Swami Keshwanand, an orphan, illiterate, nomadic man who never received formal education, was the founder of more than 300 schools, 50 hostels and innumerable libraries, social service centres and museums. In 1911, within a few years of his initiation into the Udasin Dasnami sect as a sanyasi, swami Keshawanand started the "Vedant Pushp Vatika" library within the precincts of the Sadhu Ashram Fazilka. The following year, he started a Sanskrit school at the same place. In 1932, swami Keshwanand was made director of the Jat School, Sangaria, which was at the verge of closure for want of funds. He went from village to village to collect funds, and was successful in averting the closure of the school, which was renamed Gramothan Vidyapith, Sangaria in 1948. Within the precincts of this school, Swami Keshwanand developed a museum with a valuable collection of rare documents, paintings and antiques, thus initiating the idea of conservation in a profoundly backward area. The students of the school, aided by the local community, undertook a large-scale, successful project to green the precincts of the school, which is located in one of the most arid regions of India. Gramothan Vidyapith, Sangaria has become an inspiration for educators far and wide.