Heena Haldankars Academy

You can find Heena Haldankars Academy on the fourth floor of the Nandprem Shopping Centre. It’s right on Nehru Road in Vile Parle East, which stays pretty crowded most of the day. We are just opposite the HDFC Bank and quite close to the Parle Book Depot, which is handy when students need to grab a new notebook. Being up on the fourth floor keeps us away from some of the street noise, though you still hear the traffic. We’ve been running classes here for a bit now, mostly focusing on what the local school kids need help with. The rooms are basic, just desks and chairs and some fans that we keep running all day. Sometimes the lift in the building acts up, so we end up taking the stairs, which is quite a climb. We aren't trying to be some big corporate chain. It’s mostly just us teachers working directly with the students who come in after their regular school hours. Some of the kids have been with us for years, moving from one grade to the next. We keep a stack of old textbooks and papers in the corner for anyone to use. It’s a simple setup. We open up in the morning and usually don't head home until late evening after the last batch of older students finishes. Vile Parle is a big hub for education, so we just do our part in this little corner of the shopping centre.