Our teachers
NANDINI RAMMOHAN
Nandini has a Masters in Social Work from IGNOU. She is a textile designer and a craftsperson. She has been working with children for the past 12 years, out of which 5 years has been with a preschool –Magic Puddles. Currently, at Ohana, she works with all the grades for art. Her focus with children revolves around art and play. She believes that children should explore the world of art for themselves rather than be adult directed. She also believes that schooling has to be joyous, yet challenging. Nandini has an interest in music, dance, theatre and is trained in Hindustani Classical Music.
ravi chari
Ravi along with Nandini are responsible for the space overall. Along with this, Ravi also teaches History for Grades 8, 9 and 10. With a bachelor’s in Engineering (production) and Master’s in Management studies (marketing), Ravi transitioned to education with a passion for making maths engaging and accessible to children. To him, teaching is the journey of inspiring young minds, nurturing them and evolving as an educator.
Ravi believes that life is full of opportunities to learn and one’s work is to stay curious and alive to our experiences. He also thinks it is necessary to take time aside and reflect upon life from time to time. Along with this, he enjoys spending time with himself, be it while reading or on a long walk.
POOJA SAGAR
Pooja is a librarian and Environmental Management teacher. She believes that education should grow kind and empathetic human beings, capable of problem solving and innovative thinking. She started teaching in the year 2004, and has been teaching since then.
Pooja has been trained in storytelling and to be able to use stories as tools to connect with children and teach academic concepts as well. She likes to travel, and engage in music, reading and cooking, as well as nature walks which bring joy to her inner self .
NIVEDA MANJUNATH
Niveda (aka Nivi) is Ohana’s high school biology teacher as well as junior and middle school’s science teacher. Nivi also heads Ohana’s science programme; after completing her Master’s at Mount Carmel college, she worked at a NGO in the Himalayas as a teacher. Her journey as an educator began there, and since then Nivi has worked at different educational setups.
She strongly feels that education must look at all aspects of an individual, which includes emotional, physical and mental aspects, not just the academic. Exposing them to different situations and nurturing the need to question is crucial to the growth of students as independent, confident people. She is currently a mother, a teacher, a passionate nature lover, sports enthusiast and feels like she never has enough time to do all that she would love to in life.
MALINI SHENOY
Malini has a Bachelor's degree in Commerce with training and certifications in Computer Applications, Counselling, Montessori, and Alternative schooling methods. She has over 11 years of teaching experience for the younger kids at the preschool and primary levels.
She is an easy-going person with an ability to instantly connect with children of all ages and she enjoys teaching, playing, and having fun with them be it in class, circle time, or extra-curricular.
shashank gowda
Shashank takes yoga and sports for all the grades, he has a Bachelors in engineering.
He joined Ohana in 2022 and promotes lifelong fitness and wellness by emphasizing the joy of play over mere achievement, fostering respect for individual strengths and weaknesses, instilling the importance of effort, discipline, persistence, and self-improvement, and encouraging mutual support among students.
Shashank feels that teaching is a holistic approach emphasising respect, ethical behaviour, mutual support, recognition of everyone’s contributions, and the cultivation of ownership and responsibility.
CHETANA RAMESH
Chetana joined Ohana as a teacher in June 2023. Prior to this, she had been part of the community as a parent for the past 6 years. She is excited about her new role as a teacher after years of practising law in the field of indirect tax litigation. She currently engages Grades 5-9 in English and middle school for Humanities. Chetana is an avid reader and works with Grade 2 in library sessions.
RANJITHA SESHADRI
Ranjitha is a Humanities and English teacher at Ohana and heads the Humanities programme. She is also part of managing the library as an assistant. Ranjitha has been an educator since 2005. Passionate about education, she has worked in the past as a teacher of French as a Foreign Language and Primary Science, in a couple of International Schools in Bangalore and in Alliance Française de Bangalore.
She believes education is a continuous journey towards oneself and the other. During her free time, Ranjitha enjoys translation; she was briefly a translator of children’s books. Ranjitha also has an avid interest in Music, Theatre and Reading.
tejaswini purohit
Tejaswini has been with us since November 2021 and is known affectionately as Mrudul. She is a biomedical engineer by profession and after working in IT for nearly a decade, she started her teaching journey with an NGO. Currently, she runs the Science program for middle school and facilitates Chemistry for Grade 8 and 9.
prajwala vinay
Prajwala has been working with Ohana since 2022. She teached arts and crafts across the school and kannada for junior school. She loves spending time with children of all ages and immense joy in teaching them. Takes a great interest in art experiments and different methods of teaching. Prajwala appreciates the forward thinking educators at Ohana and enjoys her time with adults as well as children. When not at school, she is a freelancer, loves trekking and cooking as well as participating in shows.
SWARUP TELLAKULA
Swarup primarily handles Maths and Humanities for junior school as well as being part of the Learning Support Team. He joined Ohana in 2023, after a stint at a NGO. He studied interior design and has also trained as a professional pastry chef.
As an educator in Ohana, Swarup is currently on a journey of discovering various forms of education and finding a balance between traditional and alternative approaches to facilitating education. Swarup enjoys all kinds of experiences ranging from theatre, music, dance, workshops, treks and walks around the old parts of any city.
preeta pattar
Preeta has been with Ohana since December 2021. She is currently the coordinator for grade 5. She engages the middle school students in maths, and the high-school for physics, both subjects she is passionate about. Preeta is a ‘pakka bangalorean’; she was born, brought up and has completed her education in Bangalore. She has been teaching for a few years in various schools after leaving the corporate field. She worked with an NGO - ISPF - which implements many of Dr. Arvind Gupta’s teachings. According to Preeta, experience was her greatest “teacher’ and that no amount of preparation can prepare you for situations with children. A large part of why she is in Ohana is that Ohana offers her a freedom to approach topics. She loves teaching and learning knitting, crochet, embroidery, and origami.
SMRITI
Smriti is Ohana’s librarian. Growing up drawn to books and literature, she has worked at a few schools previously as an assistant teacher and believes she is only just starting down this path. Smriti also has a Bachelor of Science in Geography with a minor in English Literature.
Smriti believes that education can happen anywhere - it does not need to only happen in a classroom. There is something everyone learns everyday by simply interacting with the creation around us. She also has an avid interest in yoga, reading, listening to music and writing for the fun of it, as well as indulging in a bit of art.
ARUN KUMAR R
Arun teaches Yoga for the Junior school, as well as handling math classes for middle school. He is also Ohana’s admin. After a Bachelor’s in Engineering, and a Master’s in technology, Arun believes he is simply a senior student helping the younger ones learn.
Arun also believes that common sense is more important than gaining certificates. He has a strong interest in Yoga, Cooking, Reading and Trekking, accompanying our students on many treks and excursions.
SONALIKA DUGAR
Sonalika teaches Hindi for Grade 5 and 6, and supports the Special Education programme with Lakshmi. She has a Bachelor’s in Architecture and was previously teaching Architecture students.She joined Ohana in June 2023; Ohana is the first space where she is teaching children.
Sonalika feels that education is the doorway to responsible freedom. She loves hand-on work, meeting new people and has an interest in architecture and heritage conservation.
Prashant h pillai
Prashant has been a parent at Ohana for the last 4 years and is now co-facilitator.
He graduated with a Business Management degree and is a marketing professional and an Entrepreneur with a keen interest in creating inquiry based learning ecosystems and lessons through play.
He has over 10 years of experience working in spaces for children, working with children with and without disabilities facilitating inclusive learning spaces and creating play systems to meet the needs of children. He believes that Education is lifelong, driven by continuous thought to evolve and be the best version of yourself.
Ratheesh Pisharody
There is scant information about Ratheesh Pisharody. While some say he just walked into Ohana with an air of familiarity from the neighbourhood, there are others who truly believe he time-travelled here. There is a minority who also believe he is from another planet but this theory is on slippery ground because he seems to know the language and culture of the place. So our junior scientists at Ohana are correct when they conclude that he must be from another time, but certainly not from another place. People have tried to find out what exactly it was that he did before manifesting at Ohana but these conversations have only led to absurd claims and excuses which unfortunately cannot be questioned. "My memory went backwards when the years went past", he sometimes claims. "I need the defricon-confabulator-aligner, without which I cannot enter my ID code", he sometimes whines. We eventually give up. But friends of friends of friends say that he has a few degrees and work experience that just about suits what we do here at Ohana, which is to have a lot of fun with Physics.
MEGHA D
Megha heads the maths program for Ohana; she teaches maths for grade 7 and above. Megha has an educational background in electrical engineering and her philosophy on education is rooted in a holistic and value-based approach. Megha believes in nurturing the whole child, focusing not only on academic excellence but also on emotional, social, and creative development.
By integrating values such as compassion, respect, and integrity into the learning process, she aims to cultivate responsible and ethical individuals. She strives to create an engaging and inclusive environment where students can explore their interests, develop critical thinking skills, and apply their knowledge to real-world situations. Through this approach, she hopes to inspire a lifelong love for learning and help students reach their full potential. Megha also loves listening to music and dancing; riding her bike gives her a sense of freedom, while treks allow her to reconnect with nature.