Stargazing since 1954: New English School's planetarium lights up young minds across generations

Hindustan Times

25-05-2025

At the heart of Pune's Sadashiv Peth, tucked inside the historic New English School, lies a dome that has transported thousands of children to distant stars and galaxies for decades.
This isn't a modern digital marvel, but one of India's oldest operational planetariums — the Kusumbai Motichand Planetarium — still running shows on its original Spitz A1 projector, a rare and elegant relic of 1950s space education.
Established in 1880 by the Deccan Education Society, New English School has long been associated with pioneering education. But in 1954, it added something rare to its academic arsenal: Asia's first projection planetarium. Housed within the school's Y-shaped building, the dome — just 9 metres across — may seem modest by modern standards. But what it offers is anything but ordinary.
'It's not just a science tool. It's a bridge between heritage and hands-on learning,' said Vinayak Ramdasi, the school's science educator who has been nurturing the planetarium's revival since 2012. 'Every session here sparks something new — questions, wonder, and curiosity.'
The Spitz A1 projector, designed by American engineer Armand Spitz with advice from Albert Einstein, was built for affordability and educational access. The version at New English School is possibly the only one in the world still being used for regular shows. Repaired and upgraded over the years — with new motors, bulbs, and mechanisms to include zodiac constellations — the projector continues to charm students with the sky as it looked, and will look, across space and time.
A unique feature of the planetarium is its ability to recreate the night sky from any time and location. When astronaut Rakesh Sharma visited the school in 2017, Ramdasi recreated the sky above Russia at the exact moment of his historic launch. 'It brought a big smile to his face. That's what this place does — it connects personal moments with the cosmos,' he said.
The school's astronomy programme goes far beyond the dome. Through regular night sky observation camps, hands-on research, and a unique daily series — Roj Ek Prashna Khagolshastracha (A question on astronomy every day) — students from Class 7 to Class 9 immerse themselves in astronomy like few others in India. The initiative to start quiz series was inspired from Jayant Narlikar, astrophysicist who passed away earlier this week.
Over the past seven years, the daily question initiative has sparked more than 2,400 astronomy-related discussions in classrooms.
'We do solar observations, measure Earth's circumference through shadow experiments, track planets, and even identify deep-sky objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and the Crab Nebula,' Ramdasi said. 'And we don't just teach it — students learn to operate telescopes, align them, calibrate them, and locate celestial bodies independently.'
On Friday and Saturday nights, the schoolgrounds turn into a bustling astronomy hub with nearly 200 students participating in observation sessions. More than 1,000 shows have been conducted since 2010, reaching over 40,000 students. Some shows are even held at dark-sky sites around Pune, free from city lights, for deeper sky experiences.
Parents often tell Ramdasi how their children, usually asleep by 8pm, stay up wide-eyed and alert during the camps. 'It's incredible to see how science can ignite such enthusiasm,' he said.
'Our school is not just preserving India's history—we're creating it! We have an incredible planetarium, designed in the spirit of Albert Einstein's vision, and it's the only functional one within a school. I began this course in Class 8, and within just a year, I've developed observational skills to study planets and stars,' said Arnav Khaparde of Class 9.
Students get to travel to a clear, unpolluted area near Pune — one of the highlights of the annual astronomy camp conducted in November. Under the night sky, they gain scientific knowledge that excites and inspires them. 'I still remember the first time I saw a planet through the telescope. It felt like it wasn't far away at all, as if we had become one. That magical moment made me realise I want to pursue a career in astronomy,' Arnav said.
Support from scientists like Vijay Bhatkar, Arvind Gupta, Govind Swarup, and Jayant Narlikar has helped keep the programme rooted in inquiry. 'Asking questions,' Narlikar once said, 'is the true foundation of science.'
At a time when digital planetariums are becoming the norm, the enduring legacy of New English School's dome and its simple mechanical wonder stands as a quiet but powerful reminder that science, when taught with passion and curiosity, needs only a clear sky and a curious mind to thrive.