Gopu has his origins in a conversation held in 1994 between Dr Fenn and his friend and colleague, Raj Supe. Raj asked: “According to you, what is the main thing modern education needs?” Dr Fenn thought for a while and answered: “The smell of a Goat.”

While it may seem like a zen koan, Dr Fenn (Mathai Uncle to his younger friends) was talking about his childhood when his parents bought him and his sister a real goat. Since they didn’t own a farm the goat lived close to the house and often walked into the house (she did not have a cage). It felt like she was truly a part of the family, even though in those days there was a distinct smell of a goat about the house and goat hair was everywhere. Growing up, he often thought of the goat and how hard it must have been for the family, the sacrifices they must have made. Yet these are the very actions that create memories our lives are built on. Although such rich experiences mostly happen outside the classroom, it is in the class we learn the other kind of knowledge, Analytic Knowledge that establishes new connections between things we already know. Hence the core philosophy of TEDI is expressed through Gopu, our mascot, the goat kid.