Sudha Gupta, Founder & Chairperson, Mother's Pride, Delhi

The castle of love that is Mother's Pride

It was pre- Independence Day afternoon at Mother's Pride, a pre-school in Delhi and the faculty was huddled with the Sudha Gupta, principal, to discuss an important issue. No it wasn't the next day celebration plans; annual attrition of the employees was the agenda of the meeting. "Our aim is to bring down the attrition rate from 2% to 0%," informs Sudha Gupta, Founder and Chairperson, Mother's Pride to Your Story after the meeting.

A post graduate in maths and child psychologist, Sudha has always pushed the envelope in search of excellence and set benchmark for others to follow since childhood. "Some 12 years ago, I approached a pre-nursery school to get admission for my own kid but I returned disappointed. The need to have a holistic approach towards kids' education inspired me to start a pre-school in 1996. It has been an eventful journey for Mother's Pride since then," says Sudha. Eventful and transformational! As more than 1500 kids and their parents become part of Mother Pride every year and vouch for its unique education and teaching methods.

The school curriculum strikes a balance between individualistic focus and collaborative approach where each child is treated as unique and encouraged to work in a team. "The emphasis is not on exams or preparation to get into the best schools but the effort is to seek the potential within each child and provide a more holistic and rounded learning experience," adds Sudha.

But no one has got benefited more from this school than Sudha herself. A shy, coy lady who couldn't speak in the presence of few people, and was content with being a housewife is now an expert counselor for parenting and runs 15 fully-owned schools in Delhi and Noida. "I believe a woman's most limiting factor is woman herself. I didn't have disposable money or any great talent but teaching profession put me to a path of self-discovery and school kids have given me a great deal of confidence, sense of accomplishment and meaning in life" explains Sudha.

Today, Sudha is one of the most sought after parenting expert and has inspired millions of parents across the nation through her books, publications, seminars, and programs on T.V and radio channels. She has also been feted with various awards such as 'Excellence in Education Award', 'Best Educationist', 'Meri Delhi Award', and 'Woman Entrepreneur of the year'.

Her son, Pratik, who has been one of the first students of his mother, fondly explains her mother teaching mantra: "She carefully weaves the future of a child with threads of love and compassion. Parents feel secure while leaving their children at Mother Pride school gates every morning. It's another day of love, appreciation, and the feeling of being wanted in the life of a kid at the school- that to me is the real teaching; to instill self-respect and pride in every individual at an early age," says Pratik, as Sudha eyes well up: "A child doesn't need ABC but TLC (tender love and care)."

And the proud mother has reached out to poor kids to wipe their tears too. "I have started Mother"s pride junior for kids in lower income group," informs Sudha. In 2006, she also started Knowledge Tree, an academy to groom people in her teaching methods and school management.

Last year, Mother's Pride chain of schools grossed Rs50 crore in revenues. Now, she wants to start pre-schools all over India but is not willing to take the franchise route. "Numbers can be added, multiplied; business process can be duplicated but how do you replicate your love," avers Sudha.