The thought of veering away from the world of English stories never crossed my mind when I was a student. After my post graduation from XLRI, I joined the corporate world. A large part of my career was in management consulting, with KPMG and PwC.

After a stint with a NGO, I eventually desired to do something else. I enrolled in a 1-year programme from IDiscoveri on Skilled Facilitation. This led to my taking up the VocaBOOM  franchise. I realized the area of group learning; especially children’s learning, confidence building and empowerment interested me. VocaBOOM was already a known programme to me. I saw this as a means of deploying my skills in an area that interests me deeply – children’s development and upbringing. 

What inspired you to promote the art of English and development amongst youngsters?

I have always been deeply interested in children’s development. This probably stems from the fact that I have my own children and every aspect of their growth and development is of prime concern to me.  I believe the best gift I can give as a parent is to instil self-confidence in my children. I cringe when I hear parents talk about their children’s negative traits. For instance, I have come across several mothers who would openly talk about how shy or how ill mannered their children are, in front of them. 

If a child hears these things, they lose their sense of self esteem and worth. Children see themselves through the eyes of their parent, especially in their early formative years. If you praise a child regularly, they will blossom. If you put them down constantly, they will go into a shell.

English has always fascinated me. We have read to our children from the time they were six months old. Many children struggle to express themselves in English with fluency and confidence. This programme is known for its quality, founding principles and most importantly, the methodology.  Further, I had complete trust in the principles and vision of its founder. It seemed the perfect platform for me to start engaging in the area of my interest.

Is there any other format for educating young minds with the art of words that you have thought of and that you’d like to start soon?

This year I am planning to launch another programme from the VocaBOOM stable, called VocaFLUENT. It is a specialized, interactive program that focuses on creative writing for older children, from 10 to 17 years. I am planning to launch it in Gurgaon in August.

Would you like to take this concept across India in your own way in the future?

I am a franchisee of VocaBOOM and I am responsible for a large part of Gurgaon. VocaBOOM is already present in many cities across the country and growing every year. The complete details are available online at their website.