Divya Bawa and The Story Band

                    

Divya believes that the story of her foray into education is an example of the power of the universe and the fact that when God has made one destined for something, that dream should be chased.

It was at a friend’s birthday lunch at the India Habitat Centre, chatting with some friends, when Divya got to know that there was an opening in a playschool. Divya, at this time, was busy studying for her CA finals and wanted a break from her routine. The thought of being a substitute teacher in a playschool for a couple of days appealed to her. She had no idea that this one step was taking her towards her calling. A couple of days turned into a month and soon Divya was offered a contract for working in the school. She wanted to grab the opportunity! Her family couldn’t understand the drastic change in career but they supported her because it was evident that Divya felt passionately about this.

After working in playschools for some time, Divya realized she wanted formal education in this profession. Providence led her to The Ardee School. She went for an interview before she enrolled in the course. Divya had very little information about what Montessori teaching meant but she was once again guided by someone she randomly met at a relative’s place for dinner.

Divya believed that a higher power was showing her the way forward. The Ardee School sent Divya for an internship to The Shriram School. Divya was single at that time and had no nieces and nephews in the family; she had no clue about schools. Initially she found it tough there as it was a big change from working in playschools or even as working as an auditor in a CA firm! At the Shriram School she was an assistant teacher whose job was basically assessed on how good her art and craft works were. Divya couldn’t even draw a straight line but her time at the school taught her important life lessons and impacted her thought processes positively. Gradually Divya settled in and felt that her passion and skills were being recognized.

After marriage, Divya’s husband decided that they should set up a school. They began an education company and ran it for several years. Divya had a hard time fitting into an entrepreneur’s role and most of the time she kept hiding behind building curriculum for schools and training teachers. After a decade of running the business, they sold it. Divya felt she had given all she could creatively to the schools. She now wanted to spend time with her daughter. Becoming a mum at 37 had its challenges and Divya wanted to spend time bringing her up.

As her daughter grew, Divya realized that she wanted to expose her to the ways of learning that Divya had practiced successfully for years. The Reading Bug and The Story Band programs started with her daughter and some friends and kept growing organically. The Pandemic taught them how to operate online, with Divya’s experience in computers coming in handy.

The Story Band started curating personalized games, Hindi and phonic boxes, Story boxes, Culture boxes and Art Boxes during the pandemic. Their business grew out of Divya’s husband’s and her own passion for art, joyful education and pride in their culture and their belief in raising mindful and happy children. They began to develop products in accordance with their clients’ needs. Each of their products were unique and original.

The challenges they faced while setting up the business were mostly related to scaling. There is an insane amount of work and skill which goes into design and content. It is also crucial to be able to reach out to a larger audience. Divya believes this is a continuous process and with each order they learn something new.

Apart from her passion for The Story Band, Divya loves listening to music, watching rom coms, baking and reading.  Her daughter is now six years old and loves the activities that Divya comes up with.

Follow her on

https://www.instagram.com/thestorybandbydivyabawa/