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Having been born to Zoroastrian parents in India has resulted in a meaningful journey through life following the triad of humata, hukhta and hvarashta (good thoughts, words and deeds).

Amongst the plethora of childhood memories are those of doting parents Rashid and Dilber Irani and affectionate relatives. My younger sister Khushnum and I went to boarding school and grew to be confident individuals with the exemplary lives of our parents to guide us. Daddy humming the song "Que Sera, Sera….Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see...” touched the innermost chords of our hearts and the memory still lingers.

The years rolled by happily treading the path of the choices made and challenges faced. Then came superannuation on September 30, 2022 when I was asked to "sit at home” after serving as the principal of the J. N. Tata Parsi Girls’ Junior College in Nagpur. I remember this quote I had read in Infinithoughts: "In life, every finishing line is the new starting line… End simply means a new beginning.” My firm belief in the Zoroastrian spirit gave me silent strength to face every challenge, unaccounted hours of internal chaos, unanswered questions. My study of Gandhian thought helped me to understand the music of the wheel of fortune, as Mahatma Gandhi believed the charkha (spinning wheel) to be.

Khushru, my pious and dependable husband, my family, my sister, her husband Sudhir Rao and their children Unnati and Aditya believed in and supported me. My students and friends never failed to send me kind words. I moved on, fighting personal demons, finding inner strength to repulse the negative forces. My faith was tested. The voice of an elder rang in my ears: "People throw stones at the tree that bears fruit.” 

I prayed that my efforts, years of sincere work, unfailing dedication to educating and empowering the individuality of the girl child would not be wasted. I overcame my timidity by writing, realizing the power of the pen. Two months and two days later, a telephone call by a trusting superior, unparalleled, unmatched, committed educationist revived my spirits. 

Nisha Saraf took me on as principal of the Nagpur Waldorf Inspired School (NWIS) of which she is director. From mainstream education to the Waldorf system was a revolutionary change. Creating awareness and being with Waldorf trained children has been a blessing. "If a child has been able in his play to give up his whole loving being to the world around him, he will be able, in the serious tasks of later life, to devote himself with confidence and power to the service of the world,” believed Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner who developed Waldorf education. I immersed myself in the pursuit of happiness through the young impressionable minds at NWIS, teaching Class X (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education board) at the Chanda Devi Saraf High School in Nagpur.

The subject, English, which I taught gave me confidence that at age 59 one can still be relevant and energetic.

Saraf felt that since I was pursuing my MA in Gandhian thought, we should train volunteer school students to operate the charkha and also the takli (hand spindle). From July 2023 we spun for two hours at a time with children from Class II to Class IX. One derives immense strength and peace from this "wheel of fortune.” The Charkha Room can be a quiet retreat from the cacophony of the outside world. The sound of silence is the music that Gandhi spoke about.

I have often wondered why I feel this intense attraction towards the charkha, as if my soul longs to be a part of the silent revolution. Then, I faintly recalled that during my childhood I had been told that my maternal grandmother, Mitha Boman Irani, used to go to spin the charkha at a charkha kendra (center set up by Gandhi in Bombay), to deal with the trauma of losing her nine-year-old firstborn son to jaundice. She was heartbroken and chose to overcome the void created by the loss with this activity. 

I have learnt that we must always train our psyche to be prepared and fearless about the future and excited about each new day. I learnt to wake up with a small prayer and the hope that I would contribute towards a better world by being a better version of myself.

Every dawn I rise to the realization that thousands did not wake up that day but I did. The soft rays of the morning light usher in the promise of new and continued hope.