Teacher Portrait – Ms Kalpana

With ancestry from Jaipur, also known as the ‘Pink city’ in Rajasthan, Ms Kalpana, Hindi teacher and Head of the Hindi Department, grew up in Nagpur and Bhopal. After graduating she pursued and completed her Master of Arts Degree in Hindi Literature and Bachelor of Education, and has since been teaching in different schools for the past 16 years. We reached out to Ms Kalpana to find out more about her history, passions and aims for the future. 

I am looking forward to more students being part of the Hindi Department next year – Ms Kalpana, Hindi Teacher, HOD Hindi 

Starting her journey at TISB in 2018, Ms Kalpana is now happy to head the Hindi Department. “My happy moments at TISB include the warmth of colleagues and the love and respect of the students”, says Ms Kalpana, who has always been impressed and inspired by the excellence and achievements of the students. “I feel most proud when a student shows gratitude by sending me an email when they score good marks in exams”, says Ms Kalpana, and explains how this reflects the Indian tradition “Guru and Shishya Parampara”. Other than this, she truly appreciates the opportunity to teach certain aspects of Indian culture to the younger generation. 

With a choice of language coming up for next term, according to Ms Kalpana there are three main reasons why students should take on and explore Hindi. Firstly, Indian culture has deep roots. “Being the offspring of Sanskrit—the mother of many languages—Hindi helps discover the old and new social values of a large part of Indian society.” Secondly, learning Hindi may give one access to many books in their original language. “You will be able to explore the Hindi literary works of brilliant writers and poets, such as Munshi Prem Chand and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.” Thirdly, it is a language that is spoken by the majority. “India has the second highest population in the world, the majority of whom speaks Hindi”, explains Ms Kalpana, giving students the obvious choice. 

A quick Q&A with Ms Kalpana 

What is your favourite food?  
Daal-Bati and Churma and Daal- chawal and Kat. These are traditional Rajasthani dishes.  

What is your favourite music?  
Hindustani Music, Sufi songs from Kailash Kher and Ghazals from Jagjeet Singh.  

What is your favourite book and movie? 
Book: Madhu Shala by Harivansh Bachchan. Movie: Life of Pi. 

What is your favourite animal?  
Dog, Golden Retriever. African Grey Parrot. 

What is your favourite colour?  
Royal Blue 

What is your favourite hobby? 
Blogging: This connects me to the reflective side in me. It gives a chance to share my views on various topics through Hindi poems. When my blog readers respond to these poems through comments, it motivates me to write more. 
Tray gardening: This connects me to the creative side in me. It gives me a chance to relate to the beauty of nature.
Music: This connects me to the hidden talent in me. It is also a secret corner of my heart where I go to, to find peace, focus and enter a fantasy land.
Dance: This connects me to the fun side of me. Dance for me is pure fun and no reason is needed for it. 
Walking: This connects me to the active side of me. I love walking and it keeps me fit and energetic.