“We were 9 siblings and my father was the only earning member. I always had a desire to support my father. I started taking tuition at home and after 12th I took up a job in a private school as a teacher in 1978. I travelled to 6-7 homes after school hours to take tuition. Years later in 1983, I started working at St. Francis D'Assisi School, Borivali, Mumbai. 

When I got married in 1986, things began to change for the better. I was fortunate to have a loving family who was constantly there for me. I dedicatedly worked hard and rarely took leaves from my responsibilities. Time was something I couldn’t compromise on and being particular about it had always kept me on my toes. My colleagues called me an early bird and my son named me “Multi-tasking Mumma”.

I was a teacher for 35 years and retired in 2017. In 2005, I was honoured with Mayor's Award for the Best Teacher. I was chosen as a trainer to visit several schools and lead teacher training programs on various topics. I was also selected for census work and asked to train the scholarship students. Apart from work I loved music and music has been my passion throughout. I enrolled for Visharad in Hindustani Classical Music and completed it in the year 2013.

After so many fruitful years, I was still lacking self-contentment. I had always wanted to pursue BA, but it was not possible due to the financial situation at the time. However, I was now prepared to adorn my hat with yet another feather. I took BA admission at Mumbai University and graduated in 2021 with 75%. I was the happiest that day, felt proud of myself and thought of pursuing MA as well. I believe learning is a continuous process and age can never be a barrier to pursuing education/dreams.” - Sunita Naik (Khyaal Community Member)