In the year 1979, a young couple, fresh hand teachers just out of teacher training college, were faced with injustice and inaction everywhere they turned. They saw the keepers of justice lax in their duties and teachers who should have been models to their students involved in all sorts of debauchery. There developed in their hearts a deep-seated realization that something was wrong with the society around them.

Sarang was started as a basic school by this teacher couple to provide remedial classes for academically weak children. Eventually, they realized that it is the education system that was weak in content, usefulness and adaptability rather than the children going through it. They found that the flaws of the present education system have a major role in the increasing criminalism in the present society. Ruthless standardization and competition destroys the creativity, individuality and humanity of children.

With the realization that a family remains incomplete without children they conceived their first child, learning about children together, dreaming about the child to come, and nurturing him in their minds. It was then that they realized they did not want their child to go through an education system which created educated criminals.

This young couple was Gopalakrishnan and Vijayalekshmi. Sarang Alternative School evolved as an answer to their quest for an education system that would allow their own child to grow into a good human being, responsible and responsive to the society.