As an academic, Pushpa wishes to imbibe Indian values in her students. She has come a long way in life, climbing up the ladder from a teacher to a principal.

Pushpa Taunk is the Principal at Alok Senior Secondary School, Udaipur.

She has been working in academia for forty years now. The institute belongs to her father and she has completed her schooling here itself. Thereafter, Pushpa pursued her BA, followed by her B.Ed. She then started her academic journey teaching primary classes for twenty-five years before getting promoted to the post of principal, where she has been serving for twelve years now.

Pushpa belongs to a middle-class family and remembers her childhood days wherein she and her siblings used to stay in discipline owing to her father’s strict demeanor. Pushpa says that it is only because of her father’s values that she has come this far in life.

Pushpa fulfilled the wishes of her grandparents by getting married at the age of sixteen, when she didn’t even understand the meaning of marriage. However, her family always placed emphasis on her education and always wanted Pushpa to study further. Thereafter, Pushpa’s real life began, where she managed both her family responsibilities and her career.

Pushpa studied at Mira Girls College, and even after her first kid, she continued her struggle to achieve success in life. After completing her B.Ed, Pushpa joined Alok School as a teacher in 1980. She gives credit for her success to her parents who always encouraged and motivated her to keep studying and growing further.

Talking about her COVID days, Pushpa shares that it was a difficult phase for her which involved a lot of expenditure. She was constantly worried about her school staff, whom she tried to help to her best capacity.

When asked about her role models, Pushpa says that after her parents, she considers one of her Principals, Suman Dave as her inspiration from whom she has learnt a lot. When Pushpa got a chance to become a principal herself, she didn’t feel confident enough to speak on the stage. However, with the support of her father and the former principal, she mended her ways and became confident overtime. Pushpa is also grateful to her daughters-in-law, who propelled her to adopt a modern way of living and pushed her to indulge in yoga and self-grooming.

Pushpa feels that today’s youth have become too carefree in life. She advises them to follow a daily routine and be disciplined. She adds that they should spend more time with the elderly and learn from them whenever possible. Pushpa speaks of the time when children used to play outdoors after school. However, now things have changed and they are more inclined towards television, mobile phones, and video games. She advises children to play games that cater to their physical and mental development.

In her free time, Pushpa likes to worship God and spend hours thinking for the betterment of society.