Taniya Dharani joined the Academy visual arts department as an Academy fellow in September 2018, but she is no stranger to the school, or even the visual arts department for that matter. “I was very keen on experiencing the other side of Academy life,” she says. Taniya is a member of the first graduating class of the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad in 2014, and now she is back in a teaching role.

“The Academy has made me the person I am today,” she says. “I wanted to give back to the Academy what it has given me.” After graduating from the Diploma Programme, Taniya went on to pick up a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Reading, England. In her current role at the Academy, Taniya wants to help visual arts students prepare for university level art courses. It’s also on her agenda to introduce art students to careers in their field that they might not have considered.

“I want to help give our Diploma Programme art students theoretical practice that will be useful at university,” she says. “I also want to help visual art students understand what opportunities the art world outside holds for them; artistic pathways they can opt for including business and law options in sectors that not everyone is aware of.”

Though she has her task laid out in front of her, returning to the Academy in her new role is understandably strange for Taniya. “I still feel like a student at heart,” she says. “But I’ve learnt to act like a teacher and take responsibilities.” Taniya understands that her experience as a student at the Academy puts her in a unique place of understanding in her current role as teacher. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to see Academy life from a different light this time. Now I understand the day to day challenges teachers face, as well as the hardships of student life.”

Taniya fondly remembers her time as a student at the Academy. When she graduated, Taniya was the only student in the visual arts department. “I really enjoyed visual arts in school. Being the only student, I had the entire art studio and Ms. Meenakshi to myself.” She is referring to Meenakshi Joshi, who is now MYP coordinator in the Senior School. She also remembers history classes with Koel Ray, and service opportunities at old age homes and government schools that taught her humility and empathy.

However, her most cherished memory at the Academy is meeting His Highness the Aga Khan. At the inauguration ceremony of the Academy in 2014, Taniya had the opportunity to show and discuss her art work with HH. “It was the most precious gift that I ever received and a memory that has helped me hold onto my passion.”

In her personal life, Taniya cites her father as her source of inspiration. It is a common trope that parents discourage their children from pursuing a career in the arts, but this wasn’t the case for Taniya. “Despite people not understanding my passion for painting, he [Taniya’s father] always stood by me and helped me achieve my goals,” she says. Taniya is also proud of her father’s efforts in community service and the life he has led. “His struggles and achievements inspire me. It makes me want to do great things.”

“Growing up I realised that the only thing that ignited a fire in me was holding a paintbrush in my hands and dropping paint all over my clothes. It made me feel like all is well in my world, even when almost everything in life was falling apart.” Taniya is in some ways a time capsule from the Academy’s early years, and like a time capsule, she reminds us of things that have changed, and also about the things that have remained the same.

Written by Ajay Sundaram

On our calendars, May marks a month of celebration, new beginnings and farewells. For our Diploma Programme (DP) 2s, these are their last days as school students, and their excitement and anticipation is palpable. Among them is Eshwari Ramsali, who will be attending University College Utrecht in the Netherlands to study political science.

“Honestly, it still hasn’t hit me that I get to go to the college of my dreams,” she said. “It’s so surreal.”

Two years ago Eshwari wrote an entrance assessment test at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad but was not sure if she would be able to join.

“I was dismayed because I loved the concept of an IB education,” she said. “The Academy made it possible for me to be here.”

Eshwari joined the Academy in 2016 and used every opportunity to learn and to express herself, diving into visual arts and global politics courses. She attributes a lot of her personal and intellectual growth to the discussions she had in her Theory of Knowledge (ToK) class.

“It upsets me that I will never have another ToK class,” she mused.

After her creativity, activity, service (CAS) summer internship in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Eshwari stayed on to do an internship at a film production house, working in production and postproduction on documentary films.

“I like to call it the summer I became a feminist,” she said. “Feminism, for me is a social movement whose success lies in providing equal opportunities for all sexes and genders.”

For Eshwari, it is natural for film and feminism to go together. She describes art and politics as her academic crushes and appreciates the IB for having the accoutrements that allow for interdisciplinary approach to learning. Her extended essay combined visual arts and global politics to write a compelling piece on freedom of expression and art activism. Eshwari’s display at the 2018 Diploma Programme Visual Arts Exhibition also espoused the mingling of subjects, presenting work with powerful feminist overtones.  

“Eshwari has exemplary artistic calibre,” said Senior School art teacher, Vijayraghavan Srinivasan. “She has a meta-narrative quality in her pictorial composition which captures recollecting past memories and incidents, fusing them with self-discovery."

The DP Visual Arts Exhibition is a red letter day for Senior students and they work long hours to see it come to life.

“Personally explaining my art and concepts to viewers and seeing realisation dawn on their faces was incredibly rewarding,” Eshwari said. “The exhibition was so important for so many different reasons, and being a part of it with some of the most talented students of the Academy made me happy.”

Eshwari remembers not being confident about her decision to join the arts programme at the Academy, but she’s pleased that she did. Through the programme, Eshwari got to work with professional artists and sculptors, and also discovered artists and filmmakers whose work inspires her and helps her identify herself. Vijayraghavan describes her artwork as insightful and contemplative, and also explorative.

Though she is an exceptional artist, Eshwari wants to study political science so she can pursue a career as a humanitarian lawyer or work in development. She intends on taking courses in art history, so that she can seamlessly step back into the art world, should the opportunity arise.

“The idea of being intellectually stimulated even well into my 50s really excites me.”

Somewhere between learning about the IB and her last ToK class, Eshwari fell in love with the Academy.

“I love that my classes are filled with students from all parts of the country,” she said, “irrespective of their financial standing or cultural background. I strongly believe it helps build our vision of pluralism.”

We wish her and all the rest of the Class of 2018 the best of luck in all their future endeavors!