SoBo is known for all things cultural but it gets more interesting with the Spanish School at Fort
Among all the things that humans yearn for, the desire to connect with and belong to another person or place is probably the greatest. Language plays a huge role in making this happen; it helps build bridges, discover fascinating cultures and share stories. The love of languages is like no other and this is exactly what Anu Dalmia cherishes every day at the Spanish School at Fort, Mumbai.
How it all began
Dalmia, a former World Bank consultant, founded the Spanish School in 2012, after lamenting the lack of a proper Spanish learning institute in the city. Sure, Bandra provided a couple but their shoddiness put her off. In the following years, post a year’s worth of taking Spanish lessons at home, Dalmia realised that she could fill the gap that was eating at her for so long.
She says, “The Spanish School was born out of my passion for the language. Even when we first considered opening the school, I did not want to offer other foreign languages because a) I did not want to sell what I don’t know about and b) I would be doing it out of lack of passion.” Dalmia stuck to her guns (and her heart) and the rest, as they say, is history.
A wholesome experience
The Spanish School is like no other, in that it offers a plethora of courses—from pre-primary to adult to traveller’s courses that many of us wish to take before our international trip. In the past three years, the school has received more than 5,000 direct enquiries and more than 1,000 enrollments. What’s more, all of this was accomplished purely by word of mouth.
While Dalmia initially started with two Indian teachers and herself taking classes, she now has a robust team that majorly includes native Spanish teachers. As the school flourishes, she strives to keep it personal, casual and most of all interesting and relevant. “While we have innovative, new-age methods of teaching that conforms to the international standards, we ensure that the learning is a wholesome experience for our students. On the cultural aspect, we have art, food, music and dance workshops. We celebrate special Spanish and Hispanic festivals like the Tomatina, the bull run, San Fermin and Cinco de Mayo. There are movie screenings and fun Fridays to learn to party Spanish style.”
Dalmia wants her school to continue being a centre of excellence, where students of all ages are welcome; where the programmes are customised to every student’s need and where cultural boundaries melt seamlessly into one another.
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 "A Spanish class in session")
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