The British School Alumni Magazine | Issue 12, Summer 2018 What’s Inside TBS Pride Dear Alumni Reunion 2018 2 Alumni Cricket Match 4 Top British School! 3 Give Peace a Chance 6 From Poland, with Love #beautifullyme What’s Inside 5 My Vote My Voice 7th Period

International University 9 Collaborations

10 Decoding Architecture Alumni News 11 12 Dear Alumni

It has been a year of awards for us! Indeed, none of this would have been possible without the continued support We are thrilled to have been conferred of our community, commitment of our the top British International School at staff and the vision of the leadership the British International School Awards team for TBS to achieve excellence. We in London earlier this year. We were would like to thank and congratulate also awarded Outstanding Initiative each one of you for being our pillars of for Supporting Student Safeguarding. strength and a part of our journey. The awards recognise excellence in initiatives spearheaded by British I want to make a special mention schools and educators overseas who of our alumna, Alisar Awwad from help to strengthen the British education the class of 2015, who has started brand globally. a photo campaign to change the hegemonic ideals of beauty. An We were also recognised in Fortune undergraduate student of theatre 's Future 50 Schools Shaping and communications, Alisar questions Success. Schools were evaluated the socially constructed standards of by a select jury of distinguished beauty that ask people to conform to educationalists against parameters a set of, often unattainable, physical that included efforts put in by schools attributes. She aims for people to be to shape careers and their subsequent open and accepting of beauty in all effect on the success of their students. its forms instead of striving to achieve The certification is a unique, one of its its cultural ideal. Please do read more kind recognition to honour schools that about it inside. prepare students for the 21st century and have a vision to craft student Have a great summer. success. Yet another award we received was the Navneet Kaur GRIHA award for Passive Architectural Alumni and Marketing Officer Design for our building. We were also named first runners up in Energy Management. The awards were issued by GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), India's national rating system for green buildings.

@bs is the magazine for friends and alumni of The British School. It is published twice a year by the Alumni Office. The opinions expressed in @bs are those of individual contributors and may not necessarily reflect the views of The British School. Inside front cover: Fragments of My Childhood by Aanavi Sinha, class of 2017 Media: Photo collage Photographs: Staff, students and alumni of the school, and Sahil Fotos ([email protected]) Editor: Navneet Kaur ([email protected]) Design: www.crocusdesign.in Print: Solar Print Process Pvt Ltd, New Delhi ([email protected]) The magazine is available in a downloadable format at www.british-school.org. The Alumni Office can be contacted at [email protected] and +91 11 40664168. 2 BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AWARDS

We are the top British International School of the Year!

We are proud to announce that TBS won two prestigious awards presented by the British International School Awards (BISA) in London in January 2018. The first award was the Outstanding Initiative to Support Student Safeguarding award which recognises the school's stellar work in digital citizenship and child protection. Our digital citizenship outreach supports web-based safeguarding for both students and parents. It has been independently accredited by the Common Sense Education Accreditation Team which describes our dedication to teaching young people how to be safe and responsible digital citizens as inspirational. The second award, and the biggest one of the evening, was the Top British International School of the Year 2018 award. Vanita Uppal OBE, Director, received the award and called it a recognition of our commitment to providing student- centred, high quality education. Senior leaders and educators from well established international schools around the world attended the award ceremony. The jury comprised an esteemed panel of distinguished educators from across the globe. BISA celebrates innovation in strategic, financial and educational projects in qualifying schools. The awards recognised the many truly astounding and inspirational achievements of British schools overseas. They are organised by the British International Schools magazine with the support of ISC Research. Nominations were received from top schools from 38 countries.

3 TBS Pride Meet our alumni who have done a full circle of the journey from graduating as students and then returning to pursue their careers at their alma mater.

From left: Sean Adams (class of 2003), Assistant Head of Enrichment Programme | Narjis Abedi (class of 1997), Art teacher | Monisha Nathani Singh (class of 1989), Curriculum Leader–Human & Social/ Business Studies teacher | Neha Grewal (class of 2007), Art teacher | Naila Grewal (class of 2013), Drama teacher Alumni vs Parents – Raising Funds for a Cause Reunion 2018

Save the Date The next Alumni Reunion will take place on Friday, 21 December 2018 at the school. Details will follow closer to the date of the event. From Poland, with Love It was the summer of 1976 when school ended for me. I vividly remember the moment l put my A level history exam paper on the desk in front of Madame Sen and exited the room. I knew then that the most wonderful part of my life, my childhood, had come to an end. The political turbulence of the 70s touched us all in some way as many of us were affected by it. Unlike today, political debate was our favourite pass time in school. We spent a lot of time with friends, both in and outside school, discussing #beautifullyme current affairs, politics and international relations. ‘Growing up, I always believed my curly hair, body type Our teachers inspired us to work hard and pursue and thick eyebrows were ugly. I straightened my hair, success in every walk of life. That impermanence struggled with body image and threaded my eyebrows. is the way of life was instilled in us along with Essentially, I tried to erase everything about myself that readiness to adapt to change both within ourselves did not fit the beauty standard of a skinny, straight-haired and the world around us. My school years played girl. I have changed my standards of beauty.’ a crucial role all through my professional career. With this thought Alisar Awwad, class of 2015, set off Having been raised in an international environment, to start a campaign to showcase beauty in people of all I could understand and embrace different cultures colours, features and races. ‘We have been brainwashed with an open mind–all thanks to The British School into believing that only certain types of physical attributes and India. can be beautiful. Through this project, I am trying to I left India after five wonderful and memorable years. change that cerebration’, she explains. I graduated from Warsaw University with a Masters Alisar interviews people struggling with body image and, degree in Sociology and was admitted to the Polish in the process, helps them leave their insecurities behind. Academy of Sciences as a research fellow. Soon after, Participants talk about their idea of the concept of beauty, politics caught up with me again when martial law the prejudices they faced while growing up and what was introduced in Poland, following which I had to makes them feel beautiful. leave my country and move to Australia. Later, my career took me to all parts of the world–Brazil, New She shares these stories on social Zealand, South Africa, New Caledonia, Poland and media to inspire others to even back to India. highlight their experiences in order to challenge 42 years passed and I landed at the doorstep of culturally accepted The British School again in 2018. Accompanied by beauty standards. my two grown up sons, I looked up at this beautiful new building and remembered times gone by. Things ‘I want everyone to change; nothing is permanent–I saw the old motto know that they are of our teachers and mentors come true yet again. beautiful in their own Things changed for the school, for the better. From way’, she says. a small institution established for international students, it has developed into a fantastic, modern Alisar is an undergraduate and open school, fit to educate future citizens of the student pursuing a double world. Congratulations! major in Theatre and Communication Studies at Robert Czarnecki Ithaca College. Class of 1978 More details about the project can be found on the links below: facebook.com/alisarawwad instagram.com/alisarawwad1 5 Photos for pages 6, 7 and 8 by Fourness Dhar Fourness pages 6, 7 and 8 by for Photos

6 Give Peace a Chance

‘Music is an expression of who are within’, says Neil Nongkynrih, class of 1989. As the founder, conductor and composer of Chamber Choir, Neil has led the journey of the choir from a little known ensemble of talented youngsters to one that has held the nation spellbound and won laurels for their state and the country. From performing for the Obamas and former presidents of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to collaborating with big names in the Indian film industry, contributing to societal causes and building intercultural relations, the choir has achieved exceptional success. Neil has been bestowed with two prestigious civilian and state honours–Padma Shri and U Tirot Singh Award. In addition, he has numerous accolades to his claim–Forbes Person of the Year, CNN IBN Indian of the Year, ICC Musician of the Year and at least a dozen more notable awards and honours. Having performed for the British Royalty and produced a series of successful concerts in Oxford at a young age, he moved back to India and set out to bring solace to his home town, Shillong, that was reeling under conflict and turmoil. We spoke to Neil about his musical journey and why he thinks fame is only incidental.

Shillong Chamber Choir has been hugely ‘Cultured and disciplined’ is how we are often successful and continues to reach new heights. described and our music is said to move even How did it come about? the strongest to tears. I believe one of the main The multi-genre choir was founded in 2001. reasons for our success thus far has been our Today we have 25 members, including 15 unity and the strength to go through the highs singers; I continue to be the conductor of the and lows together as a team. It takes immense choir. amount of perseverance, discipline and hours of practice to gain admiration and love from One of our first big achievements was winning the public and we are ever so grateful to them. the reality TV show, India’s Got Talent, in 2010. Humility, faith and believing in miracles keeps The same year also saw us being awarded three us going! gold honours at the 6th World Choir Games held in China. We also remain close to our roots and never lose sight of the purpose for which we came Our aim is to give the audience a wholesome together–to bring people close to one another. experience through our repertoire of western We never actually aimed classical, opera, jazz, for fame or popularity. rock and gospel The idea of the choir combined with popular came about when I and Khasi returned from the UK. folk songs.

7 to do so as I have very little time. You take a keen interest in working with the youth to empower them. What prompted you to take up the cause? We must invest in our youth and children for a bright future. I believe the best medium to do this is through the language that everyone understands–music. It has immense potential to bring about positive changes and touch hearts across borders. I am particularly interested in building inclusivity for people of the North East with the rest of India. It is incumbent on not only the government but also the people of our country to embrace diversity and explore The unrest in the North East really troubled me and sustainable solutions to achieve peace and prosperity. I vowed to change it. I wish to replace the sound of Today, the soothing sounds of the choir echo in the hills guns with the sound of music and will continue to work but there is a lot more that needs to be done. towards that end. What do you remember fondly from your school days? You have recently been appointed a member of the I remember TBS as always being ahead of its time. Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Tell us about Even back then, it encouraged students to pursue their it. interests and explore what were often not considered CBFC is a statutory body under the Ministry of serious subjects. My teachers encouraged me to Information and Broadcasting that regulates public study music in a way I couldn’t have done anywhere exhibition of films. The else. Playing the piano was committee has 12 members regarded not just as a hobby and is chaired by Prasoon but also an integral part Joshi. Members are based of learning through which across India and each of us is to develop both logic and responsible for films released creativity. in our region. What are your plans for the It is interesting to note that future? we don’t personally watch Film projects, music every film before its release, collaborations and live shows as may be the common are in the pipeline for the perception. Film screening is choir, but most of all, we will usually done by an advisory continue to spread warmth panel comprising people and love through our music. from different walks of life such as education, social science, technology and law I have also formed my own orchestra called The as well as home makers and artists, plus a government European Concert Orchestra that premiered with representative. Films are sent to us only in case of a Amitabh Bachchan for the opening act of the Coldplay controversy or if the film maker is unhappy with the concert in 2016. I plan to take the ensemble all over the certification. Matters can be pursued up to the Supreme world and make some great music. Further, I wish to Court in case the committee is unable to sort them. preserve and promote our little known native language, Khasi, through folk opera. I am enjoying my role as a member of CBFC. There is a th lot to learn as it opens your mind to new concepts and Also on my list is performing at The British School in the 7 Period makes you look at different perspectives. new auditorium! What inspired you to write a book for children? The book is based on a shadow play I wrote for Christmas with music by Shillong Chamber Choir. I didn’t write it with the intention of publishing it but someone I know chanced upon the manuscript later and decided to publish it. The Only Begotten Son should really have been part of a collection of short stories but I am happy at its reception by readers. I would like to write more but it’s hard My Vote My Voice TBS students and soon to be alumni, Siya Malhotra and The settlement is home to a number of migrant workers Noor Takkar, are running a campaign to educate migrant who travelled to New Delhi from different parts of India workers and their families about their voting rights as to earn a livelihood. Their response to the awareness Indian citizens. The campaign, called My Vote My Voice, programme and the voter registration drive has been has now been running for over two years and has helped overwhelming. over 100 people obtain their voter identity cards. In addition, the duo conducted a special drive at the National Association for the Blind for visually impaired students who had just turned 18. Handouts were converted to Braille for easy access allowing students to share information with their friends and peers independently. This helped them reach out to those with disabilities. ‘The campaign is about more than just getting people enrolled as voters. It is about empowering them, giving them a voice and making them feel valued and heard’, explained Siya. Soon after their IB exams, Noor and Siya plan to work with student volunteers from other schools and expand The idea first occurred to the students during one of the reach of the campaign to areas where migrant their visits to the settlement across the school where workers are in substantial numbers. ‘We wish to they taught children as part of a CSR project. ‘We observed that many of the residents spent their days earning a living, leaving them with little time or avenues to learn about their rights as citizens’, said Siya. The pair started by conducting workshops for the residents and making them understand why their voice matters. This was followed by detailed discussions with community leaders to identify ways of reaching out to more people. However, simply talking about adult franchise was not enough since the people did not know where to begin the process. ‘We helped them through the registration process–gathering the educate as many people as possible before we leave for required documents, filling in forms and answering their university later during the year’, concluded Noor. questions’, Noor added.

At the age of 16, Ananya Maskara is fighting the stigma among women about periods and menstrual hygiene. ‘Learning that 88% women in India do not have access to th sanitary hygiene products really shocked me’, says Ananya. The Year 11 student has 7 Period started a social initiative called 7th Period to provide sanitary pads every month to girls at Khushi, a Delhi based NGO. Ananya works closely with Sampoorn Swatchhta, a not-for- profit organisation that employs disabled women to make biodegradable pads. She raises money by helping to make scented candles and selling them at exhibitions and farmers’ markets. ‘I wish to remove the stigma and prejudice associated with the subject so that women can talk about it openly’, explains Ananya. Her plans for the future are to extend the reach of the initiative to rural areas around Delhi to empower girls with both knowledge and accessibility. Ananya was recently awarded the Young Leaders Creating a Better World for All award by the Women Economic Forum. 9 International University Collaborations

In an exclusive and first ever collaboration in the region, The British School and the University of Cambridge came together to offer IB Masterclasses in Maths to TBS students. The lectures, designed specially for our Year 12 maths students, were delivered by academics from The Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at The University of Cambridge. The academically rigorous course aimed at encouraging independent thought on various topics in mathematics, with a special emphasis on the ability to build on intuition to construct a logical argument. The programme was part of a series of initiatives through which we aim to enhance the quality of education at TBS as well as widen the avenues for our students to learn from. The upcoming Delhi Warwick Summer School will also provide students with the opportunity to experience UK university education right here in New Delhi. For the fourth year in a row, TBS has joined hands with the University of Warwick to present the much sought after summer school. The unique course, Introduction to Economics with Finance, will be taught by renowned faculty from the University of Warwick. The programme, suitable for students who have completed Year 10 or equivalent, attracts students from all across India as well as South East Asia and the Middle East. Classes will run from 25 June to 29 June at The British School. For information and registration, please visit warwick.ac.uk/delhiwess or email us at [email protected]. Through initiatives such as these, we wish to continue to present our students with invaluable learning opportunities across curriculum areas to enhance not only their classroom learning but also the knowledge of the world around them.

Has your Membership Card expired?

If your alumni membership card was made before June 2012, it may have expired. Please email us to get a new one made. We are now making life time cards so that you can continue to avail of benefits and perks without any interruption. A complete list of benefits available to alumni can be found on our website www.british-school.org. To get your membership card made, please email us at [email protected]. 10 Alumni News

Siddharth Mathur, class of 1994, was awarded Best Food Consultant and Business Mentor at the Indian Restaurant Awards 2017. Siddharth is Director & Founder of Secret Ingredient and Director & Head of Food at Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt Ltd.

Kruti Bharucha, class of 1995, was named amongst 26 achievers featured on The Economic Times Women Ahead listing. Kruti is the CEO of Peepul, a non-profit that aims to transform children’s lives through quality education.

Mrinalini Dayal, class of 2010, was selected amongst top 20 young leaders for the Commonwealth Youth Awards for her work in the field of gender equality. Mrinalini is the Campaign Leader for Health Over Stigma and Senior Strategist at a grassroots campaigning organisation, Haiyya.

Soha Ali Khan, class of 1996, published her first book, The Perils of Being Moderately Famous (ISBN-10 0143439960 and ISBN-13 978-0143439967). Soha and her husband, Kunal, had a baby girl, Inaaya, in September 2017.

Nikita Gill published two books of her selected poems: Your Soul is a River (ISBN 13: 978-0996487139 and ISBN-10: 0996487131) Wild Embers (ISBN-10: 1409173925 and ISBN-13: 978-1409173922) NIkita is from the class of 2006.

Anika Mandla published her paper, Being Bipolar: A Qualitative Analysis of the Experience of Bipolar Disorder as Described in Internet Blogs. Anika is from the class of 2010 and has recently completed her MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences at University College London.

Tania Khosla Taneja and her husband, Kabir, had a baby boy, Jahan, in October 2017. Tania is from the class of 2004 and runs a wedding and party décor company.

Neha Grewal married Shashwat Shukla in January 2018. Neha is from the class of 2007 and currently teaches art at TBS.

Eshita Sethi married Hardik Kohli in November 2017. Eshita is from the class of 2007 and works at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, New York. Decoding Architecture ‘I want to create As an artist, Ayesha enjoys playing with experiences people perception and her most recent work, Ghost haven’t imagined Lines, looks at illusory objects that can be created yet’, says Ayesha using moving and rotating lines. She wishes to Singh, class apply the history of our built environment to of 2009 and bring to fore the hybridity of cultures that form graduate of the our understanding and recognition of self within Slade School an urban landscape. of Fine Art and ‘Most of my memories from school reside in the the School of yellow building. I distinctly remember the scent the Art Institute of the porta cabins when the air conditioning was of Chicago. Being switched on’, she smiles. awarded the Art Basketball practice and Science Initiative on gloomy winter Grant for a collaborative mornings, rajma project alongside political chawal at the scientist, Elisabeth Davies, canteen and Ayesha is presently researching the school trips connotations of the façade in state architecture in to Rishikesh her home city, New Delhi and Eastman, Georgia. are some of She credits her ability to perceive art as a means the other of communication, critique and self-inquiry to her memories she TBS teachers, Ms Michael and Mr Shukla, who shared with encouraged her to study the subject in detail and us, along with influenced her choice to pursue fine art. a piece of trivia: Ayesha’s interests lie in the potential for two- The red house was dimensional processes to be expressed and named Vulcan while experienced three-dimensionally. ‘My work she was its captain. investigates evidences of colonialism and ‘The school provided me a safe space to explore hierarchy that are embedded in architectural my interests and presented a system that enabled pastiches that construct our cities and our me to realise my ideas. It gave me the foundation homes. Through photography, drawing, video to create innovative content, experiment with and installation, it challenges perceived values new concepts and allow those to materialise in embodied by appropriated constructions in the physical and virtual space,’ she concludes. cities where I have resided and questions how far architecture defines our identities’, she elaborates. Communicators Communicators Adapted from the IB Learner Profile from Adapted Knowledgeable

Caring Open-minded

Principled Balanced

Inquirers Risk-takers

and Thinkers

Profile; the TBS Learner live community; and international national local, our diverse and each other and embrace ourselves respect and others; in ourselves excellence for strive and of high expectations, a culture foster skills; and creative and physical nourish social, intellectual, goals. common our to achieve responsibility individual and collective take

ELIEVE HRIVE UCCEED VALUES MISSION excellence. to achieve and inspire reflect respect, We B S VISION T • • • • At The British School, New Delhi, we as a community: we as a Delhi, The British School, New At •

become as we achieve engage Enjoy, The Road to Acceptance

From the day you enter high school Then in March you’ll get the mail to the day you graduate that’ll make your work worthwhile. work hard towards college Some rejections, but some acceptances and it will be worth the wait! That’ll leave you with a smile!

Do your research and reflect No matter where you finally go on what you want to be. there is one thing you should know: Be a painter, lawyer, actor College will be the time for you you have the world at your feet! to reap the rewards of what you sow!

Remember to give the necessary And on this road to acceptance SATs and ACTs. behind a foliage of trees They are tough but important You would have found something precious: to get your college degrees. The person that you want to be!

Write your college essays in time - Commonapp and supplementary - so you have the time to edit them Sanjana Bhambhani as much as necessary. Class of 2018 Complete your application process then review and submit! Now, for the most trying time wait for your college of best fit…

Dr Jose P Rizal Marg, Chanakyapuri New Delhi - 110021 INDIA T: +91 11 40664166 E: [email protected] W: www.british-school.org