by NR INDRAN / INT
Mumbai: A one of a kind preschool that strives to bring evolution in education through innovation, The Big Umbrella: preschool and activity centre takes a leap forward by officially announcing The Big Umbrella Advisory Board in Mumbai. Partnered with apple seeds – the New York based award winning activity centre, The Big Umbrella has been dynamically designed to care for the growing and multiple needs of preschoolers. With its underlying vision to impart value based education to children, The Big Umbrella put together a distinguished and respectable Advisory Board comprising of eminent personalities who are iconic and inspirational within their fields.
Shreena Doshi, Director, The Big Umbrella: preschool and activity centre says, “The Big Umbrella is the outcome of my inseparable inclination towards children education, however I was unsure about the response and acceptance from the society, especially the parents and children. I underwent the same emotion when we were in the process of crafting a distinctive Advisory Board for The Big Umbrella. To my surprise, these members who are so credible and well respected in their fields were prompt and positive in their reaction; it merely took us any time to finalize the Board. I’m privileged and grateful to all my Board members who have agreed to lend their support and look after my infant – The Big Umbrella.”
The Advisory Board consists of thirteen eminent individuals who are influential and versatile in their areas of interest. Dr. Indu Shahani, Sheriff of Mumbai is the Chief Mentor for The Big Umbrella: preschool and activity centre along with personalities like celebrity wellness specialist – Namita Jain, ace fashion designer – Pria Kataria Puri, celebrity wife and entrepreneur – Reshma Suleiman Merchant, well respected pediatrician – Dr. Pankaj Parekh, educationist and proud son of Dr. Indu Shahani – Siddharth Shahani, international career counselor – Karan Gupta, Managing Director Thomson Reuters (Co-Founder Universal Business School) – Tarun Anand who form the esteemed The Big Umbrella Advisory Board.
The Board is unprecedented and highly credible with members like CEO and Founder id8 media solutions – Tanya Swetta, Chairman Purple Conceirge Services – Ateet Sanghavi, Child Nutritionist – Luke Coutinho, Clinical Research Specialist – Marjan Sepassi, Director Free Press House – Vishal Sharma and Vice President Kotak Mahindra Bank – Jaimit Doshi.
Dr. Indu Shahani, Chief Mentor, The Big Umbrella: preschool and activity centre says, “With the growing awareness of the monumental impact that early learning has, The Big Umbrella has been able to establish itself as a niche preschool that builds a comprehensive foundation and promotes global attitude through extraordinary preschool teaching. It has developed an international curriculum that is revolutionary and fully customized to cater to the Indian educational requirements. I compliment Shreena and Nisaurg for creating such an innovative concept and appreciate the ideology of putting together The Advisory Board that will work towards the growth and development of the preschool.”
The Big Umbrella Advisory Board plans to meet twice each year to overlook progress and assess the curriculum, space, faculty, teaching aids, play material, suggest ideas and instrument changes that make The Big Umbrella – a place to spend the most impressionable years of life with joy, harmony and comfort. The experience, knowledge and valuable expertise of the Bard members will have a tremendous impact in streamlining The Big Umbrella into an educational institution serving as a serious platform for all those interested in gifting their children an extraordinary preschool education.
Pria Kataria Puri, ace fashion designer says, “Having been exposed to an International education system, I understand the importance of a concept based methodology within a learning system. This type of teaching enhances the thinking and communication skills of a child by releasing the inner abilities and maximizing potential. In India we are products of an education focusing more on memorization and less on creative concept generation. I was extremely impressed with the foundation principals of learning that The Big Umbrella Preschool and Apple Seeds Activity Center possess. This form of education will only enhance a child’s potential and self confidence leading to a higher level of academic performance.”
The pioneering feature of the Board that brings out the essence of creating such an innovative space is the diversity in expertise of each board member. These distinctive capabilities of the prestigious panel reflect the various features at The Big Umbrella: preschool and activity centre – formulated snack plans by child nutritionist Luke Coutinho, kids’ fitness workshops by Namita Jain, childcare programs by Reshma Suleiman Merchant and Vishal Sharma, Director, Free Press House with providing appropriate guidelines to sensibly develop a social environment for children to grow and mature.
Reshma Suleiman Merchant, Celebrity Wife and Entrepreneur says, “The Big Umbrella education is about touch, feel, expression and motor skill development. What I love best is the passion in detailing, in designing and environment, curriculum and hand picking the best faculty that makes The Big Umbrella a fun and interesting place for our kids to learn. Honestly, we wish we had this in our time!”
With such prominent professionals from education, social, health, medicine, finance, corporate backgrounds as The Advisory Board, The Big Umbrella will be well equipped to adapt and adhere to the ever changing trends and innovations in the education space and provide children with a competent environment to create, explore and learn.
The Big Umbrella Advisory Board will offer much needed guidance and enrichment to the lives of those going to the preschool, the children and the parents.
Led by Shreena and Nisaurg Doshi of The Doshi Group of Companies, The Big Umbrella is an innovative preschool for children 0 to 5 years where it introduces the concept of allowing children to learn and explore at their own pace with the right stimulus by opening its first proprietary location in South Mumbai. apple seeds, the award-winning all-in-one children’s play space based in New York City is an intriguing feature of The Big Umbrella, both striving to help the toddlers achieve inner harmony as well as balance within their environment. With The Big Umbrella and apple seeds, the Doshi Group has made its foray in the field of education.
The school is based upon the foundation principle of nature vs nurture and how the culmination of both these factors result in comfortable and confident children through love and caring, rather than fear and intimidation. Education has evolved internationally, with an understanding of the need for a child to be curious, to ask questions, to not hesitate when wanting to know a reason behind a concept rather than just memorizing it, to feel a bond with the teacher, to imbibe and process knowledge at a pace which is not overwhelming, and most importantly, to tap into the hidden potential and inner interests which many times are not expressed due to fear.
The Big Umbrella will be an excellent platform for education driven mothers and fathers to come together and recognize the value of concept based education, especially when there is a need for children to grow and develop their minds and personalities at that extremely impressionable age
A premier and innovative children’s destination and recreation facility, apple seeds, opened its doors March 1, 2007 in NYC’s Chelsea/Flatiron District. apple seeds is the creation of Craig Schlanger and Bobby Berna. Their mission was to open an indoor, interactive play space that provides families a sense of community and a modern, safe, clean environment where kids can play, learn and have fun in the city.
At the core of apple seeds India is the indoor playground. it offers classes, including cooking, science, construction, art, dance, language, movement and music. Spatial area is offered to host birthday parties and kids’ events throughout the year. Alliances with doctors, salons and fitness specialists make apple seeds India, a space to learn, grow and enjoy the most fundamental years of life.
The Big Umbrella is an initiative of the Doshi Group of Companies, a Mumbai-based group of companies known for its pioneering efforts in bringing new technologies and applications in India through international alliances. It has a presence in the fields of Material Sciences, Smart Technologies, Consultancy, Lifestyle, Education and Real Estate. By infusing modern business practices with traditional values, the Doshi Group has been able to carve its reputation as a complete solutions provider from products to services.
You can contact the Author at nr_indran@rediffmail.com