Living life to the lees

Women are said to be great at multi-tasking and anyone who has met downtown resident Dr Aditee Vaidya will agree wholeheartedly. Women are known to efficiently strike a balance between household work and babysitting to meeting the demands of a job, but Vaidya is a class apart. She can easily cope with different professional commitments  besides managing her household.

A teacher by profession, Vaidya teaches advertising in KC college and Jai Hind College. Teaching is her passion. Vaidya says, “I just love being with students and teaching them. Also, there are times when I learn from them, especially the current trends in technology. In my field it is very important to be updated and my students help me in that.” She started her teaching career with Welingkar Institute of Management, back in 2003.

Vaidya is also a doctorate in typography. She has helped set up various academic museums across the country–one of the foremost being the Museum of History of Medicine, which is the only such museum in Asia. Talking about the challenges faced by her while helping to set up the museum, Vaidya says, “I had to do a lot of research work because I wanted to be thorough in the subject. It took me almost a year to complete my research. Not only did I have to know about allopathic medicines, but also ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines. It added vastly to my knowledge and I enjoyed the project a lot.” Vaidya also helped in setting up a microbiology museum at the prestigious Haffkine Institute, which was established way back in 1899. Vaidya shared, “While setting up the microbiology museum, I tried to emphasise not just on the history of microbiology, but also on a few historical facts about the building since it is so old.”

For the last 10 years, Vaidya has also been working in social advertising. “I have had the good fortune to be working with extremely design intelligent clients. It was challenging as well as enjoyable working with them because they knew exactly what they wanted. All of them had faith in me, which helped me to work efficiently,” says Vaidya.

Vaidya also talks about how science and teaching are in her genes. “I think it runs in the family. My father was a scientist in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), my mother was a teacher and my brother is an orthopaedic surgeon.” As for family support she says, “My husband has always been very supportive. There have been times when I did not feel up to a particular project, but my husband encouraged me and told me that I could do it; more importantly he told me never to give up. Though I often work odd hours, my family has never flinched or questioned me. I am really grateful to them for their support.”

Besides this, Vaidya has also been involved in retouching of the paediatric ward of three hospitals in Mumbai. “In Cooper Hospital I have made a-36 foot long mural with mosaic work. The work was carried out under the guidance of Manisha Patankar Mahiskar, the Additional Municipal Commissioner. “I am very lucky to have a competent team. It is because of them that such good work is possible and that too within the time limit,” says Vaidya.