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"Because it was adjacent, because it was convenient, because it was affordable” — Benaifer Kutar, principal of The J. B. Petit High School for Girls (JBP).

"It was a match made in heaven” — Dr Cyrus Vakil, principal of the Bombay International School (BIS).

These quotes best sum up the tie-ups to share space between JBP and the J. N. Petit Institute on the one hand, and BIS and the Bai B. S. Bengallee Girls’ High School on the other.  

The JBP School trust has entered into a leave and license arrangement with a "sister trust” that runs the J. N. Petit library for use of their ground floor premises for three years. The School needed premises to house the primary section while a new building was coming up. The ground floor licensee of the Institute, a bank, had requested premature termination of their agreement, citing that access to the building entrance was blocked due to work on the (underground rail) Metro on Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road.

As Homa Petit, trustee of the School and Institute explained to Parsiana on October 23, 2023, it helped that both the Petit trusts have common trustees. "We could protect the interests of both the School and the library,” the trustee said.

  repurposed for The J. B. Petit High School for Girls 

In her office on the first floor of the School, a week after the bhoomi pooja was completed, Kutar pointed to the empty space across the courtyard where once the primary section stood and which will, within a two to three-year time frame house the new Shirin Darasha Memorial Building of JBP. Parts of the School building date to 1878, she said. The structures that were demolished had been built in 1936-38. "In their place will stand the Memorial Building” named after the much loved erstwhile principal, she said, the pride in her voice very apparent. Associated with the School, first as a student and later as a teacher, supervisor of the primary section, vice principal and finally principal, Kutar, who retires next year, is excited that the next principal Friyana Pardiwalla will be able to walk into all the wings of the School including the new one from her office once the modern new building comes up. The principal currently has access to the wings only from their respective ground floors. "We will be able to start 11th and 12th grades then,” she said. Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah is in charge of the new construction. 

Kutar takes us on a walk through her domain. Cheerful girls look up and chant "Good morning Ms Kutar.” There is much joy in seeing their principal walking past! It is a short walk across a side street to the Institute that has opened its rear entrance for the School. A security guard is present to prevent any sporadic vehicle from venturing past when students or school personnel are crossing. She points to a small patch of green in the Institute compound "where children can take in the fresh air during break time.” Airconditioned classrooms have been created on the ground floor and on the mezzanine of the library by Lambah. Cheery greetings to the principal from the young ones in the bright yellow painted music class cause a change of tempo in their singing, but only slightly. It is evident that Kutar is a much loved figure.   

Full of praise for the far-sightedness of the School trustees, the principal stated that she was involved in most aspects of the planning for the new building and shifting to the temporary location. The trustees have a credo: "Everything is for the girls (students).” The principal added that she had complete autonomy in academic matters. 

Both the School and the Institute are heritage structures dating from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The Institute’s frontage though has taken a beating as the arches had to be propped up to prevent damage from drilling work done by the Metro authorities.  

Relocation

About a kilometer away from JBP stands the Bai B. S. Bengallee Girls’ High School which entered into an agreement with BIS to rent out a portion of its premises. 

As narrated by Vakil, BIS needed extra space in 2017 as its premises in Gilbert Building at Babulnath were insufficient for housing all classes from kindergarten to the 12th grade. The Parsi Girls’ School Association (PGSA, which runs Bengallee) had recently regained the upper floors from an earlier tenant. "We relocated our grades one to five at Bengallee, after doing some refurbishing. It allowed us to bring down the size of our divisions from 34 to 20 students… The BIS constitution clearly specifies the delivery of education in ‘classes of reasonable size,’ and at 34 we had well crossed that.”  

Vakil stated that the two schools were connected by a Parsi realtor, Burges Wania. "The lease formalities were concluded quite speedily; our governors and lawyers were involved in that. But I do know that the trust factor was enhanced by the fact that their solicitor was a BIS parent.” Since then, the relationship has deepened. "One of the trustees of PGSA is now grandparent of a BIS student. And I recently assisted Bengallee in interviewing candidates for its new principal. So the bonds between the two institutions run deep though the student demographics may be very different.”

Kersi Commissariat, president of the PGSA board of trustees, told Parsiana that good networking helped cement the deal. "Our legal teams were on the same track… We did not argue much… It is a nine-year agreement, to be renewed every three years.” The negotiations took a mere six weeks, he stated. "They have done super refurbishing… This has become a long-term relationship.” 

Bengallee has "hardly any Parsi students despite offers of fee waivers, and free meals (as per their constitution),” Commissariat rued. They are happy to provide space to other Parsi organizations in the evenings, after the School is closed for the day.