Priyo has a masters degree in clinical psychology and a certificate in teaching children with Dyslexia. Apart from that she works with special needs and is Director Special Education at Raphael.

Association with Sidhamshi:
I met Manu in 1985 when he had just joined the Doon School and he was such a nice guy to know! Manu was this father figure to me, always. We talked about books and we talked about life, he helped me through the loss of my brother and was my steadfast supporter when my personal life fell apart. I got to know Padmini a little later when she moved to Dehradun, and I loved her from the start, this glamorous grey haired lady, who always has a story to tell me , because she has 'read it somewhere'! And then their children became our friends, and we became family.

Manu talked about his dream for a school for many years with Radhesh and me, we discussed architects, numbers, teachers, and saw this dream come alive just as he was getting ready to leave us. It is for Manu, that I am delighted to be associated with the school.

Sandeep Chhabra is an alumnus of Wynberg Allen School Mussoorie and a Postgraduate in Chemistry. He has 30 years’ experience in the field of education. He is the former Principal of Kasiga School, Dehra Dun, Kimberly School, Chandigarh and presently heads Indus International School, Pune.

Sandeep Chhabra's thoughts on being a part of Sidhamshi ;
In my thirty years of being a teacher and administrator in schools I have never come across anyone who thought of educating young minds in the way that Mr. Manohar Lulla did. He was the first person I met who believed that education should be PREPATION FOR LIFE. His views on the importance of making our students accomplished over mere achievements motivated me to be a part of Sidhamshi. What we now need to do is to follow up on his vision so that we can provide quality and meaningful education to young children of the area.

An industrialist, enviornmental conservationist and wildlife enthusiast, Iskander is Jt Managing Director of Sud Chemie India Pvt Ltd and Director of Lifecare Innovations Pvt Ltd. He is also on the board of several NGO's across the country like Tiger Watch, Prakritik Society and Azad India Foundation. They work in healthcare, conservation, education and wildlife.

A graduate from the JJ School of Arts, Bombay, Padmini is an artist, entrepreneur and educationist. She has had a varied career and has worked in several areas like art, fashion and audio visual until she finally became an educator. She taught Audio Visuals at Welham Girls in Dehradun, Art therapy at Raphael, Dehradun and was part of the team that created and set up Mondrian House, Dehradun. She finally set up Sidhamshi along with her husband Manu Lulla. Sidhamshi is a living example of her beliefs about children and learning and at 79 years she is the life of the school where she works enthusiastically with her wonderful teachers and children!

Siddharth was a student at Dehradun after which did my B.A (Economics) from St. Xaviers College, Bombay university and MBA from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees (ENPC). My first job was at The Taj Group of Hotels and over the last 17 years have been working as the COO at Swift AV, Chennai - a company with a national presence working in the space of Audio & Video (AV) solutions. My connection to Dehradun is with my roots of studying in Dehradun and family(mother and father) living there. Mom and Dad, right from their early years living in Chandrouti felt a great desire to contribute to the villages in the area, with mom conducting art classes for the village kids and spending time counselling and helping them in any way they could, but in their minds they always desired 'giving back' to the families and villages that adopted them, by setting up something more permanent in the form of Sidamshi.

Their dream was realised some years later with this school. They both wanted to ensure the school would be an inviting space and a pleasure for students and teachers alike to be a part of. The design and other elements that went into it were thought of minutely and implemented at each step with great care and love, and that comes across in the way the teachers are and how they help the students with the learning process. Even today, it gives me immense joy and happiness seeing mom in school each day interacting with the children. When visiting Dehradun, Emile, my son, studies at the school, and it fills me with pride seeing my son come home from school with his friends, happy and exuberant about what new things learnt. Sidamshi is more than mere bricks and mortar ... it is a living dream ... for my parents, and growing each day in all members who are a part of it.

Amardeep Singh is a from the prestigious School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi and has over two and a half decades of experience as a consulting architect. A sensitivity to local materials, technologies and environmental issues facilitated environment friendly architecture long before it became a bye-word in the building profession. This, coupled with a flair for creating dynamic and engaging spaces, has lead to creating architecture that is appropriate to it’s context, both physical and socio-cultural. His work has been documented by the media, both print and electronic and has been celebrated for it’s unique yet unobtrusive character wherein the architecture sits in harmony with its context and where the human experience of space and architecture, assume prominence over façade ‘making’. Amardeep Singh is registered with the Council of Architecture, an Associate of the Indian Institute of Architects, a member of the Indian Institute of Interior Designers, a member of the DPSG Education Society, on the advisory board of the Gyanananda Institute and a founding member of the Sidhamshi Education Society. He works from and lives at Gurgaon, India.

My association with Sidhamshi
In the Summer of 2005, I received a phone call and this deep voice introduced himself as Manu Lulla, wondering if I could participate in the creation of a new school. I responded with an enthusiastic yes and thus was born the beginning of a lifelong association with Manu. He was never another client but a guide, a mentor and a well-wisher – someone with whom you could be completely frank with professional and personal issues. His sense of humanity and fair-play was the guiding light in all our discussions on issues not just pertaining to architecture but to life itself. He was a father figure and friend that I shall sorely miss…

For many years Manu had been toying with the idea of giving back something to society especially to that part of the world that had been his home for over 20 years. And thus was born the idea of creating a school for the children of the surrounding villages – villages that had welcomed him into their homes and hearts with open arms. A schoolthat would respect the local lifestyles and culture and would yet satisfy their aspirations in the larger world. We worked closely with Manu to provide shape and form to a Village School that would be a culmination of Manu’s dreams, ideals and values in the field of education.
And thus was born Sidhamshi School that embraced landscape and nature, that provided a sense of belonging and home to the village children and most importantly became a place of joy and happiness…

A Chartered Accountant, he is also engaged in managing the financial affairs of the Village School. He also started and runs Mondrian House school in Dehradun.

My association with Sidhamshi
Mr Lulla and Padmini .... the two amazing personalities who have always spread happiness and positivity all around, have given new dimensions to my understanding of what education and educating children is all about. Inclusive education and imparting regular teacher training is the key to raise the level of excellence in any good institution, and that's what they have brought to the village school - ''Laxmi Sidhamshi ''. We are proud and privileged to be associated with this wonderful institution.

Mondrian House Pre-school is one of their beautiful creations that we will always be proud of. Mr Lulla's vision for all institutions that have been good and relevant education for all.This also includes the parent body and community wherever necessary, and that's what we intend to strictly follow at both the village school and at Mondrian House. Mr Lulla's blessing will always be with us and in every heart he has touched.