SHARE:  
Join Our Email List
Dear Friends,
 
It is great to walk on a campus that is returning to life. Last week we restarted in-person classes for all grades. This change has been an enormous relief, especially for our younger students. After a long 22 months of attending online classes, these kids are finally back rolling down the hill on the field, playing in the playground, laughing in the classrooms, and even enjoying the sun during lunch breaks. 

While we look forward to welcoming you all back to campus, we will continue running our virtual events. The line-up of events proves to be a great way to interact with you and bring us together as a community.
This January was a great start for the Alumni Office, too. We welcomed to the team, our KIS Development Officer, Kalyani Gandhi-Rhodes (Class of ‘87). Kalyani joins us with her son Shiv from the UK and looks forward to strengthening ties between the school and its alumni. She has over 28 years of experience under her belt, working internationally in operational and strategic senior management, governance and organisational business development. She is committed to tackling inequality and promoting diversity and inclusion. She is also an avid hiker interested in sustainable living and reverential ecology.
The Quad Talk series has also seen success this January, and we continue the fun into February. Be sure to be on the lookout for talks and visit our events site for more information and links to recordings.

Be sure to join us for the upcoming Quad Talks. Register below:
Environmental Injustices in Urban India
with Dr. Malini Ranganathan (Class of ‘97)
February 12 | 2100 HRS IST, 1030 HRS EST
Rapidly expanding cities of India face challenges of water access, flooding, and sanitation, among others. The poorer, ethnic and religious minorities groups bear a disproportionate burden of these environmental injustices.

Dr. Malini Ranganathan (Class of ‘97), Urban Geographer and Associate Professor at the American University engages in a conversation with Kalyani Gandhi-Rhodes (Class of ‘87) KIS Development Officer. They examine archival and ethnographic research done by Dr. Ranganathan in Bengaluru to bring to light some of these inequities, paying close attention to the little-recognized role of casteism in urban India.
Looking Beyond the Gentle Answer and More
with Dr. Gordon Nickel (Class of ‘71)
March 5 | 2100 HRS IST, 1030 HRS EST
In a time, when political and religious polarization is prevalent; learning to give the ‘Gentle Answer’ to those we disagree with whilst maintaining our own faith and integrity is a necessary trait for being a true global citizen. Gordon Nickel and Kathy Johnson Narney (Class of ‘71) examine Gordon’s life, work and passions. Gordon converses about his own experiences and the importance of ‘stepping out of one’s faith’ to create an environment of mutual understanding and respect.
Alumni Stories of Interest
Read these Alumni stories of interest that highlight the transformative projects that they have undertaken to create a more meaningful Kodai.
Rajni George (Class of '99), founder and editor-in-chief, came to Kodai in March 2020 to escape the limitations of being cooped up in an apartment in the city. She started The Kodai Chronicle in June 2021 in the hope of creating a space to share reliable news during the Indian "second wave" of the pandemic. Now, eight months after the launch, the publication has received almost 100,000 visitors on its website from India and abroad. ... Read More
The Kodai Cemetery that went Digital
The Hindu newspaper covers a project undertaken by Beulah Kolhatkar (Staff Alumna) and Julian P Donahue (Class of '58) to 'document, digitize and memorialize the residents of the Kodai cemetery.' A genuine team effort, alumna Sarah Ann Emerson Lockwood (Class of '61) and husband Merrick Lockwood (Class of '59) would spend days helping Beulah clean and photograph the epitaphs, which Julian would then upload online in the US. ... Read More
Catch up on YouTube
Click on links below to watch the recordings of Quad Talks you might have missed.
Politics of the Future with
Dr. Timothy (Tim) Lomperis (Class of '65)
Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance with Dr. Gautam Dantas (Class of ‘96)
I am looking forward to seeing you all soon, in person or virtually.

Warmly,

Manjusha Ninan
KIS Alumni Coordinator