When and why did you decide to take up education as your career?

I belong to a family of educationists as my grandparents and my mother were all into teaching, so it was a natural progression for me to get  into teaching. Now I have moved on to the administration.

As an educationist, you are touching many human lives directly. Do you think educational institutions can play a significant role in overall development of students by encouraging them to take up co-curricular interests like Music, Art, Dance or Sports?

Where else the children will  imbibe the values of overall development? This aspect must be inculcated in school itself. Parents are now realising that schools are becoming more academics- oriented and hardly invest in MADS. Schools don’t have the  time, infrastructure and facilities.  Moreover, the curricula is so extensive and demanding that there is really no time for any diversions. That is why boarding schools  like ours are suitable because we are able to provide that kind of holistic experience to the children.

What are some of the most important initiatives related to co-curricular that you have taken in the institutions you have served?

Co-curricular, personality and character-building activities are the main aspects of education we opt for  in our institution. We encourage every child to  participate  in  performing arts and literary activities. Now a days children do not show up to present themselves for these  at all,  for their  preoccupations are many. . Many of them are just couch potatoes,  but here we have made it compulsory for them to participate in any one performing art activity. We have Dance, Singing and Theatre in performing arts. In literary activities, we organise debates, elocution competitions and group discussions; also focusing more on honing children’s overall organising skills. The daily  schedule is designed in such  a way that  specific time for every activity has been allotted and there isn’t any sort of sacrifice made to replace study time and sports time. We ensure  that the child only does  that particular activity in the stipulated  time slots. Children get praised and get credits for the activities they do. This boosts their self -esteem when they win accolades. Then they automatically start performing well in their academics. Some children are weak in academics and  their self esteem is low due to the constant taunts thrown their way and odious comparisons.. As they perform well and get appreciated in any activity of their interest, their self-image   improves and eventually their academic scores also increase, When a  child’s self confidence is high,, s/he makes friends, experiences interest in things around her and is ready to take initiatives.. These are the intangible benefits of co-curricular activities.

In the days when most people measure success only by academic score, how would you convey to the parents of your students that co-curricular education is not something to be looked down upon?

At the end of the day, it is entirely upto the  parents on how they want their child to grow up. We as educationists, cannot enforce  priorities . But we can surely guide them. For me, I am keenly  aware of how participation in  MADS activities improve the  Social  and Emotional Quotient of  an individual .Thankfully,  nowadays there are not many people who are against these activities because the scope in these fields has become quite clear. Parents are very often unable to keep away their children from distractions such as television, internet, social media, etc. and as a result, children do not get any time to spend on co-curricular activities. Hence, parents tend to put their children in schools where children get  an overall exposure  to all activities.

If you were to suggest one major change in perspective of co-curricular education, what would that be?

I’m very happy that our government has proposed an initiative to make it compulsory for institutions to merge co-curricular activities’ grades with that of academics. I would definitely want  schools to give  incentives for children who are talented in a particular sport or art to get extra credits  so that  they may pursue their talent without any guilt.. This will encourage lots of students to take up such activities. Thanks to satellite television for continuously promoting  children who are excelling in MADS apart from academics, proving  to the world that there are alternate career options available in these fields if the child trains well.

Please let us know about some key achievements of your institution and/or your student(s) in MADS at national/international level?

One student has a slight learning impediment. But she is a very skilled sportsperson. She has reached  the national level in Karate. We do not worry much about her studies now  because she herself ensures giving equal time to both.  A teenager who joined us in grade 11 ,whose parents were frustrated with her rebellion, her insolence and lack of obedience, is now an ace footballer. Her anger and misbehavior is a thing of the past. Today she has a sense of direction and is ever ready to take on new responsibilities or to help juniors in their studies. This is an achievement1 
All our children have become competent public speakers, thanks to our compulsory Public Speaking Program . Three of them  debuted at TED x events. Heritage Girls School has been organizing Ted Talks in our school for the past two  years  Their video has been uploaded in Ted Talk’s official website. We host a  national cooking competition (NCC)  where  celebrity chefs endorse the event and evaluate the contest.  We will  soon be publishing a cookbook that features the prize-winning entries  The school has  officially adopted a monument, the 11th century Sahastra Bahu temple from the Archeological Survey of India  and the girls take responsibility for its upkeep. Our Social Service Club runs an Adult Literacy program and has been responsible for teaching many villagers basic 3Rs   The students themselves have initiated  the Zero Wastage program and the Tree plantation Scheme and monitor these themselves. 
   We also organize  the Inter school Model United Nations activity. Children are indeed excelling well in all these activities. Whether a child is good at sports or s/he is creating something in robotics, parents must understand the caliber of their children at such levels.

What are your personal interests in Music, Art, Dance or Sports and how do you continue to pursue them?

I do lot of reading; I love gardening and I am a good cook.

Any other thoughts you may want to share.

If children are addicted to social media or the internet, we adults are to blame. Just try spending time with them and engaging in simple activities like,trekking, running, dancing or learning a musical instrument. You will be able to wean them away from all addictions!