The second edition of the Mumbai Schools Survey 2023 will be published by the Free Press Journal soon. While our back end crew is busy compiling the figures, we decided to record some celebrity reminiscences about their time in school as a part of The FPJ’s interview series #StarsSchoolsAndStories.
Actress Harleen Sethi is one popular name when it comes to the OTT business. She was recently seen in the critically-acclaimed series 'Kohrra'. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Harleen reflected on her time back in school, some tidbits from her young and carefree days, and more.
Excerpts:
Which school did you study in and your favourite subjects?
I was in Juhu's Vidyanidhi school initially, and later, I moved to Jankidevi Public School in Andheri which was much closer to my house and it had a lot more extracurricular activities. We had swimming, horse riding, rifle shooting and gym right in our school so that was insane fun! My favourite subject was definitely not Maths. I was fairly good with languages and I also enjoyed History and Geography till about Class 5.
Who was your favourite teacher and why?
I remember Lajja ma'am. I was very fond of her. And funnily enough, we both switched schools in the same year, so she was my teacher in my previous school and then she moved with me to the new school as well, and she taught me at both places. But after shifting to the new school, something happened and I really disliked her after that, I remember it very particularly.
How often were you punished and what was the punishment?
I was rarely punished because I was a very disciplined and obedient student. I was more of a teacher's pet than being popular among my peers. But there was this one incident for which I was punished and it broke my heart. There was this captaincy which everyone used to fight for in school, and I eventually managed to become the captain so I was extremely happy. But according to my teachers, I got into the wrong company, and maybe I tried to be like that girl and started copying her. I kept doing it despite several warnings, and that is when my teachers decided to punish me by taking away my captaincy. I was heartbroken!
What extracurricular activities were you involved in?
Extracurricular activities were so my thing! You name it and I was a part of it. Debates, elocutions, long jump, throw ball, table tennis, karate, - swimming, carrom, chess -- every sport that was there in school, I made sure I participated in it and have medals too.
How many school friends are you still in touch with and meet up with?
A few of them. Some of my schoolmates still live around. A couple of times, we even met for these reunions, but nothing of that sort has happened of late as everyone is busy with their own work and lives.
Any particular location within the school you used to hang out a lot?
I was not a "hanging out a lot" type of student. I was either found inside my classroom during the lectures or on the playground or court during extracurricular activities.
Do you have a message for today's students?
Don't take life too seriously. Work hard but remember that nothing is the end of the world. Read a lot of books. And apart from studies, make sure you are participating in a lot of extracurricular activities because you never know what you might start liking in school and decide to pursue it in life ahead. Make sure you are having an overall development in that sense.
