Mumbai: A school committed to inclusiveness

(From left) Piroja Boman, Huxtoxi Boman and Sharukh Bhesania with their pug Zoey at their home in Kemps Corner (right) The New Activity School has always been run by the women of the family. Pics/Satej Shinde

The New Activity School, which sits pretty atop the hill at Kemps Corner, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The school has a rich history - one that begins with a mother, Dolat H Doongaji, searching for a school for her two-year-old son Darayas. It was during her hunt then that she chanced upon a unrealised dream of opening her own school - also so that she could remain close to her son at all times.

It was 1953 when Doongaji, after raising funds by selling her jewellery, finally opened the school at Peddar Road. It later shifted to its current location when philanthropist Laxmichand Tejpal gave it space at his premises in 1958. The school is now headed by Doongaji's daughter Hutoxi Boman, and the trustees are the founder's grandson Sharuk Bhesania and granddaughter Piroja Boman.

Hutoxi, 65, says, "Until last year, the school was run by my twin sister Hira Bhesania [Sharuk's mother] but we lost her to a heart attack last year. The school is my mother's legacy and is one of the first Montessori schools to be started in Mumbai."

Doongaji, who passed away 12 years ago, started the school with only five students, Darayas, his playmate Munira Padamsee (artist Akbar Padamsee's niece) and children of pall bearers who carry the body into the Tower of Silence. The school is also one of the first inclusive schools for the visually impaired, physically disabled and children diagnosed with Down Syndrome. "Given the fact that at the time, there was limited knowledge of how to teach kids with special needs, my mother made sure that kids with special needs are given the help they need," adds Hutoxi. Rehmat Fazalbhoy, a resource teacher, was got to translate textbooks into braille.

In fact, Doongaji's dedication to her work was so legendary that her grand-daughter Piroja (Huxtoxi's daughter), recalls, "She also had a small cot there to sleep, in case it got too late to come over." Talking about how the landscape of education has changed since she became a teacher, Hutoxi says, "I feel that the good old methods of education still hold true. Not every child might be able to take part in the elocution competition, but we include them in other activities. For example, a child who broke his leg was still included with him sitting on the wheel chair."

Sharuk, who has been learning the ropes for the last year, adds, "Schools today might not necessarily be a place where you get some new information. But it is where a child learns how to engage with the world. How to respond to another child who might snatch his pencil away? A child, who is a bully, might learn how to say ‘Thank you' or be more considerate of others," he says. Sharuk, who comes from a commerce background, confesses that he is now only in the observer mode, "When you have such strong women who know education as much they do, all you can do is try and learn, without touching something that needn't be hampered with," he adds. Piroja, who is named after her great-grandmother, chimes in, "I think we just want to make sure that we safeguard our long-standing tradition of a wholesome school rather than just be a place about academics." Zoey, the pug who was adopted during the Pandemic, interrupts the conversation. The family tries to pacify her with a biscuit, and it's time to get back to work.