Zonta’s 28th charter nite

"If I can change one single life, then what I do is worthwhile. I reach (and) touch the future of the child every day.” A happy, fulfilled Silloo Commissariat, former principal of the Panday School for Girls, acknowledged a teacher’s sense of joy to the members of the Zonta Club of Bombay III who had presented her with the Club’s "Woman of the Year Award 2007.”

The assembled gathering at the Islam Gymkhana on April 20, 2007 heard committee member Zarine Khambatta describe Commissariat’s 50-year association with the School, starting in 1957 when there were "no fans, no science laboratory, no playground and no activities” in the Parsi founded institution. In the 25 years and more since she was appointed principal in 1975, Commissariat built up its educational standard, made it cosmopolitan, started providing tonics and free breakfast to her wards, introduced Indian dancing, karate, yoga and nature hikes. A multiplicity of awards have come her way including the Rotary Club Award of July 2005 presented to her by Bombay University vice chancellor Dr Vijay Khole and the one presented by Cardinal Simon Pimenta on behalf of The Indian Express and Suman Group among others, noted Kham­batta.

Appreciating Zonta’s work for the rehabilitation of women and children, Commissariat accepted the award as an honor not to her alone but to the "entire teaching faculty, often ignored by society and taken for granted…God couldn’t be in all places so he made mothers. Mothers can’t be in all places so he made teachers” to recognize the downside of children, provide "wings of independence and roots of responsibility… because today’s child is very stressed out and needs support. The syllabus changes are like the roads of Bombay. Teachers are the support on whom the student can lean.”

President Perviz Mistry had a special word of praise for three Zontarians, former presidents Mahazaver Dalal and Freny Paghdiwala, and for Hutoxy Dotivala, noting that "the Club was her brainchild.”

Silloo Commissariat receiving Zonta award from Neeta Pradhan

Annrieke Owen, wife of the US consul general in Bombay, with an academic base in education and psychiatry and an interest in the plight of women and children in the lands she has lived in, said she had been observing the work of NGOs here for the past one-and-a-half years. Noting parallels between teachers and nurses, she recalled her mother’s excellent example noting, "Women never break, never give up. You don’t have to be a film star to do wonderful things.”

Kaushalya Tulgul, abandoned as a child because she could neither see nor hear, has learnt to read and write, developed culinary skills, makes jewelry and participates in solo and group dances choreographed by Shia­mak Davar. Her life has been transformed by the Helen Keller Institute, it was noted.

Beroz Vacha, honorary director and consultant to the Helen Keller Institute introduced Manju Vyas of Apne Aap, an organization for the betterment of the girls born to prostitutes. "We can’t prevent mothers (from pursuing their vocation) but we can help their daughters, stop the second generation from prostitution.” Vyas highlighted the precarious conditions of health and safety of these kids, the mental instability of those who are "treated as a commodity for sale or hire.” The social exclusion added to their already low strata, their difficulty of getting into school because they cannot state their father’s name. They are "especially vulnerable because of social concepts that sex with children or a virgin is a cure for sexually transmitted diseases,” emphasized Vyas.

Vyas’ plea found a ready and committed audience for, as Commissariat noted, "You recognize value and dedication.” Arnavaz S. Mama