Chandrasekhar Indla - Holding the baton of Telugu theatre
A prolific academic, Chandra was among highest scorers in the National Eligibility Test, an exam held nationwide by the University Grants Commission (UGC) which qualifies people to teach performing arts at a collegiate level. His work since his first tenure as a master’s student at the University of Hyderabad has been about introducing drama to a young audience. He was among the first members of the university’s Theatre Outreach Unit, created to expose children all over the state to theatre arts. He joined the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad in 2015 to continue in this effort. “Our Academy is one of the best places where the teacher-student relationship is so strong in terms of respecting each other and sharing thoughts,” he says. Chandra, not a technical direcor for drama at the Academy, was very happy to teach at the Academy because the IB curriculum gives theatre arts the importance of a elective, rather than just tacking it on as a co-curricular activity as other school programmes do.
With two master’s degrees and a PhD on the way, Chandra surprisingly admits he wasn’t very good at school. In fact, he even struggled through his first degree, a bachelor’s in computer science. “I don’t remember any programming today,” he confides. Once Chandra relieved himself of his pursuits in technology and began honing in on theatre, his academic performance drastically improved. He finished his master’s in performing arts with a gold medal from the University of Hyderabad, and went on to earn two prestigious research fellowships from the UGC to write about theatre arts. These fellowships sustained him for nearly six years. “My family was happy to find out I was going to pursue theatre arts, because my paternal uncle is an author, and they thought he could help me.”
Chandra was born in Kanduluru in Andhra’s Prakasam district where his parents worked for daily wages, often at construction sites or in the tobacco fields of of the coastal district. “He was into old, traditional theatre arts,” Chandra says of his uncle. “Today I’m in national theatre festivals. I have more contacts than him,” he adds, laughing. Indeed, Chandrasekhar Indla has become a recognisable name in Telugu literary circles. This began when his final master’s project, a play adaptation of the book Gopathrudu by K.N.Y Pathanjali, became a sensation in theatres across Andhra Pradesh (before the creation of Telangana State). He followed this with another adapted play called Miss Meena, based on the tragicomedy The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Ms. Meena was performed over a 100 times statewide, earning Chandra a reputation as tested thespian. Apart from this, Chandra has also spoken and presented about Telugu theatre at international conferences.
“As a professional admirer of drama I would like to hand over the future of drama to the students to take it further,” he says. Since his joining the Academy, our students have held performances across the city, attended several festivals and plays, and most notably, entered the Amaravathi National Theatre Festival in 2017. “I had the freedom to run and develop the department,” he says of being the first drama teacher at the school. “I have used this freedom to develop the students’ abilities in acting, communication, confidence, creativity and thinking skills.” With the addition of George Macpherson to the drama department as of August 2018, the programme has only gained in strength. “We’ve built a whole new teaching strategy together,” Chandra says of his friend and colleague George. “As a practioner, I'm more comfortable teaching the the practical aspects of theatre, whereas George is very good at teaching theory."
Inevitably, Chandra went from adapting literature to the stage to creating literature himself. As of date, he has been published in Telugu literary magazines 12 times, and has a collection of short stories on the way. One of the major motifs in Chandra’s writing is social equality and social reform. At the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, where pluralism is one of the tenets of the school’s ethos, Chandra is a person students can look up to who shows these values in his work and personal life. Chandra met his wife Ezhilmathi in 2009 when they were doing their master’s of philosophy in performing arts at Pondicherry University. His area of focus was drama while hers was music. “She taught me Tamil,” he says, “I think that’s where it began.” The two had to convince their parents before they could get married. “My marriage is inter-state, inter-faith, inter-caste,” he laughs. In August 2012, Chandrasekhar and Ezhilmathi were married in a wedding with both Hindu and Christian rituals.
“Drama can build self-confidence in a person. However, most people do not have proper understanding or admiration of drama,” Chandra says. Looking out of his office window at an overcast December morning, Chandra’s thoughts about his art turn bleak. “No one reads scripts,” he says of the culture of literature in the subcontinent. “People will just read Shakespeare as a play, but that is not the case for Telugu literature.” The shields and trophies on his desk gleam in the wintry light. “Maybe this culture of drama will die out one day."
Though the thought is dark, Chandra doesn’t let it get in the way of his work, and rather uses it to fuel his work as a teacher. He knows that many of his students will go on to pursue, say, computer science, but that doesn’t deter him. “I want my students to be good humans who are not only responsible but also sensitive to others’ emotions and culture. Drama needs to be handled more as a legacy and its nuances need to be inherited and passed on generation after generation. This is possible only when I take up the role of a teacher.”
Written by Ajay Sundaram
Year 5 breakfast meeting with Junior School principal
Junior School Principal Annia Dear invites all JS parents for a breakfast meeting on 31 January at 8.00 am in the Executive Boardroom.
Meet the Staff
Senior leadership team |
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Head of Academy |
Colin Webster |
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Head of Finance |
Patrick Wambua |
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Principal Senior School Principal Junior School |
Francis Kariuki Nuala Alibhai |
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Dean of Studies |
Bernard Dudi |
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Head of Residential Life |
Benson Wafula |
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Head of Facilities and Campus Infrastructure |
Bruce Iningu |
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Head of Human Resources |
Stella Njagi |
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Administration and support services |
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Personal Assistant to Head of Academy |
Florence Oduol | |||
Business Analyst |
Sheetal Shah | |||
Accountants |
Maureen Makachia Hannah Kinuthia Amorale June Michael Kizito |
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Finance Manager |
Evangaline Wachira |
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Head of Administration |
Morris Kitheka |
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Administration Assistant |
Nanna Adede |
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Assistant Manager, Facilities Administration |
Fredrick Agolah |
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Housekeeping Supervisor |
Kennedy Ogwang' |
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Laundry Supervisor |
Wilson Guya |
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Laundry Attendants |
Raphael Ngala Hellen Mbori Jackline Odhiambo Victor Mukabana Mary Okoth |
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IT Manager |
Alex Oyugi |
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IT Technicians |
Eugene Auka Byran Otieno Bonface Mulama |
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Human Resource Officer |
Conceptor Odeke Festus Nyawa |
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Executive Chef |
Nancy Chepkoech |
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Assistant Manager, Dining & Events |
Gideon Ondieki |
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Head Cook |
Kithunga Mangi |
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Procurement & Special Projects Manager |
Sameer Rahemtulla |
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Procurement Assistant |
Peter Amiani |
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Communications Manager |
Aalia Kurji |
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Marketing Manager |
Mary Wanjiru Kimani |
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Admissions and PR Manager |
Rukaiya Husain-Devani |
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Admissions Assistant |
Naomi Nyakundi |
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Data & Examination Coordinator |
Domnic Bollo |
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Administration Assistant, Senior School |
Elizabeth Bwana |
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Lab Technicians |
John Ngala Kennedy Cosmas Stephen Kassim |
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Receptionist Events Assistant |
Victoria Sada Bakari Kazungu |
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Vice Principal - Data & Academic Systems |
Kipkemoi Serem |
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Residential Manager |
Benson Wafula |
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Senior School Librarian Assistant Librarian |
Joyce Wangari Maureen Mumasaba |
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Curriculum Development Manager |
Alex Holland |
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Service Learning and Student Leadership Development Manager |
Kauthar Mohamed |
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Vice Principal Student Support and Well-being |
Minal Shah |
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Junior school faculty |
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Principal |
Nuala Alibhai |
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Vice Principal, PYP Coordinator |
Kepha Mogere |
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Administrator – Junior School Junior School – Library Clerk |
Rebecca Davis Tungwa Nyiro |
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Student Support and Well-being Co-ordinator - Junior School |
Peter Muraguri | |||
Class Teachers |
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Year 1 Class Teachers |
Margaret Mwaka |
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Year 2 Class Teachers |
Hope Lumbukeni |
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Year 3 Class Teachers |
Enitta Olang' Lillian Mwendwe |
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Year 4 Class Teachers |
Ruth Msae |
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Year 5 Class Teachers |
Anuradha Mohsin |
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Teaching Assistants |
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Junior School |
Tom Odhiambo Janet Ambila Edgar Barasa Maryam Shallo |
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Single Subject Teachers |
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Kiswahili |
Esther Kariuki |
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Art |
Parveen Samnani |
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Music Drama |
Alice Adhiambo Gloria Muthoni |
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P.E. |
Beverlyn Injairu |
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Trandlanguaging |
Fatuma Mukoya |
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Student Learning Support Unit |
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Junior School Student Support & Well-being Co-ordinator |
Peter Muraguri |
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Professional Development Center & Outreach |
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Head of Professional Development Center |
Dr Maina WaGioko |
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Learning Toolkit Kenya Coordinator |
Enos Kiforo |
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Learning Toolkit PD Coordinator |
Rose Iminza |
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Foundation for Learning (F4L) Course Coordinators |
Charles Maina Ahmed Ibrahim Dr Benerdeta Malusi |
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F4L Monitoring & Evaluation Officer |
Paul Ngugi |
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Administration Assistant, F4L |
Pius Mulatya |
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IT Support Officer, F4L |
Samuel Kimwele |
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TPP Coordinator |
Dr Tom Abuto |
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Senior school faculty
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Principal Personal Assistant to Senior School Principal |
Francis Kariuki Lillian Kameno |
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Diploma Programme Coordinator Middle Years Programme Coordinator |
Julius Menza Nancy Oruko |
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Vice Principal, Data and Academic Systems Vice Principal Student Support & Well-being |
Serem Kipkemoi Minal Shah |
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Teacher Coaches |
Antoinette Blain Natasha Haque |
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Science Department Alice Ndung'u (Head of Department) |
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Erick Agira |
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Godfrey Kokeyo | ||||
Moses Orwe | ||||
Lucy Mwandawiro |
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Kiran Pandey | ||||
Duncan Russell | ||||
Fred Bongu | ||||
Jackson Ltorisha | ||||
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English Department Priti Avetikian (Head of Department) |
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Iyad Yuka | ||||
Amos Muuo | ||||
Faith Abuya | ||||
Beatrice Mecha | ||||
Mathematics Department Eric Ouma (Acting Head of Department) |
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Vincent Mboga |
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Edwin Basiime |
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Evance Ogada | ||||
Safari Fondo | ||||
Catherine Orwe | ||||
Technology Fredrick Wagah (Head of Department) |
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Serem Kipkemoi |
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Nelson Wakesa |
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Perpetual Mwangi |
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Expressive Arts Grace Owaga – Head of Department |
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Antoinette Blain (Teacher Coach) |
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Ernest Kisali |
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Census Wandera |
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Joyce Agiri |
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Eric Mukiira |
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Modern Foreign Languages Michael Ojuma (Head of Department) |
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Shariff Al Beiti | ||||
Henry Nyagah | ||||
Husniya Sharkamamadova | ||||
Fatuma Ibrahim | ||||
Daniel Otogo | ||||
David Ochola | ||||
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Humanities Department Susan Abuto (Head of Department) |
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Mary Nyandieka | ||||
George Kamau | ||||
Charles Sebalinga | ||||
George Kamau | ||||
Beryl Owino | ||||
Lydia Kemunto |
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Physical Health Education Department Antony Ndungu (Head of Department) |
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Jackson Kanyingi | ||||
Polycarp Ageta | ||||
Yusuf Kauli | ||||
Pauline Juma | ||||
Life Guards: Raymond Mwatsuma Yusuf Kauli |
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Sports Store Keeper Farid Ahmed |
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University Counsellors | ||||
Lucinda Ochieng | ||||
Paula Russell | ||||
Academy Fellows |
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Jordan Westlake John Morris Nyagaka Shane Omole Ozru Abdurahmonov Zahra Muia Catherine Delight |
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Health & Wellness Center Medical Doctor: Dr Eric Wekesa Wanjala |
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Nurses: Kelvin Mbaya Eunicate Karimi Jacktone Okoro Milka Gatungoh |
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Head Cooks |
Emily Oyugi Kithunga Mangi Irene Kwekwe |
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Cooks |
Irene Kwekwe Dones Mwachia Jedidah Muthui Fridah Mkara Mary Mukana Salim Juma Jean Livumbazi Irine Auma Isaac Achevi Peter Kaviti Brenda Kaiza |
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Stewards: |
Jacob Kitsao Betty Khavele Sophie Okeyo Eunice Indulachi Phyllis Bwamula Kioko Muli Emily Salame |
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To contact any staff via email, put their first and last name together and separate it with a "." followed by @agakhanacademies.org (ex: john.doe@agakhanacademies.org).