The Captain of a Team, who Dare to Dream, Dr. Anis Ahmed
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Dr. Anis Ahmed, a well-known personality in the educational arena of Kuwait, is the Director of Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS), which is dedicated to the integral development of a child, as well as the society as a whole, where he/she belongs to. With their unique tag line ‘Dare to Dream’, the whole team at SIMS encourages their students to dream high and achieve it. Here, purposeful attempts are made for the kids to know the culture of their motherland and the land where they live in. Further, the effort stands out as extraordinary, when they celebrate the Indian Republic Day and the National and Liberation Day of Kuwait combined together as Indo-Kuwait Mela, the first of its kind among students community.
IIK: Congrats Sir, on such a wonderful initiative. What made you think of an Indo-Kuwait friendship Mela?
Dr.Anis: First of all, Thank You IIK for the opportunity to interact with the community on this wonderful occasion. Here in our school we have the practice of making kids aware of our culture, heritage and history, from time to time. In 2014 January we had organized a Republic Day Fair showcasing the true color and taste of Indian states and it was widely accepted. This time when we thought of such a celebration, it came to my mind that there is only one month gap between the national celebrations of both the countries with which we are closely associated with. Also the Indian expatriate society in Kuwait consists of people who had spent almost their whole life here. Then why can’t we club it up for a combined mela depicting the long heard stories of their friendship and thus named it as Indo-Kuwait Friendship Mela, a common platform for both the nationals to celebrate their national day.
IIK: That’s nice, and how your team at SIMS took it?
Dr.Anis: After conceiving this idea, I presented it to my staff members. They accepted it overwhelmingly. Initially the plan was to have Indian Republic Day and they were getting things ready for that and suddenly they were asked to prepare for a wider angle. Time was a critical factor, hardly 15 days. Still they were excited, took it very enthusiastically, distributed the duties, worked together for the cause and the result was amazing.
IIK: What was the response from the parents and the community outside SIMS?
Dr.Anis: Tremendous. Parents offered full hearted support. Except for a write up which came in IIK and some other web portals, we did not have any publicity campaign for this Mela. All what happened was by word of mouth and it turned out to be a full day event with more than 6000 visitors, including those from Arab community. Cookery event organized was exclusively for parents. Indo-Kuwait fashion show was organized where the partakers were the parents and teachers. Around 55 participants including Indians, Kuwaitis, Lebanese and Egyptians were on stage showcasing the traditional attires of both India and Arab world.Musical show by the renowned Kuwaiti singer Mubarak Al Rashid, who describes himself a true lover of music, added colour to the evening. Being a Kuwaiti national when he sings our Hindi film songs with passion, there lays the essence of relationship we share with this land.
IIK: Could you share with us the experience of setting up such a unique Mela?
Dr.Anis: Our intension was to create the real feel of a desert camp where people can have the experience of both cultures. It was a bit difficult, but the desire to conduct such a mela, as a tribute to India and Kuwait, took us forward. At SIMS we are lucky to have some open space and we could set up Khaymas exactly the way they do in deserts with a Diwaniyah ambience. Some ponies were brought, rides were there for the kids, and food stalls were set up with variety of Indo-Arabic cuisines. People really enjoyed with family taking food from stalls and having it at the Khaymas.
IIK: Was that a new experience for your students in SIMS?
Dr.Anis: To be part and parcel of such a mela, definitely was a unique experience, but the long lasted friendship of both the countries is not new to them. In school, during class assemblies, we talk to them on various subjects. We try to share information on the tradition and heritage of both the countries as well as the stories of their friendship. In the Mela also we put up a ‘Nukkat Natak’ where it showed how people from Kuwait went to India for trade, how they build relationships with our people there, how they welcomed us here when we migrated to this part of world after the discovery of oil and so on.
IIK: At SIMS you have kids from different communities. Tell us about the cross section of the student community at SIMS?
Dr.Anis: SIMS is an Indian school and hence the priority and the majority is Indian community. But our doors are wide open for kids who seek education, irrespective of their nationality.
IIK: In your opinion why they opt for Indian education when there is a visible gap exist between two cultures? How the kids manage to accept each other?
Dr.Anis: The sole reason is the high standard of Indian education. They all are very much aware of the capacity of our curriculum and the teachers. Our standard of English language is so good that at least during the beginning years of education they prefer Indian schools to lay a strong foundation for their kids.And for the kids; they need only few hours to accept each other. Nationality and culture doesn’t make any difference for them to develop a relationship among themselves and they enjoy their friendship.
IIK: You are experienced in the field of education, now for last 16 years in Kuwait, how do you compare India and Kuwait?
Dr.Anis: Starting my career in Indian Army, I have completed 33 years of service in educational field. I came to Kuwait as the founder principal of another school and now serving as the founder director of SIMS. From my experience, as far as the facilities at schools are concerned, you cannot compare India and Kuwait. Both are totally different scenario. Even those schools which are considered to be the best in Kuwait don’t match with schools in India in terms of infrastructure. Back in India, when a student enjoys the luxury of vast area as the campus, in Kuwait we cannot even think of it. But I should say, within this limited facilities, the service that Indian schools in Kuwait are providing to the expatriate community, is excellent. Be it in academics, or co/extra-curricular activities, the students are performing exceptionally well with the help of competent teaching faculties available.
IIK: Then why there is a notion that kids from Gulf are not able to adapt or compete when they go back for higher education?
Dr.Anis: They are competent enough to take up any challenge they come across in life. Only thing is that they are not exposed to the hard core of our society, because of many reasons, which makes it a bit time consuming to adjust. But now the infrastructure that many of the private schools offer is excellent. Kids here are brought up in a much more pampered or close knit atmosphere. Pampered not by the parents, but by the facilities provided to them. They enjoy 24 hours electricity, internet, and other facilities and they get everything they need, on their fingertips. Also they might develop a feel that since their parents are NRIs they can avail an admission to the desired course on NRI quota. They don’t have the cut throat competition like those faced by the kids in India. They even have a much wider option like studying abroad. This makes them a bit laid-back. IIK: As a team with a unique tag line ‘Dare to Dream’, what is your contribution to these students at SIMS?
Dr.Anis: As you said, our motto is ‘Dare to Dream’ and we train our kids to dream big. At the same time we teach them to work hard for achieving it. We prepare them to take up the challenges in life. At SIMS we are a family who share and care for each other. The relationship of our teaching staff with kids is so warm that they are able to take our kids to the heights of achievements. Parents and students can walk in to my room any time for any of their needs.
IIK: SIMS is having 2 full time counselors at service. How is this helping your team and in particular the students and parents?
Dr.Anis: Students at school can have many issues, may be personal or academic. A student counselor can handle such cases very easily. For example in our school some students were found to be disobedient in class and were closely watched by our counselors. They could find that those kids were attention seekers who were getting ignored at home due to the busy schedule of parents. Teachers are the ones who can first point out any change in the character of a kid at school. They refer those kids to our counselors. Their service helps our students and parents to overcome the stress and strain they face. If any case develops, where an extended treatment is required, we stand together for the recovery of the child.
IIK: What will be your message to our readers or rather the student and parent community in Kuwait who read us?
Dr.Anis: We are here to earn for them and spend for their needs including education. But in addition to addressing their financial needs parents should find time to spare with their kids. In the busy schedule they should find time to have dinner together, time to hear the stories at school that their kids has to share, time to tell them about your native land, your childhood, families back in India, relationships etc. This will make them feel closer to our family and nation. This will help them to value relations and be a good individual. After all, our ultimately priority is our kids, right.
IIK : Absolutely Sir, our kids are our priority and it is our responsibility to develop them into good citizens who know to respect the culture and tradition of motherland India and bread winning land Kuwait.
Thank You so much for your time and all the very best for your future endeavors
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Reshmy Krishnakumar is a freelance Statistician based in India. She was working with Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) as Research Associate. Having done her post-graduation in Statistics, she worked as lecturer at St.Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, until her relocation to Kuwait to join at Statistics Department, Kuwait University, Khaldiya.
As a freelance writer, she is contributing to various magazines, blogs, and websites. Her passion includes classical dance, writing poems in Malayalam and Hindi. While in Kuwait she was an active member of the Writers’ Forum Kuwait, Indian Women In Kuwait (IWIK) and Science International Forum (SIF) Kuwait.
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