A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

IS CHENNAI ATTRACTIVE AND ENTICING ONLY IF YOU ARE BORN A CHENNAITE? SOMETIMES IT CAN CAPTURE YOU COMPLETELY UNAWARE.

- JANE KATARIA

Peter Bird is an educationalist by passion and profession (NPQH National Professional Qualification of Headship from the UK). In 2018 he was headhunted to open the International Village School in Chennai as a founding Superintendent; it was an offer that he accepted without a second thought.

As India and the UK have a shared history, and I was already quite well acquainted with Indian culture and its cuisine, I definitely wanted to stay in a warm tropical climate by the ocean after having worked for 7 years in Qatar in temperatures hitting +50 C and the desert landscape around it. Chennai, or Madras that we learnt about in school, pleasantly welcomed me with a very hot and humid climate. And to my surprise, Chennai reminded me of my village back in the UK, in South Cambridgeshire, in so many ways. Very modern but quite slow to change, no rush, resilient to fast change, very traditional and conservative, cultured and sophisticated, and moderate in progress. It gives a sense of stability and predictability. In Chennai, I felt at home almost like I had always been here, says Mr.Bird

Jane Kataria ( JK) - Do you see much difference in children and parents here in India and other schools you worked at?