chasing outcomes.
Kids who can read, walk, work, and live with dignity.
What I found genuinely moving is that this recognition hasn't changed the school's operating philosophy one bit.
It's still run on donations, still relies on volunteers, and still treats every child.
Whether they arrived as an infant or a teenager who lost their sight later in life, as someone with a full, capable future ahead of them, not a "case" to be managed.
What Should You Know Before Visiting?
A little practical honesty, since I'd have appreciated this myself.
The school doesn't offer pickup services for donated goods, so if you're planning to drop off clothes, food, or furniture, you'll need to actually make the trip yourself.
It's also a residential institution with children living on-site, so it's worth calling ahead before turning up.
Both out of courtesy and because you'll likely get a much better sense of how you can help if someone can walk you through it in person rather than you just wandering the corridors like I did on my first fifteen minutes there.
And bring an open mind rather than a "let me feel sad for an hour" mindset.
The kids don't want your sympathy nearly as much as they want your actual involvement.
A donated textbook, a Saturday of your time, or simply spreading the word so more people know this place exists.
Contact Details
Planning to visit, volunteer or drop off a donation? Here's exactly how to reach the good folks at Sri Rakum School for the Blind.
FAQs
Is Sri Rakum School for the Blind really free?
Yes. Education, lodging, and boarding are entirely free for the children, from kindergarten right up to post-graduation.
Who founded Sri Rakum School for the Blind?
It was founded in June 1998 by Acharya Sri Rakum, who continues to serve as the school's principal.
Where is the main campus of Sri Rakum School for the Blind located?
The headquarters is in Indiranagar, Bengaluru, making it one of the more centrally located NGOs of its kind in the city.
Does the school accept only visually impaired children?
Primarily, yes, but it also supports sighted underprivileged children as part of its inclusive approach.
Can I visit the school in person?
Most visits are best arranged in advance by contacting the school directly, especially if you're volunteering or bringing a donation.
Does the school offer pickup for donated items?
Generally no. You'd need to drop off donations yourself, so plan your visit accordingly.
How can I trust that my donation is used well?
The school is a registered NGO with a long operational history since 1998, and it's transparent about its funding, projects, and how donations are utilised. Details are available directly through their official channels.
Before You Go
If there's one thing I want you to take away from this (besides my questionable Braille attempt), it's this.
Sri Rakum School for the Blind isn't asking for your pity. It's asking for your participation.
Whether that's a donation, an old jacket you don't wear anymore, or a Saturday afternoon of your time, it genuinely counts.
So go on. Visit, volunteer, or at the very least, share this article with someone in Bangalore who's been looking for a way to give back that isn't just another five-star charity gala.
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Until the next one, stay curious, stay kind, and maybe learn a line of Braille while you're at it.
Same city, new stories, always.
