“To lift up the best”

Twenty-one Parsis have been selected as J. N. Tata scholars for 2007-2008, notes Dr Nawaz B. Mody, director, J. N. Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians. Twelve opted for study in the USA, six in the UK and one each in Australia and Canada. Among the subjects selected for specialization, business topped the list with eight students, computer related studies and engineering were second with three each, and psychology, two. Others subjects selected include biomedicine, animation, physiotherapy, law and religious studies.

"Not only have the number of aspirants been growing phenomenally but the fields from which they come have also become increasingly diversified. There are now a large number of J. N. Tata scholars in India and abroad who are not only carrying out path-breaking research and teaching at reputed institutions but are also manning and leading national and international” institutions, providing quality health care and legal services, and entering sunrise industries such as information technology and biotechnology.

Till the 1990s the loans advanced varied between Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000 per scholar. Today the amount can go up to two lakh rupees. "This was possible through judicious fund management, continuous efforts to step up repayments and generous donations received from various Tata companies and allied trusts,” observes Mody.

The number of beneficiaries of the Endowment has increased considerably since its establishment in 1892. "So far the scholarship has been awarded to 3,938 scholars from all parts of the country and from more than 200 disciplines. With the phenomenal increase in the number of applications received — 725 in 2007 — special efforts have been made to make the selection procedure both effective and efficient enabling the best to be selected through countrywide competition,” adds Mody.

The Indian Civil Service and other professional services were manned entirely by British nationals during the late 1800s and Indians did not have the means to go abroad to acquire a professional education and appear for the competitive examinations held in England. "What advances a nation or the community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, as to lift up the best and most gifted so as to make them of the greatest service to the country. I prefer this constructive philanthropy which seeks to educate and develop the faculties of the best of our young,” stated Jamsetji Nusserwanjee Tata. He sent to England from his own personal resources two graduates with outstanding academic records for higher studies. The first awardee, Dr Freany K. Cama went to Edinburgh and Dublin to study gynecology and midwifery in 1892. "This was the genesis of the Endowment,” notes Mody.

"To instill the spirit of self-help, Tata had insisted from the beginning that the scholarships should be in the form of loans. He could afford to give but he preferred to lend, for he knew well that self-help alone could give self-reliance and self-respect,” remarks Mody.

This year for the first time an orientation program was held for the selected scholars. Members of the USA and UK consulates talked about the formalities involved in travel to their countries, author and erstwhile director of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust Russi Lala spoke about Jamsetji Tata and former Tata scholars shared their experiences.

Awardees

Omar Balsara completed his schooling from the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay and his BCom degree from the H. R. College of Commerce, Bombay. He now plans to study for his MBA degree at the University of Rochester, USA, specializing in Brand and Sports Management. Balsara is a nationally renowned billiards and snooker player who wants to return and use the knowledge of his course in sports management to improve the status of sports in India.

Zarir Bhesania did his schooling at the Dadar Parsi Youths Assembly High School and went on to complete his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the S. S. Jondhale College of Engineering, Bombay, with a first class. He will now pursue his Master’s degree in Computer Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he has been awarded the Institute Graduate Scholarship. Bhesania wants to pursue a career in systems security after the completion of his Master’s program.

Farina Chinoy studied at the Hyderabad Public School and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Sophia College for Women in Bombay. She also secured a postgraduate diploma in Psychological Counseling from the St Francis College for Women in Hyderabad. Chinoy has interned with Jeevan Dhara, an NGO working in the field of drug and alcohol rehabilitation. She has secured admission at the Department of Psychology of the California State University at Fullerton, where she has obtained a partial tuition waiver. Chinoy plans to do a PhD in Clinical Psychology to equip her to help her clients through the use of new interventionist techniques.

Cyrus Cooper is a mid-career professional presently working as the managing director, commercial with the Halcyon Group of companies. A commerce graduate and a qualified chartered accountant, Cooper has spent 17 years with the Forbes Group and with Arthur Anderson, where he specialized in risk consulting with assurance. He has enrolled for the Sloan Fellowship MSc degree from the London Business School. The Sloan Fellowship is offered only by three institutions worldwide — the London Business School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Stanford University, USA. The course is specifically designed for experienced managers and focuses on creating senior managers for global corporates.

Burzin M. Daruwalla studied at the Campion School in Bombay and completed his BCom degree with a first class from the H. R. College of Commerce, Bombay. He has secured admission to the University of West Georgia for a double graduate program in business, culminating in an MBA in finance and accounting. Daruwalla hopes to grow holistically in the future and aims at a career in international finance to respond to needs of the expanding world of business.

Jeroo Doodhmal completed her schooling from the National Public School in Bangalore after which she secured her BA degree in Psychology with a first class from St Xavier’s College, Bombay and her Master’s degree, also with a first class, from the Department of Applied Psychology of the University of Bombay. She has secured admission at the London School of Economics and Political Science for an MSc degree in Organizational and Social Psychology. She has worked with various NGOs including the Promise Foundation which works with dyslexic and street children and has also interned at Q Market Research Private Limited. Doodhmal hopes to use her knowledge to bring about transformation in the treatment of mental health patients.

Kaiomarz D. Engineer finished his schooling from St Xavier’s High School, Ahmedabad. He obtained his BE specializing in Computer Engineering from the Charotar Institute of Technology, Gujarat University. He will pursue his MS in Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. He hopes to specialize in the field of networking of data at the global level to make it more accessible and affordable to the masses.

Naomi Kotwal completed her schooling from the Gokuldham High School, Bombay. She completed her BE degree in Biomedical Engineering from the D. J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Bombay. She is going to the University of Illinois at Chicago to obtain her Master’s degree in Biomedical/Medical Engineering. Kotwal hopes to specialize in medical imaging which she firmly believes is a unique diagnostic tool which can be further improved for its optimal usage in the future.

Chirag Medhora completed his schooling from St Mary’s High School in Bombay and his BE degreee in Computer Engineering from the Father Conceicao Rod­rigues College of Engineering, Bombay. He has secured admission at the Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh for an MS degree in Information Technology and Business Technology. Medhora secured the first prize at the National Entrepreneurship Network’s "Ideaz” Competition. He also secured a perfect score of 300 at the TOEFL examination. Medhora’s purpose of studying abroad is to bring artificial intelligence and web-based products to India by setting up a research and development institute in the country.

Firoza Mehta studied at the Alexandra Girls’ English Institution, Bom-bay. She went on to complete her BCom degree from Jai Hind College and her MCom from the Sydenham College, Bombay. Later she also acquired a postgraduate diploma in sales and marketing management from the Xavier’s Institute of Management. A mid-career professional, Mehta has been in the field of marketing and business development of jewelry. She will proceed for her Master’s degree in International Business and Trade at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Glendale, USA and specialize in providing consultancy and marketing skills to the gem and jewelry business in India.

Beynaz Mistry is a senior compositor at Crest Animation Studios, Bombay and has been working for over nine years in the field of computer animation. With the growing popularity of animation in India and increasing outsourcing of international work to India, Mistry realized the need to update her skills. Her training for the Maya Comprehensive for VFX Course from Escape Studios in London will not only enable her to acquire the necessary skills but also put her in a position to share this technology with her team and colleagues.

Shavir Nagarwalla, a student of St Mary’s High School, Bombay, completed his BE degree in Computer Engineering with distinction from the M. H. Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, Bombay. He secured a gold medal for Best Student of Academic Excellence and was also awarded the Gulbanu Dhanani Trophy by the College. After completing his course in engineering he joined Tata Consul­tancy Services where he was assigned to work with the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange of India. This assignment enhanced his interest in Management and Finance. Nagarwalla then secured admission at the Owen Graduate School of Management, Van­der­bilt University, USA for a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management where he was also awarded the merit based Owen Scholarship for his first year of MBA studies. After completing his MBA he hopes to work with a leading investment bank to raise funds for the private placement of equity.

Dr Khushnum Farraokh Pastakia finished her schooling from the Villa Theresa High School in Bombay and acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy as a student of the Seth G. S. Medical College, Bombay affiliated to the Maha­rashtra University of Health Sciences, Nasik. She has secured admission to study for a Master’s program in Manual and Sports Physiotherapy at the University of South Australia. She has been working as a staff physiotherapist at the Asian Heart Institute, Bombay since May 2005. She is "ardently interested in sports physiotherapy” and hopes to further the cause of preventive and interventional sports medicine in India.

Hormuz Jal Patel completed his schooling from the Activity High School, Bombay and his BCom degree from the H. R. College of Commerce and Economics, Bom­bay. A qualified chartered accountant, Patel has been working with Reliance Industries as manager, international taxation. He will be pursuing his MBA degree specializing in finance at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Nadirsh Darius Patel is an alumnus of St Mary’s High School, Bombay. He completed his BE degree in Mechanical Engineering from the K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Bombay. Later Patel worked with Uhde India Private Limited as a design engineer. He has secured admission for a Master’s program in mechanical engineering at the Horace N. Rackham School of Graduate Studies of the University of Michigan, USA. Patel has a passion for cars and hopes to work in a world class automotive company in the field of research and development and later branch out on his own.

Shazneen Jehangir Patel finished her schooling from St Mary’s School, Poona. Later she completed the five-year integrated degree of Bachelor of Social and Legal Sciences from the Symbiosis Society’s Law College, Poona, affiliated to the Symbiosis International Educational Centre, a deemed university. After completing her degree she has interned with leading advocates and now plans to study for her LLM degree specializing in Maritime Studies at the School of Law of the University of Southampton, UK. She plans to specialize in maritime law since there is a dearth of specialists in this emerging and crucial field.

Simin Jehangir Patel completed her schooling from the J. B. Petit High School, Bombay. She secured her BA degree with a first class specializing in English Literature from St Xavier’s College, Bombay. Later she went on to do her Master’s degree in English from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has also completed her basic course in the Avesta language from the Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy Zarthosti Madres­sa. She has worked with Parsiana magazine between 2001 and 2004 and has also assisted and edited with the Journal of the School of Languages and Dipan­jali. Patel now plans to study for the Master’s program in Indian religions, specializing in Zoroastrianism, at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London under the guidance of Prof Almut Hintze. She has been awarded the prestigious Zartoshty Brothers Scholarship and the Felix Scholarship by the SOAS.

Urmez Patel completed his schooling from the Bombay Cambridge School and passed his BE degree with first class from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Bombay. Patel will be doing his MS in Electrical Engineering at the Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, and hopes to return to serve Indian industry in various high technology sectors.

Kashmira Talati schooled in Bombay and went on to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Management Studies from the Haza­rimal Somani College, Bombay. She wants to do an MBA abroad specializing in international marketing.

Parvez Tehrani completed his school education from the Baldwin Boys’ School and the Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in Bangalore. He completed his BE in Computer Engineering with a first class from the K. L. E. Society’s College of Engineering and Technology, Bel-gaum, affiliated to the Visveswaraiah Technological University, Belgaum. After his degree he worked with Tata Consultancy Services, initially in their tools and technology group and later with consulting companies such as Cisco Systems. He has proceeded for the MBA program at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada, where he was chosen to receive the Rotman School of Management Entrance Award. Tehrani later aims at running his own equity fund with a focus on India.

Farhad Jehangir Unvala finished his schooling from the Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay. He completed his BCom degree from the H. R. College of Commerce and Economics in Bombay. Unvala has secured admission to the London School of Economics and Political Science for an MSc in Accounting and Finance. Having interned in stock broking, he hopes to pursue a career in the financial services industry in India.