Teachers

Get to know the Veranda Team better

Founders/Directors

Andal Aghoram

Andal Aghoram's passion for literature and language is only overshadowed by her love for teaching. With a Masters in Literature and Education and over three decades of experience as a teacher, mother and grandmother she is perfectly placed to mould the next generation of thinkers and achievers. Aghoram believes that each child is uniquely equipped to learn and discover the world around them and it is this belief that has led to the creation of Veranda.


She is insistent that children should grow naturally like trees, without any fear or inhibitions. This quality of fearlessness will help them voice their thoughts freely and grow confidently. She plans to inculcate this quality of accepting challenges as opportunities in every child who comes under her care.

Mahalakshmi Ganesh

Mahalakshmi Ganesh knows the challenges of raising a child in today's world with all its technological and competing distractions. She strongly advocates blending time-tested and modern innovative methods of teaching to find the right middle ground that fits each individual child. This MSc mathematics graduate personally combines her love for eco-friendly materials, outdoor play and a clear understanding of essential concepts to teach her two boisterous sons and many nieces and nephews. Ganesh also stresses on the importance of inculcating an understanding of our culture and history as part of everyday play.

Meenakshi Suresh

With thirty years in a joint family and two grownup children, Meenakshi Suresh considers herself a mother first. Her Master's degree aside, her natural ability to connect with people genuinely has helped her raise enough funds to educate over 150 children at the NGO she co-founded. Suresh is the most popular aunt in a family with nine children, who is known for never saying 'no' to any of them. She is however uncompromising when it comes to child safety and security. Calling herself a 40 year old child, her positive attitude and genuine love to be with children has led to the creation of 'Veranda'.

"Children should grow naturally like trees, without any fear or inhibitions. This quality of fearlessness will help them voice their thoughts freely and grow confidently"

Andal Aghoram

Founder

Teaching Staff / Executive Team

Sai Prabha Subeesh

Lead Teacher

Every time, I welcome a new batch of children, my only thought is to make them fall in love with school. I have never thought of Preschool teaching to be a JOB. Some people are bestowed with a Super Skill, which they are unaware of. I was lucky to find mine at the right time in life. In class, my children and I follow simple Rules. We explore a whole new world together. And amazingly, it is a new world each time, because each child is unique. We lose all inhibition. We jump into activities with enthusiasm. We travel to different places during Story Time. And we are never afraid to ask questions or give answers, because no answer is wrong. This may sound like Utopia, but this is what I strive to do every year as a Pre School Teacher. And I have succeeded year after year for more than a decade now. When I am in a classroom, I walk a fine line between being one with the children and indulging in goofy play, to leading them, by example, down the right path, as a teacher. My biggest strength lies in my ability to effortlessly switch between these roles, as and when required. There is nothing more that I like to do, than to fly free with my children and Veranda has given me the wings and the sky to blaze a new trail.

Jhuma Sarkar

Lead Teacher

Jhuma Sarkar has done her graduation in English Literature from Calcutta University. She has worked as an Early Childhood Educator for the past six years. Her love for kids brought her into this profession. She believes that providing a safe, clean, healthy and a child friendly environment is very important for the development of a child. Inculcating self regulation and good manners are also very important.

Bindu Balakrishnan

Lead Teacher

Bindu Balakrishnan has over a decade of experience in moulding young minds. Having worked in different geographical locations she has handled various programmes of kindergarten education. She endeavours to create an environment for the child that augments as a home away from home. Her natural affinity for tiny tots enables her to earnestly enjoy the time spent amidst them. Their innocent actions brighten up her day. She dovetails her passion for singing in her classroom activities.

Sindhu Prabhakar

Lead Teacher

Sindhu is a graduate in Education and a Cambridge trained teacher. She has also completed several other certifications in Education. She has 16 years of teaching experience across various boards and schools in Chennai. She facilitates her children by setting a positive climate and organizing required resources in the classroom. She effectively relates to students and tailors teaching methods to suit their individual needs.

Latha Rani Khatod

Lead Teacher

Latha has over 14 years of experience teaching children and is fascinated by their innocence, inquisitive nature and enthusiasm to learn. She believes in providing a safe, engrossing, fun and warm environment and inculcating good manners. She is passionate about teaching and feels that every day with the children is a stress buster which makes the teaching process effortless.

Rajkumari Ezhilan

Lead Teacher

Rajkumari is a lively teacher with strong classroom management skills. She is a motivated, enthusiastic and dedicated educator committed to fostering a cohesive student learning atmosphere. Her master’s degree in communicationand five years of classroom experience helps her identify the individual and collective learning needs of the children. Her classroom is student centered and promotes self-esteem as well as cooperative learning.

Mariyam Thasbiha

Lead Teacher

Mariyam Thasbiha loves being a teacher as children make her happy. She is passionate about teaching and strongly believes that if you have dreams and passion in what you do, all the impossible can become possible. She doesn’t just teach, she helps, encourages and inspires.

Achama Roopesh

Junior Teacher

Achama is a graduate from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, who loves children and is dedicated and resourceful. She believes each child to be unique and that they need to learn and thrive at their own pace. She is enthusiastic, encouraging and has an innate ability to understand and motivate children. She is committed to the social and academic development of every child.

HIFLA

Junior Teacher

Hifla, a young enthusiast has always wanted to take up teaching as her profession and she chose to teach young children because she personally believes that children tend to carry forward those small things, which they learn at a very early stage and she wants to help them learn new things in the most fun way possible which they can adapt quickly. She also feels that being understanding and friendly is the only way to teach kids the right things which will definitely help them come out with flying colours. She has a gentle and a calm way of handling children which helps them feel safe and happy.

Priyanka Sidharth

Junior Teacher

Priyanka, a graduate in Electronics and instrumentation Engineering, is a Montessori trained teacher who is passionate about teaching. She is loving and enthusiastic about awakening a love for learning in the children in the Early Years Program. She understands what is essential during the important stages of a child’s development and provides them the same with her creative methodology.

Divya Khanna

Junior Teacher

Divya is known for her love for children and ever smiling demeanour. Her enthusiasm makes her think of creative ways to handle children. She is passionate about teaching and understands the importance of early childhood education and the impact that the early years have in shaping up a child. She possesses tremendous determination and patience.

Sri Vidya

Junior Teacher

Vidhya has a rich experience teaching young children for the past ten years. She feels immensely rewarded by the impact that she has made on the lives of the children she has taught. Besides teaching, her interests lie in Cooking and going for long walks.

Jamuna Panchariya

Junior Teacher/Hindi

Jamuna, is a graduate who has worked as an educator for the past eight years. She is passionate, hardworking and disciplined. She uses creative teaching strategies to keep the children interested. She is perfectly placed to mould the next generation of thinkers.

Vasumathi Y

Junior Teacher/Tamil

Vasumathi is a hardworking and sincere Tamil Language teacher with a rich and varied experience. She has strong communication skills and has handled children at the primary level for six years. She is positive, driven and passionate about engaging children at levels. She is extremely patient and enhances the social experiences of the children by encouraging group lessons and learning.

Vishnu Priya

Art Teacher

Vishnu Priya is passionate about providing quality early childhood care and education. Her love for learning and passion for creative arts are her strengths. With her humour and attention for kids, she can provide a safe, happy and a fun educational environment. She values the uniqueness of talents and will provide learning opportunities and care which will meet the individual children’s needs.

Majeeha Benazir

Pre Primary Coordinator

A Post Graduate in Human Resource Management and a qualified Montessori and CIDTT (Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers) Trained Teacher. Having 10+ years of experience in teaching she is passionate about sharing her love for learning with young learners. As an accommodating and versatile individual she owns the talent to develop inspiring hands-on lessons that will capture a child's imagination. She acts as a facilitator rather than a teacher, where she helps and guides children to explore and bring out their curiosity in learning.

Chithkala Rajaraman

Values Program Coordinator

The most satisfying process that a value facilitator can have is to elicit the innate goodness in children. It’s a joy to see the little ones blossom slowly and steadily as they discover themselves in a natural way each day. Veranda gives me the right environment to do this.

Rajana Mahesh

Accounts Executive

Rajana is a graduate in Mathematics and a student of NIIT with 4 years of experience in Finance. She is a self-driven, motivated women who takes up responsibilities with utmost enthusiasm. She would like to see her as an entrepreneur and have an immaculate zeal towards learning and accepting newer ways of implementing things.

Thanuja Shanmugam

Front Office Executive

Thanuja, is an experienced administrator with excellent communication skills. She works hard and accomplishes her goals with great determination. She is a fun-loving, enthusiastic, and energetic person who enjoys interacting with others. She likes to travel, maintains a healthy lifestyle and has a positive outlook on life.

Melody Shillong

Front Office Executive

Melody is currently pursuing her under-graduate degree in “BA - Public Administration", She free-lanced in the beauty industry for 2 years and she runs a small food and dessert start up as well. Melody is a hard worker and is hoping to be a successful entrepreneur someday. She believes in getting things done and is great at multi-tasking. She loves to learn new things and is constantly asking questions to further her knowledge. Melody also has an interest in dogs, travel, cultures and cinema.

ANGELIN. N

Office Assistant

Angelin is a very positive individual with excellent communication skills who enjoys interacting with others. She has completed a Commerce degree and worked as a Customer Service Representative. She is very energetic and contributes to office work besides overseeing the Food and Cleaning Committees.