It gives me immense pleasure to share with you that we have revived your favourite publication, Palava Times! And this is the first issue of its new edition. The upcoming editions will have digital and print versions for you to experience the feel of reading a newspaper while being easily able to share its link with your loved ones.
Palava Times has always been close to my heart as it was envisioned to share attributes and influences that help shape a city, your city. This issue focuses on a subject that has been in the spotlight during and after the pandemic: Education. We at the Lodha Group firmly believe that to build a better life for the future of tomorrow, quality education is key. And at Palava, the focus has always been towards becoming one of the top educational districts in the country that offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and teaching practices. Presently we have four schools in the neighbourhoods, Lodha World School, Palava, Pawar Public School, Lodha World School, Lakeshore Greens and The Shri Ram Universal School. Located at walking distance from the residential complex, as per Palava's 5-10-15 design (I will tell you more of this at a later day,) in addition to the focus on academics, our schools offer students the opportunity to hone their extracurricular skills at studios dedicated to dance, music, art, drama and more and their sports skills at the world-class Olympic Sports Complex in the neighbourhood.
A leader sets the path for others to follow, and in our schools, this pivotal task is carried out by the teachers. And the results are for everyone to see. Our schools have consistently been awarded the top ranks in Top ICSE Schools: Holistic Education, Co-ED Education in Kalyan by the Education World India and listed among the top Emerging Schools in Mumbai by the Times School Survey Ranking. And be it Spelling Bee, English & Math Olympiads, Yoga, Swimming, Kho-Kho, and more, our students have excelled at the state and national levels bringing home gold and silverware!
Last year we celebrated the 5th Founder’s Day at The Shri Ram Universal School at Lakeshore Greens, hosted the city’s very first post-pandemic Education Conclave in association with Karadi Path, and launched a series of sustainable initiatives at Lodha World Schools. Child-Centric learning, curriculums based on design thinking, and symbiotic learning that encourage students to learn from everyone and everything and focus on a child’s emotional wellness and environmental consciousness have been the pillars of education at all our schools.
Interestingly these also complement the ethos of Palava, an International city with an Indian heart, where one can experience life rather than simply hustle through it. This issue promises a few interesting reads among others, my personal favourites being the tete-a-tete with C.P Viswanath as he discusses whether technology can ever replace a school teacher, the vision of the TILT founder who makes sure our citizens get around the city on eco-friendly bi-cycles and the inspiring journey of our home-bred triathlete, Arijeet Mukherjee, who completed his first Ironman in Kazakhstan last year! I am thrilled to receive a copy of the first edition of Palava Times 2023 and can’t wait to scroll through it.
Thank you for enlivening Palava and helping us shape our vision. You make us, and your stories inspire us to do better than the best. And this quarterly publication is the ideal platform to share your stories with the world, so make sure you write to our editorial team and share your adventures to get featured in the next issue. Hope you enjoy this read.
- Shaishav Dharia