Fusion of cultures brings success for Sailaja
Talented young attorney Sailaja Alla has chosen to make her home in Cayman, attracted by the fusion of cultures here. Photo by Miquel Escalante
By Catherine MacGillivray
The fusion of cultures on Cayman is one of the main reasons that Sailaja Alla has chosen to remain on the island to make her home.
Daughter of Dr Kiran Kumar Alla, the eminent Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Cayman Islands, she takes pride in her own Indian background while embracing the Caribbean culture and other ethnicities.
At the age of just 26, Sailaja is among one of the brightest young lawyers on the island.
Immediately after qualifying, she landed a coveted position with the legal firm Hunter and Hunter which she "thoroughly enjoys".
"I love Cayman, this is definitely my home and even if I choose to go overseas to work in the future, it would only be short-term."
Softly spoken Sailaja, with her perfectly enunciated slightly English accent, has come a long way for a little girl who arrived in the Caribbean without a word of English.
She moved with her parents from India, first of all to Jamaica, at the age of just five-years-old.
Her father, who had been a doctor in India, moved the family when he took up a teaching post at the University of the West Indies in Kingston.
"I had just reached the stage of my ABCs when we left India. I remember my first day at school in Jamaica and being very scared, not wanting to go in," Sailaja recalls.
"As a result I was a bit of a shy kid although I soon picked up English."
The family lived in Kingston at the height of political violence in the early eighties.
"It was really terrible, we had to live in a house with bars on the windows and I couldn't go out alone," says Sailaja.
It was with relief, therefore, that the family moved to Grand Cayman a year later where Dr. Kumar took up his post as Medical Officer of Health.
Sailaja and her "little" brother Praveen, now 23, had freedom at last on this tiny Caribbean island that they had never even heard of prior to leaving their home in India.
"It was a very safe place for us to grow up, especially after being in Jamaica," says Sailaja.
Her parents were careful, however, not to let Sailaja and her brother lose their "mother tongue" and always made sure to speak in their Indian language, "Tlegu", at home.
Sailaja soon settled in at school, attending St. Ignatius Catholic School followed by Cayman Islands Middle School and Cayman Islands High School.
And it was during this time at high school that she had her first taste of legal matters when she took law as one of her subjects.
"In school I actually wanted to study accounting but then in sixth form I chose law as an extra subject along with accountancy and economics," she reveals.
"I really enjoyed it and decided to study it after leaving school."
Of course, with Cayman following the English legal system, attending university in America was out of the question.
And, again, the choice left to her was studying in England or staying at home to enroll at the Cayman Islands Law School.
"I was only 18 at the time and I know that although a lot of people go away at that age, I wasn't quite ready for it. I chose to stay with mum and dad."
The course she took was the Bachelors of Law Degree (LLB) which was affiliated to the University of Liverpool in England.
The subjects she studied included commercial law, family law, conflict of law, international trade, land, trusts and criminal law, along with contract, tort and constitutional law.
Sailaja excelled at the law school coming top of her class with best performance in her third and final year exams.
She also won the accolade of "most improved student" and, at the graduation ceremony at Harquail Theatre, gave the address on behalf of her class.
Thereafter Sailaja finally departed for England to continue her studies at the University of Sheffield to gain her Masters of Law Degree (LLM).
"I chose it because, at the time, the university's law course was ranked one of the top five in the UK," she says.
Here she studied international, commercial and European law, with the subjects including intellectual property, patents and copyright.
Having delayed her first lone adventure overseas, Sailaja revelled in student life.
"There were a lot of international students. I lived in a house with six other girls all of whom were from different countries," she remembers.
"There were many cultural differences but I was already used to that from Cayman and really enjoyed it."
Along with other friends, Sailaja seized the opportunity to travel as much as possible within the UK and mainland Europe.
"We tried to see as many different places as possible as often as possible," she says.
Among the highlights of her travels were Holland, Greece, Italy and France.
"There were lots of opportunities to get good deals, you just had to look out for them and be able to go," she says.
One experience, in particular, brought a touch of magic to her university adventure that she will always remember seeing snow for the first time.
Sailaja with members of her family: father, Dr. Kumar (left); mother, Vijaya and brother, Praveen.
"It was Christmas Day and we were having our meal when somebody said it was snowing," she recalls.
"I ran outside in my bare feet and seeing the snow for the first time in my life was truly wonderful."
After that Sailaja went on to see snow "aplenty" when she took a trip to the French Alps.
"I was just in awe of the snow-capped mountains, I took lots of photographs. I was so amazed, I had never seen anything like that."
The other aspect of her English sojourn which really amazed Sailaja was the difference in daylight hours between Cayman and England.
The long, light evenings at college often tricked her into thinking she had many hours left in which to study.
"I'd forget that I'd have to go to bed, I was used to darkness falling so much earlier in Cayman."
Her one disappointment, however, was to miss the famous "pyjama party" when students take to the streets in their nightwear!
She does concede, however, that given the difference in temperature from Cayman that perhaps this one event won't be too much of an omission from her student days.
Following the course at Sheffield, Sailaja went on to spend a year in London to attend the Inns of Court School of Law in Chancery Lane.
"I absolutely love London, you might think I am a small-town girl having grown up in Cayman but I am also quite a city girl," she admits.
Having only once been to see a big-production stage show (Phantom of the Opera) while in Canada with friends, Sailaja was thrilled to be able to go the West End whenever she felt like attending the theatre.
"Not only that, I could do anything I wanted at any time of day or night, it was wonderful," she recollects.
After this she was "called to the Bar of England and Wales", meaning that, at least, she was given the title of barrister and entitled to work as a lawyer.
Fortunately the opening at Hunter and Hunter in George Town, arose almost as soon as Sailaja came home three years ago.
She began in the litigation department as a junior attorney but came to her own conclusion that she wasn't "cut out" for court work.
"I gave it a good go but I just don't have the personality for it."
At her own request, Sailaja was transferred to the commercial department where she deals mostly with mutual funds and corporate work.
This is a role which she finds rewarding and stimulating and enjoys the challenges that each new case brings.
Out with work, Sailaja also keeps busy, spending time practising kick-boxing and yoga.
She also loves reading and going to the movies, revealing that she completely adores "Harry Potter".
The travel bug she caught whilst in England has remained with her, and each year she tries to visit a different country last year it was Cuba and Costa Rica.
As Sailaja revealed at the beginning of the interview, her Indian culture is hugely important to her.
Still living with her parents, she respects the customs of her culture and will don traditional dress at festival time.
Although she admits "not being a brilliant cook" she thoroughly enjoys the fare prepared by her mother Vijaya, whom she describes as the "home-maker" of the family.
And she particularly enjoys the vegetarian food which is traditionally eaten during their festivities.
It has been hard at times, she admits, to fuse the culture and values of her Indian background with that of the Western society in which she has grown up.
"There has sometimes been a clash of cultures and I have had to decide what is right for me," she says.
"My parents have also had difficult times with this too but I am very proud of them, I think in this respect they have grown up with me."
Sailaja, in particular, admires their strong family values and where conflicts do arise, is keen always to seek a compromise.
Her clear thinking and sweet nature are an obvious asset in her career, too.
And it is not only Sailaja's parents who
should be proud of her success - she is a shining example for
all young professionals on the island to follow.
Top photos by Miguel Escalante