73-yr-old makes school cool at National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad

Age is just a number and Lucknow-based Jaya Sinha has proved it. At 73, she returned to a classroom, three grandchildren in tow, to enhance her skills. A retired school teacher, Sinha attended summer workshops offered at India's premier design institute, the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad.

While she attended the Three Dimensional Embroidery workshop, her grandchildren attended Website Design and Development, and Basics of Photography workshop.

"I like to remain busy and even did my BA at 42," says Sinha. "My daughter, who lives in Ahmedabad, ensures that the children are occupied each summer in learning a new activity. Since the kids were already enrolled for summer workshops at NID, I volunteered for the same. I was the eldest person in the class and it was a great experience. It's good that these days, courses are not restricted to any particular age group."

Her grandson, 12-year-old Lamha Vishwaganga, who studies at Riverside school, found the concept of having participants across age groups fascinating. "Five days at NID were very engaging," said Lamha, who attended the photography workshop. "Even I had old people in my workshop, which changed my perspective, as old people bring lot of experiential learning into the classroom. I have never seen any workshop in which old people are allowed."

"The profile of the participants show that many people across all the spectrum want to understand design," said, Pradyumna Vyas, director of NID. "When I heard that a grandmother had joined our workshops, I was overwhelmed as these nuances make our batches unique."