By Nihal Tharoor-Menon – From the 2015/16 Intake

Thank you, Mundarath Jayashangini

My great-grandmother Mundarath Jayashangini passed away on Wednesday just short of her 100th year.

She spent her life in a beautiful, remote village in Kerala, India.

Right now over 50 direct descendants are mourning the loss of this wise and loving matriarch who united our family.

She impacted so many lives in so many meaningful ways.

Who would have thought one of those would be launching her great-grandson’s advertising career?

That may be a little premature, but you see for my 4-min presentation on the SCA interview day, I used a childhood story of hers that she had passed down.

Without explanation, I launched into a dramatic tale about a twelve year old girl who witnessed a village dispute and murder in the south of India in 1928.  I then revealed that the girl in this sensational story was my great grandmother and went on to speak warmly about her life and the power of memory.

What I enjoyed most about sharing this 90-year-old story was knowing that – as I was telling it – Jayashangini was alive and well in that village on the other side of the world.

For me that was truly awe-inspiring.

That luxury has now passed but not too soon for me to get my foot in the door of SCA.

So thank you, Mundarath Jayashangini.

It was an incredible privilege to have had you in my life for so long.

Your legacy will live on through all your family – even in the career struggles of an impassioned south London creative.