Sau saal pehle...

All of us have gone through the intimidating process of stepping into a school for the first time But 15yearold Ava Mistry currently in Class X says that for her it felt like coming home Ava represents the fourth generation of her family to study at the JB Vachha JBV School in Dadar Parsi colony and the CJ Primary and Infant School which will mark its hundredth year of existence on June 24 2024Like Ava her mother grandparents and even her greatgrandparents all share a connection to JBV having attended the institution in their own time As the school approaches its centennial year celebration Ava her mother Diana Mistry 44 and grandmother Nellie Gandhi 72 reflect on their cherished memories of the school and share why it holds such a special place in their hearts They also highlight the remarkable journey the school has undertaken since their own school daysNellie Gandhi and her daughter Diana Mistry have studied at JB Vachha and the tradition is now taken forward by Mistryrsquos daughter Ava PicsSameer MarkandeThe JB Vachha School for Parsi girls stands as one of the oldest girlsrsquo schools in the city Founded on June 24 1924 under the auspices of the Parsi Central Association Cooperative Housing Society Limited Parsi Colony Dadar the school initially had just 25 students Fast forward to the academic year 202324 and it proudly boasts an enrollment of 2044Speaking with midday Gandhi who passed from JBV in 1968 emphasises that even as the school has embraced modernised methods and contemporary learning approaches the legacy still endures ldquoWe are what we are because of the school Four generations from my family have attended JVB In older times boys were allowed up to Class IV So my parents me and my husband attended the school I have heard stories from my mother saw it myself and then through my daughter Now I hear them from my granddaughterrdquo recalls Gandhi who taught at HR College Churchgate for 32 years heading the institutersquos English and French departments and steering the junior collegeThe school was established in 1924 with just 25 students and now has over 2000Mistry on the other hand fondly remembers her teachers some of whom had also taught her mother They would frequently recount her motherrsquos academic accomplishments which filled her with pride ldquoIt had its merits in some ways but had its drawbacks in others My mother was a top ranker Some of her teachers taught me too and they all remembered her Just as they lauded my mother for her academic accomplishments they also occasionally made comparisons between hers and minerdquo Mistry chucklesAlso read Maharashtra Quota activist Jarange gets Kunbi cert frameworkldquoWhen my daughter joined the school she was welcomed with such warmth that it felt like she was at home The schoolrsquos proximity to my residence was a significant advantage Besides enrolling my daughter in JBV gave us a strong sense of security safety and comfort as we are familiar with the staff and management having experienced the same environment ourselves For instance the current principal of the school was my teacher Of course many things have evolved including the curriculum but the unwavering support we received from the staff and the schoolrsquos essence remain the samerdquo she addsFor over eight decades or as far back as anyone can recall the schoolrsquos houses are named after Persian princes of yore Shernaaz Faranakh Purandokthand GodafaridldquoThe houses bore the same names even during my grandmotherrsquos time back in the 1930s or 1940s Although I canrsquot quite recall why they were named this way or what they symbolise we continue to uphold the tradition with the same enthusiasm and fight for them with the same fervour My mother belonged to Faranakh house I was in Purandokth and my daughter proudly represents Godafaridrdquo says the HR professionalThe school is all set to celebrate its centennial year through a series of programmes spread throughout the year One of them MemoriesmdashYaadein was the exstudents onOctober 21Food and extracurricular activities including cooking lessons go hand in hand in the schoolrsquos focus towards personality developmentldquoThe fact that many alumni like me have pursued creative careers is a testament to the creative freedom we enjoyed at the school My school has given me so much it has shaped me into the person I am today Moreover it blessed me with my closest friends indeed my dearest friends to this day are the ones from school It was conveniently located just five minutes away from home and I would even go home for lunch Although it was a small school it meticulously attended to every aspect of our academic lives I still remember all my teachers vividlyrdquo says actress and model Nauheed CyrusiShe harks back to 199899 when she finished school ldquoAt that time convent schools were all the rage and people often boasted about their schools We took pride in being an allgirls school we had some of the prettiest girls and we still dordquo The school began under the leadership of Goolan Bulsara while the current principal Banoo Makoojina is the tenth principal in the schoolrsquos history The school was envisioned and established by the late Mancherji Edulji Joshi in 1924Banoo Makoojina the tenth principal first came to the school as a studentldquoThe School was established during the time of British India with 25 young girls My association with this historic institution started as a fouryearold student I nervously entered the school only to be lovingly nurtured by the stalwarts of yesteryears My association with the school strengthened when I happily joined as a teacher in 1989 Later I had the good fortune of being appointed as the principal in 2005 In its endeavour to provide a richer curriculum the school sought affiliation with the CISCE Board ICSE Curriculum in May 2020 after facing great challenges the transition being in the COVID19 periodrdquoShe adds that the school now mentors over 2000 students and was ranked as the fourth Best Vintage Girls School in Mumbai according to the 2023 rankings of the Education World a magazine that rates vintage educational instititions annually