Page 6 - DAISPORA ALUMNI MEET 2024 - ISSUE 01

MUSINGS 2003 TO 2023 SANJANA SHAH NARANG - CLASS OF 2010

2003 doesn’t seem like Jurassic Age. However, it was time when the
Sensex was at 3000 points (merely a daily gyration today), Atal Bihari
AVANTIKA RAJANI AHUJA - CLASS OF 2012 Vajpayee was our Prime Minister, India’s journey to the Cricket World Cup
Finals was considered miraculous rather than today’s par for the course.
“Time flies and you’re the pilot”, Mr. Basu launched into the IB orientation These anecdotes just elucidate how long 2 decades can be. In fact, none of
for us in 2010 with these words, and yet it took me some time to realise the students of the DAIS graduating class of 2023 were even born at the
that the reins truly lay in my hands.
time of the DAIS’ inception.
Thirteen years later, when I reflect on my time at DAIS, I can’t help but What has changed may be our waistlines and hairlines; however, what
think of the shared experiences that bind us as alumni. Begging Shubhkant hasn’t changed is an immense sense of gratitude for the robust foundation
for an elevator ride, getting thrown out of the library for laughing loudly, that DAIS provided us with before we ventured out of its cocoon.
feeling joy at the possibilities of a fresh booklet of ‘Dhirus’—thrown in
with a sine, cos and a misbegotten tan—turned into a shared grittiness Firstly, at DAIS, we started the day with a prayer, which has evolved into a
and tenacity that every DAIS alumnus wears as a badge of honour. daily practice for me today and we celebrated each festival in school with
pomp and splendor. These small and meaningful rituals kept our Indian
We dared to dream and learned to excel, and now at the 20th year roots resilient irrespective of wherever we may be in the world.
anniversary of our school, I’ve realised that the same tenacity touches
everything I do. I have worn many a hat since graduating, and yet what’s Secondly, DAIS has moved the goal post and constantly reset the bar for
seen me through my toughest tribulations (reasoning with my toddler the finest high school education in the world. As a microcosm of this
hovers near the top), has been my ability to believe in myself. My school institution, we have all imbibed this culture and that’s what sets us apart in
believed in me. My teachers believed in me. They drilled into me that our respective professions. The act of thinking big and constantly breaking
I can be just like the mitochondria; that I, too, can be a complete the proverbial glass ceiling has been deeply ingrained in our DNA.
powerhouse—Mr Paul Stone and Mrs Wilcox will be proud to know that Lastly,and most importantly what turned a switch for me was that our
this was the culmination of my time in their classrooms! teachers made the classroom feel like a safe space to speak your mind and
ask questions. This Socratic mode of pedagogy was novel- it allowed the
Today, I’m a mum of two beautiful baby girls and I’ve built our company introvert in me to break my shell and evolve into a confident individual.
Cococart with my husband, sweetening the lives of those that have been
patrons of our stores. My days are devoted to celebrating the bittersweet evidence that my children are growing up. The work What keeps DAIS at the very center of the future of education and at the
half of my mind simultaneously navigates the murky world of marketing in a world of depleting attention spans, the AI race leading edge of things is that the school keeps itself up-to-date. As we
against humanity and hybrid working. My house is a menagerie when I have my team over, and yet, I’m able to ceaselessly celebrate the culmination of 20 years of DAIS, my husband Soham, also my classmate, and I are excited to re-connect and
pursue excellence in my endeavours, whether as a mother or as a leader, because it’s been drilled into me to accept no less. re-unite with old friends and teachers and see what has changed and what hasn’t.
Today, I’m the pilot steering my children and our time towards a better tomorrow.

SHLOKA AMBANI - CLASS OF 2009

PANKTI MEHTA - CLASS OF 2006 Coming back to DAIS always feels like coming home. It’s like no matter how
many years have passed by, when you walk through the school gates those
I had an almost out-of-body experience recently, entering the gates of DAIS years fall away and you’re consumed in a wave of bittersweet nostalgia and
not as a student, but as a prospective parent with my almost-three-year-old.
Before we left home, my husband asked me a regular question that really memories of random things that your brain decided was way more
struck me: ‘Where do we park?’ important than anything taught in the classrooms.
Twenty years ago, when I was in school, the land that surrounded the New teachers know you because of how old teachers introduce you to
epochal tiered campus was just that…land. A mass of opportunity and them. The seven floor walk up seems even tougher now without a heavy
parking space. Bandra-Kurla Complex, now teeming with the country’s backpack. No more ice creams sold at lunch is a travesty. No matter what
trendiest restaurants, had but one grab-and-go Subway outlet, and one US though, the school still feels ours.
Pizza kiosk, both tucked away inside corners of petrol pumps. Coming back to school as a potential parent? A totally different and surreal
The story of the meteoric rise of BKC maps nicely to that of its early feeling. That intense desire to make your child understand why big school -
inhabitant. As glass towers, sprawling malls and a now-iconic cultural centre and this big school in particular matters. Wondering endlessly what kind of
cemented their spots, it’s evident, even from the other side of the school student he will turn out to be and whether he will have any of the same
gates, that a DAIS student has only dared to dream more ambitiously, and teachers you did. Will he be a nerd like you? A class clown like his dad?
learned to excel more fruitfully, in the two decades since the doors first Most importantly though will he be as happy as you were?
opened. And that’s not only true for results and university placements: The That last doubt dissolves instantly. From all the big school interviews this is
school has engaged students with programmes that span stints from the friendliest, with chocolates handed out at the end. Kids may enter crying
Ecuador to Kenya, entrepreneurship to ecology.
but almost all come out smiling. If they don’t, they get a second chance. All
As a journalist and editor, I often credit DAIS for inculcating in me an parents get a shot at the interview, so the pressure on the kids is less. It’s still
understanding of balanced perspectives. It is, perhaps, the only school about us, but this time as parents.
in the world that made the effort to fly down a British guest lecturer to
showcase the other side of the Indian freedom struggle to its history The ease of being at home coupled with the stress of an interview -
students.I still often put down a great book wanting to take it back to the someone asks why DAIS and you offer a smile and laugh in response. Your
table at Mr Bailey’s English HL class, where we stretched, squeezed and husband jokes it’s so your son can also find his future wife but both of you know it’s about so much more - it’s the friends, the
toyed with words such that they held a unique interpretation to each of us a room —where there were no wrong answers. teachers and every single experience. It’s because the school makes it a point to make sure every child feels seen. It’s because
Crucial for the social media generation, we were taught that every opinion was valid, and how to respect and acknowledge a despite the extraordinarily overachieving grades it’s still wholesome. It’s because it’s the heart that matters and you left a tiny
diversity of thought.Over our many Zoom calls to put this event and newsletter together, with alumni from 20 different years, piece of yours in these corridors.
I’ve been pleased to see that the DAIS core hasn’t changed a bit: Every voice is equal, teacher or student, young or old — and Being a DAIS student was a privilege we appreciated in hindsight - being a DAIS parent is a privilege we know to be grateful
we leave school richer for it. for everyday!

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