The members of the Executive Committee of the newly founded Country Society in India are:

    Aban_Bana2Aban Bana – President and Country Representative
    Aban Bana is a trained Waldorf teacher and Eurythmist. She started “Anthroposophical Initiatives in India”, along with her sister ad she travels with her to promote Anthroposphy in India and South Asia. She writes articles and gives talks on subjects related to Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education.

    She met Anthroposophy almost 40 years ago and has traveled widely to many parts of the world. She worked as a teacher in the Basel Steiner School in Switzerland during the early part of her career and later went on to help in bringing Waldorf Education to India, in the nineties.

    • Aban Bana, born in Mumbai (then Bombay)
    • School and College in Mumbai
    • Diploma in Rudolf Steiner/Waldorf Education from the Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland\
    • Eurythmy diploma from Lea van der Pals Eurythmy School, Dornach, Switzerland
    • Taught in Basel and London, England
    • Active in the Anthroposophical movement in India since 1982
    • Country representative of the Anthroposophical Society in India

    nirmalaNirmala Diaz – Secretary
    Nirmala Diaz (56) was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu she studied in good shepherd convent Chennai and Stella Maris college, Chennai leading to her post graduation in English.

    Her professional career in advertising began with a stint as trainee copy writer, went on to work with various national ad agencies in Chennai and Hyderabad as senior writer and Copy Chief. She along with her husband started their own ad agency, Reachout communications, handled several national accounts.

    Nirmala along with her husband and another friend are the founder trustees of Sloka- Hyderabad Waldorf school- India’s first full fledged Waldorf School which opened in 1997. Nirmala has had links with anthroposophy over the past 30 years. She was initiated into anthroposophy by Angelika Mandaiker in Chennai. She was one of the prime movers of the Rudolf Steiner group, Hyderabad – which was set up in 2004, during Asia Pacific Conference which they hosted.

    Dr. Swapna Narendra, Treasurer

    Dr. Swapna Narendra completed her undergraduate studies in Medicine from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad in 1982. She obtained a Diploma in Homeopathy from the British Inst. of Homeopathy, operating in India. She worked at Saandeepani – a Centre for the care and education of children with spl .needs for 6 years, qualifying as a Curative Educator during this time. She is also a certified Anthroposophic Physician, having undergone the training at the IPMT over several years.

    She lives in Hyderabad with her family and practices from her residence.

     

     

    Sundeep Kamat – Joint Secretary

    After a two-decade stint as an entrepreneur and in a senior leadership role in a MNC, Sundeep made a career shift to the area of sustainable development. He was part of the team that started the first school, in Asia, of biodynamic farming offering a two-year residential diploma program for underprivileged rural high school graduates. Prior to this, he was a founding parent of the first Waldorf School in Bangalore and the President of “Sudatta” an adoptive parents association..

    In 2013 he joined the board of the Biodynamic Association of India (BDAI) and since 2016 has served as its Secretary. He was elected to the IFOAM Asia board in May 2017 in Xichong County, China. He is also part of the Organic Food Systems Program, a core initiative of United Nations 10YFP Sustainable Food Systems Program and was on the organizing committee of the 19th Organic World Congress held in Delhi in November 2017. He lectures and conducts workshops on Biodynamics Agriculture & Associative Economics across the globe.

     

     

     

    galiAngelika Mandaikar – Executive Member

    After her three sons had grown up she taught grown-ups and children for 25 years at the Goethe Institute in Chennai. Shortly before she had begun teaching in the institute, she began teaching Nirmala Diaz German. Imagine her surprise when some years later Nirmala came to her and said, “I need a school for my son.” Out of this conversation the Sloka Rudolf Steiner School in Hyderabad was born.

    Now retired she continues her lifetime habit of reading Rudolf Steiner alone and in group.

     

     

     

    francisFrancis Aradhya – Executive Member

    Francis Aradhya van Rijckevorsel was born in Holland in 1962.

    She studied at Emerson College ,where she completed the Foundation Year and a year of Social Development. During her ten years work in a Camphill community in Holland she completed a four years training in Curative Education. Today she is a qualified Curative Educator and Social therapist.

    She and her Indian husband Anantha Aradhya started ‘Friends of Camphill India” 14 years ago. Francis is mother of three children.

    Francis organizes Foundation courses in Anthroposophical Curative Education and Social Therapy.She is a member of the Anthroposophical Society in Holland and in India. A member of the Christian Community and a member of the Camphill Community.

     

     

     

    Seshadri – Executive Member

    Seshadri is a Trustee and a Class Teacher at Inodai Waldorf School.

    He is married to Padmini Seshadri and lives in Mumbai, India.

    MENU