"Think independently… think creatively…” Shirin Darasha must have impressed on thousands of pupils who studied under her during the 34 years she guided the destiny of The J. B. Petit High School for Girls as its principal. When she took charge in 1973 of the South Bombay institution, there was trepidation in the minds of students, parents and teachers. Her size imposing, her voice intimidating, the new principal, just 35 years young, soon showed that she could both command and give respect when she introduced certain radical changes.
Shirin Darasha: initiated changes
The burden of studies and written homework in junior classes was reduced. History and Geography were replaced with Social Studies until the middle school. Music, dance and drama was brought into classrooms to release the monotony of blackboard-textbook teaching. Certain examinations were permitted with the books open in front of the student. To give the children a break from the regimentation of uniforms, they were permitted to ‘dress as they like’ every Friday (within permissible norms of decency).
Morning assemblies were invariably enlivened with tales of her travels and narrations of inspiring lives. At the annual J. B. Festival of Plays, socially relevant themes were enacted by the senior students of the School and often the scripting of the drama was done by Darasha herself. To ensure that the elite school did not lose touch with the ground realities, children were made to contribute a stipulated amount (Rs 2 initially and Rs 10 in the last couple of years) for the cause of the underprivileged every month. When addressing every fresh batch of JB parents she would invariably impress on them not to indulge their children with theme parties, extravagant gifts and international holidays but to sensitize them to the simple joys of nature and the Indian environs.
In the months prior to her retirement on December 31, 2006 a fresh wave of uncertainty gripped the School with the students and parents wondering whether the values Darasha had nurtured over the years will be continued by her successor Arnavaz Bhagat. Even while the suspense continued, Darasha personally presented each student of her School an ice cream or lollipop (depending on the grade of the child) with a postcard sized souvenir bearing an Irish blessing: "May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His Hand.”