A Note from the Founder
Chapter I
A note from our founder
Founder’s Welcome Note
Dear Parents,
Neevalay was a dream long before it became a school. While our doors are new, the vision behind them is not. It carries the belief of five generations, each of whom saw education as the strongest foundation a life can have.
My great-grandmother passed down a simple principle that still guides us today
“Saraswati ke pichhe bhaago, baaki sab kuchh swayam hi mil jayega.”
In simple words: chase knowledge, and everything else in life will follow on its own.
Over the years, I have seen how differently children begin their journeys. Not everyone starts with the same space, support, or sense of safety, and one question stayed with me:
“Why can’t every child have four walls in their classroom?”
That question is one of the reasons Neevalay exists. We named it Neevalay, Neev (foundation) and Aalay (home), because that is exactly what we want to offer: a strong foundation in a place that feels like home.
We’ve built Neevalay to be a calm, caring second home, where your child will be loved, listened to, and gently guided. Here, play is respected, curiosity is protected, and learning unfolds naturally at your child’s pace. This is not a race. It’s a rhythm, your child’s rhythm.
Our promise
“If a child cannot learn the way we teach, we teach the way the child learns.”
What does all of this mean for your child? A classroom shaped by research and love in equal measure. A place where your child is truly known, not just taught, and where the early years are treated as the most important years, because they are. That is the promise behind every Neevalay day.
It is also why we are so careful about who cares for your child. A young child does not need a lesson read from a manual; they need someone who notices them and bends down to their level. So we choose our educators for their natural warmth first, and train them for years. Your child will not be handed a routine. They will be handed a relationship.
Thank you for considering us. We look forward to welcoming your family.
Dr. Pranay Jha
Founder, Neevalay Tots Preschool
Ph.D. in Computer Science by profession, early childhood researcher by passion
“We can be overdressed, but we can never be overeducated.”
Chapter II
The journey
Our Story
The Beginning, a thought that started Neevalay
From the founder’s pen…
“Why do all classrooms need four walls?”
This one thought stayed with me for years, and slowly became the heartbeat of Neevalay.
Neevalay comes from “Neev” (foundation) and “Aalay” (home). And that is exactly what we are building: a nurturing home where strong foundations for lifelong learning are created.
Three phases of life, one realization
- 01
Under a tree, with my grandfather
When I was a child, after school, I used to study with my grandfather, often outdoors, under the shade of a tree. We didn’t have a study room or benches. Just a simple khaat (cot) that we kept moving as the sun moved.
“Jaha jaha dhoop aati thi, khaat waise waise ghoomti thi.”It was simple. It was real. And it taught me that education does not begin with walls. It begins with the right environment, patience, and care. - 02
The children by the roadside
As I grew older, that thought became deeper. I would sometimes see children near construction sites while their parents worked long hours, full of curiosity, full of life, yet often without a safe, enriching space around them. A quiet question grew inside me: why do some children begin in beautiful classrooms, while others are still waiting for one? They have the same spark. The same potential. Just not the same opportunity.
- 03
A world of classrooms
Later, in my professional journey, I travelled and worked across countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. Early learning there looked different from place to place, some structured, some play-based, but again and again I saw children encouraged to ask, express, create, and think freely, growing up with confidence, empathy, and ideas.
And I could not help comparing this with what I so often saw closer to home, and across much of the developing world. Even where classrooms and resources exist, learning is still too often about memorising and following, walls without wonder. It made one truth clear to me: a beautiful classroom is not the same as real learning. So the question was no longer only who has a classroom, but whether any classroom, grand or simple, plants a seed that keeps growing for life.
And that is how the seed of Neevalay was planted. Not just a school, but a sanctuary. A place where children feel safe, supported, and free to grow. A home where strong roots are nurtured gently, so that one day, they can stand tall, and soar.
From our family to yours
Come and write the next chapter with us.
The warmest way to know Neevalay is to visit: walk the campus, meet the team, and feel the care behind every corner.
Ask Amma