Mira Nair’s Shimla roots shine as son becomes New York Mayor
Shimla, Nov 6,
Acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, known for Monsoon Wedding and Salaam Bombay!, once walked the corridors of St. Loreto Tara Hall Convent School, Shimla — a fact that has resurfaced with pride as her son, Zohran Mamdani, creates history as the first non-American-born Mayor of New York City.
Nair, born on October 15, 1957, spent her formative years in Shimla studying at Tara Hall, a 133-year-old institution founded in 1892 by the Loreto Sisters. The school, perched above the city’s historic Mall Road, has long been known for nurturing independent-minded women — and Mira Nair’s life has become one of its most inspiring success stories. Her early years in the hills, surrounded by culture and contrasts, later shaped her globally acclaimed storytelling style that bridged Indian identity with world cinema.
After Tara Hall, Nair studied at Delhi University and Harvard, eventually earning global recognition at Cannes, Venice, and BAFTA, with multiple Oscar nominations. Her films, under the banner of Mirabai Films, explored migration, belonging, and resilience — themes she often linked to her Indian upbringing.
Reportedly, Mira Nair married Mahmood Mamdani in 1991. Mahmood Mamdani is a distinguished academic (born in 1946) specialising in political science, anthropology and African/post-colonial studies. The two met in Africa: Mira Nair met Mahmood while researching for her film Mississippi Masala in Nairobi and via his book From Citizen to Refugee. Their son, Zohran Mamdani, was born in Kampala, Uganda in 1991.
Son Zohran, born in Kampala and raised in New York, followed a different but equally inspiring path. Elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, he won the New York City mayoral election on November 5, 2025, marking a landmark moment in the city’s political history.
For Shimla, and especially for Tara Hall, the moment carries quiet pride. The school that once nurtured a young Mira Nair now finds its legacy extending to New York’s highest civic office — a remarkable journey from the Himalayan classrooms to the world’s most influential city.
For Shimla, the achievement feels personal. “It’s a proud moment for every Tara Hall girl,” says a former teacher of the school. “Mira Nair once represented the creative strength of Shimla’s daughters; today, her son represents their legacy on the world stage.”
As Mira Nair once said in an interview, “You can leave India, but India never leaves you.” That sentiment now finds a new echo — in New York City.
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