Alumni and former teachers of Gujarati school set for centenary reunion

Started on April 8, 1919 by Zaveri Purushottamdas Harilal, a businessman, for the Gujarati community in Park Town, where they had settled down in large numbers, the school was initially named as Gujarati Kanyashala. 

Talking to DTNext, the school’s headmistress Rashmi P, says, “It is a momentous occasion for our institution, as we have come a long way from our humble beginning with just 20 students and three teachers. Today, we have more than 1,500 students studying in our Gujarati and English medium schools.”

The school caters to several students from lower income households, she adds. The year-long celebrations will see a host of cultural and sports programmes being organised. Through social media platforms, the institution has managed to reach across to its alumni all over the world. 

Rashmi says that the biggest achievement of the institution, apart from empowering girls, has been its ability to help its students retain their identity. 

“The Gujarati community began settling here almost 300 years ago. Yet, the community strongly believes that wherever we settle, we must stay close to our culture.  We have achieved this by inviting Gujarati poets and authors to our school,” she says.  

However, having begun at a time when the Park Town area was yet to be developed into a commercial zone, the institution is now struggling to find space for a bigger building.  

Rashmi says, “We have managed to set up a small playground for our students amid the choc-a-bloc of commercial establishments. But for sports events, we need to seek a much bigger venue.”