My father-in-law, Shomie Das, who has died aged 89, was an educationist who, following his formative experiences as a teacher at Gordonstoun boarding school in Moray, Scotland, set up schools in his home country of India.
Shomie spent 15 years teaching physics at Gordonstoun, where he was inspired by the founder Kurt Hahn’s principles of a holistic, outdoor-based education. Among others, while there he taught the future King Charles III.
Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Shomie was the son of Dhrubo Das, a lawyer, and Sujata (nee Sen), who, unusually for a young Indian woman in the 1920s, had studied English at Edinburgh University. He was initially homeschooled by his mother before boarding at the Doon school (which was founded by his grandfather, SR Das), in Uttarakhand, before travelling to the UK to study natural sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Following graduation in 1958, Shomie joined Gordonstoun, eventually becoming head of physics. There, he was greatly influenced by the Nuffield science project, which led science teaching to focus more on experimentation and nurturing children’s curiosity.
In 1961 he married Pheroza Choksey, and they had three children, Rohit, Nishad and Shiraz. Shiraz later became my wife, and we settled in Cambridge.
Aged 34, Shomie returned to India with his family in 1969 to lead Mayo college in Ajmer. After six years, he moved to the Lawrence school in Sanawar, in the hills of the Himalayas, where he was able to implement the ideas he honed at Gordonstoun for an outdoor-based, student-centred education. The girls at the school were also offered intellectual stimulation and freedoms that were rare in India in the 1970s and 80s. Pheroza was a real partner in his role as a school leader, and opened their family home to generations of students.
Shomie’s teaching career culminated in leading his alma mater as headteacher at the Doon school (1988-96). He was not one to hang around in retirement, however. He became an institution builder, advising a number of groups who were setting up educational establishments in the newly liberalised Indian economy of the 90s. This third chapter of his life was defined by his work to establish the Oakridge group of international schools in Hyderabad, the fruition of a lifetime of educational experience and innovation.
Hyderabad became a home for Shomie, and he moved there at the age of 82. He continued to visit the UK regularly, to visit Shiraz and me, and for reunions at Emmanuel College.
Pheroza died in 2009. Shomie is survived by their three children and six grandchildren.
