Advisory Board of executive committee

Aban Bana
Aban Bana has been the dedicated teacher for all teachers in most of the Waldorf Inspired
schools in India and many other places. Her energy, infectious smile and wit have made many a rigid person move with ease and grace under her training! The Bana sisters have both trained many teachers and parents in their sought after Khandala trainings in summer

Dilnawaz Bana

Dilnawaz Bana is a curative eurythmist, the first in India, she has been active in propagating
Eurythmy and Anthroposophy in India and helps in providing support to the medical fraternity
in healthcare delivery. Her wealth of experience is unparalleled in her field gained from decades
in Klinik Arlesheim and the Ita Wegmen Klinik in Switzerland.

Angelika Mandaiker

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 groups. 

The members of Executive Committee 2022-2023

  1. Dr. Swapna Narendra, President 

Dr. Swapna Narendra completed her undergraduate studies in Medicine from Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad in 1982. She obtained a Diploma in Homoeopathy from the British Inst. of Homeopathy, operating in India. She worked at Saandeepani – a Centre for the care and education of children with special 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.

Francis Aradhya – Vice President

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” in 1999. They have been living in this Community since then. They have three adult children.

Francis used to organize 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 “Inner Community.”

Nirmala Diaz – Secretary

Nirmala Jeanette Diaz was born and raised in Tamil Nadu. She’s an alumnus of Good Shepherd Convent, and Stella Maris College in Chennai. A post graduate in English, she began her career as a trainee copywriter in an advertising firm and went on to work with various national ad agencies. After her marriage to Mr. Suresh Kuppu, they shifted to Hyderabad and started their own agency – ‘Reachout Communications’- through which they handled several national accounts.

Destiny and serendipity led her to Angelika Mandaiker, her neighbour at Chennai, who was instrumental in initiating her into Anthroposophy. Nirmala took it up to another level and along with her husband and a friend started the first Waldorf School in India – Sloka – in 1997. She takes an active part in all the activities related to the school. Parents are oriented to Waldorf Education and Sloka by Nirmala, when they seek admission for their children. She leads the Anthroposophy reading sessions with parent groups and also in all the teacher training sessions of Sloka Steiner Waldorf Teacher Training (SSWTT) modules. 

Nirmala continued to strengthen her association with Anthroposophy and was instrumental in starting the Rudolf Steiner Group, Hyderabad in 2004 during the Asia Pacific Conference hosted by them.

Lavanya Alluri – Joint Secretary 

Lavanya Alluri is from Bhimavaram in Andhra, which is famous for its unique culture, temples, aquaculture and agriculture. She studied at DNR school in Bhimavaram and St. Theresa’s college in Eluru. She graduated in Computer Science and has a Post Graduate Diploma in the same.

In her quest to find alternative education for her children, she discovered Sloka- The Hyderabad Waldorf School and Anthroposophy. In 2012 she joined the school as a kindergarten teacher and completed a decade of learning and experiencing Anthroposophy in everyday life. She loves travelling and enjoys reading.

Smruthi Rajnish – Treasurer 

Smruthi was born on June 15th in Nizamabad , India.  She graduated with a Master’s degree in Commerce in 1997 from Nizam’s College, Hyderabad . She worked as car sales executive before foraying into Finance field. 

 From 1998 to 2013 Smruthi has worked in various financial institutions and Multinational banks in process transitioning and transaction quality monitoring departments dealing with Banking and Foreclosures.  

In 2014 , she joined as a teacher in Sloka – The Hyderabad Waldorf School and presently is working as a Class Teacher . 

Smruthi is married to Rajnish and they have two children Dhruv and Dithi, aged 21 and 17. She loves to cook & enjoys traveling.

Manorama Kamineni – Executive Member 

Mrs. Manorama Kamineni has been with Sloka School as a senior teacher and mentor for 20 years now. Studying at Rishi Valley gave her a well-rounded, holistic education. A post graduate degree in Home Science and a Master’s degree in Waldorf Education from Oslo, Norway whetted her interests in arts and sciences further.

A pioneer who fine-tuned upper grades curriculum in Waldorf methodology in India, she taught Social Studies and Science to several batches of upper grade students at Sloka. Her background and love for languages made her a natural choice for mentoring in languages too. She is equally good in handwork and painting. Manorama is one of the lead teacher trainers at Sloka Steiner Waldorf Teacher Training (SSWTT) course at Sloka.

Seshadri Desikan – Executive Member 

Seshadri is a Director of the Foundation that runs Inodai Waldorf School in Mumbai and is a Class Teacher there. His foray into Anthroposophy began early in 2000 when he became part of the group that founded the first Waldorf school in Mumbai. He has been involved as a student as well as being part of the organising team of some events out of anthroposophical impulses like the IPMT, Biography courses and numerous Waldorf education courses.

Shabda Priya – Executive Member 

Shabda Priya spent 41 years in Bombay, moving to Hyderabad in 2021. 

In 2016, she met Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy in search of a humane education for her children. Since then, she has grown manifold due to her association with Anthroposophy and its various streams, and the community. 

She served as Grades teacher in a Waldorf-Inspired school in Navi Mumbai. 

She is also a Biography Analyst. 

In 2022, she joined the ASI EC as Executive Member. 

Yamini Jha – Executive Member 

Yamini Jha has been on her Quality in Education journey for more than two decades in Delhi NCR area. Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education arrived in her life as answers to her prayers with questions that she asked to help children and teachers while at work in 2011. It opened deeper dimensions in her life and work and drove her to carry the Essence of Anthroposophy to the masses in her work. Today she runs her own initiative Enaaya Education system which is a consulting organization for mainstream public and private education. The area of her work is Value based Turnkey projects from K-12 in education. Accreditation, Academic audits, teacher training, Curriculum development and Creating Value measuring tool (One of a kind model) are all scope of her work in action. She is an Executive Member of The ASI Executive Committee 2022-23.