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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Maulana’s 'gullak' initiative touches 60K students

Read & Lead Foundation President Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza with daughter Mariyam Mirza. Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In the new age controlled by smart-gadgets and social media, an academic from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has sparked a small, head-turning and successful - ‘savings and reading’ revolution among middle-school children. Launched in 2006, by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza, the humble initiative turns 20 this year and witnessed over 60,000 free savings boxes (gullaks)...

Maulana’s 'gullak' initiative touches 60K students

Read & Lead Foundation President Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza with daughter Mariyam Mirza. Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In the new age controlled by smart-gadgets and social media, an academic from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has sparked a small, head-turning and successful - ‘savings and reading’ revolution among middle-school children. Launched in 2006, by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza, the humble initiative turns 20 this year and witnessed over 60,000 free savings boxes (gullaks) distributed to Class V-VIII students in 52 government and private schools. “The aim was to inculcate a love for ‘saving and reading’ among young children. We started by presenting small plastic ‘gullaks’ (savings boxes) at the Iqra Boys & Girls High School, and later to many other schools,” Mirza said with a tinge of satisfaction. Scoffed by sceptics, it soon caught the eyes of the schools and parents who loved the idea that kept the kids off mischief, but gave them the joy of quietly slipping Re. 1 or even Rs. 5 save from their daily pocket money into the ‘gullak’. “That tiny ‘gullak’ costing barely Rs 3-Rs 5, becomes almost like their personal tiny bank which they guard fiercely and nobody dares touch it. At the right time they spend the accumulated savings to buy books of their choice – with no questions asked. Isn’t it better than wasting it on toys or sweets or amusement,” chuckled Mirza. A childhood bookworm himself, Mirza, now 50, remembers how he dipped into his school’s ‘Book Box’ to avail books of his choice and read them along with the regular syllabus. “Reading became my passion, not shared by many then or even now… Sadly, in the current era, reading and saving are dying habits. I am trying to revive them for the good of the people and country,” Maulana Mirza told The Perfect Voice. After graduation, Mirza was jobless for sometime, and decided to make his passion as a profession – he took books in a barter deal from the renowned Nagpur philanthropist, Padma Bhushan Maulana Abdul Karim Parekh, lugged them on a bicycle to hawk outside mosques and dargahs. He not only sold the entire stock worth Rs 3000 quickly, but asked astonished Parekh for more – and that set the ball rolling in a big way, ultimately emboldening him to launch the NGO, ‘Read & Lead Foundation’ (2018). “However, despite severe resources and manpower crunch, we try to cater to the maximum number of students, even outside the district,” smiled Mirza. The RLF is also supported by his daughter Mariyam Mirza’s Covid-19 pandemic scheme, ‘Mohalla Library Movement’ that catapulted to global fame, and yesterday (Oct. 20), the BBC telecast a program featuring her. The father-daughter duo urged children to shun mobiles, video-games, television or social media and make ‘books as their best friends’, which would always help in life, as they aim to gift 1-lakh students with ‘gullaks’ in the next couple of years. At varied intervals Mirza organizes small school book fairs where the excited kids troop in, their pockets bulging with their own savings, and they proudly purchase books of their choice in Marathi, English, Hindi or Urdu to satiate their intellectual hunger. Fortunately, the teachers and parents support the kids’ ‘responsible spending’, for they no longer waste hours before screens but attentively flip pages of their favourite books, as Mirza and others solicit support for the cause from UNICEF, UNESCO, and global NGOs/Foundations. RLF’s real-life savers: Readers UNICEF’s Jharkhand District Coordinator and ex-TISS alumnus Abul Hasan Ali is full of gratitude for the ‘gullak’ habit he inculcated years ago, while Naregaon Municipal High School students Lakhan Devdas (Class 6) and Sania Youssef (Class 8) say they happily saved most of their pocket or festival money to splurge on their favourite books...! Zilla Parishad Girls Primary School (Aurangpura) teacher Jyoti Pawar said the RLF has proved to be a “simple, heartwarming yet effective way” to habituate kids to both reading and savings at a tender age, while a parent Krishna Shinde said it has “changed the whole attitude of children”. “We encourage books of general interest only, including inspiring stories of youth icons like Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai (28) and environmentalist Greta Thunberg (23) which fascinates our students, and other popular children’s literature,” smiled Mirza. The Maulana’s RLF, which has opened three dozen libraries in 7 years, acknowledges that every coin dropped into the small savings boxes begins a new chapter – and turns into an investment in knowledge that keeps growing.

Embracing a Healthier Life with Yoga

Health is our first wealth—without it, material success feels hollow. Yoga is the key to balance, strength, and true well-being in today’s chaotic world.

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International Yoga Day is celebrated on June 21st, an initiative started by our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The reserved theme this year is 'Yoga for one Earth, one health'. The word 'yoga' comes from the Sanskrit 'yuj', meaning 'to join' or 'to unite'. "Maharshi Patanjali, known as the Father of Yoga, was the first to outline its core teachings and true purpose. Ancient texts also refer to Lord Shiva as Adi Yogi, the first yogi.


We often hear the phrase ‘Health is Wealth’, but are we doing enough to convert our health into ultimate wealth? Here are a few handy tips to achieve a healthy body and mind.


Scientific studies have shown that practicing yoga offers numerous physical and mental benefits, including stress relief, better sleep, pain reduction, increased stamina, and overall well-being.


A healthy body and mind are as valuable as money. True luxury and happiness lie in having a healthy life, not in accumulating wealth or materialistic possessions. Both go hand in hand; one without the other seems completely incomplete. Material success appears to be hollow without good health. You can only make good use of wealth when you are physically and mentally fit, as health is undoubtedly our greatest asset.


In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining good health calls for conscious effort and a commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Challenges like hectic schedules, stress, and constant distractions are real and cannot be ignored. But it’s essential to address them by making time for regular exercise, balanced eating, quality sleep, and effective stress management. Prioritising these habits greatly enhances overall well-being.


To make yoga part of your daily routine, start with small, manageable steps. Consistency is key—simple poses and breathing techniques can make a lasting difference.


Key tips to begin yoga

Set a regular time and place: Choose a time and place that suits you best and stick to the schedule without distraction and disruption.


Take small steps, but be consistent: Even a few minutes of yoga are beneficial. Consistency is more important than duration. Progress gradually helps build up the duration and complexity slowly as you become more confident and tenacious. Setting overly ambitious goals at the start may lead to setbacks.


Learn basic pose: To begin with, learn basic poses rather than going for complex ones, as they demand enormous flexibility, which would be possible only after a certain time. Choose poses that resonate with you and that you enjoy doing.


Breathing techniques: Incorporating breathing techniques like pranayama is highly beneficial.


Make it a habit: As part of your daily habit, include yoga to energise your body and mind.


Embrace mindfulness: Practice self-awareness and meditation for your overall well-being. Meditation is a form of mental exercise. End your day with a few minutes of meditation before sleep.


Importance of Yoga: To truly reap its benefits, it is essential to adopt and practice yoga daily. In today’s stressful world, it is highly recommended for people of all ages to maintain physical, mental, and emotional well-being. A key aspect of yoga is its ability to train the mind, helping individuals harness their full potential and manage emotional imbalances effectively.


Benefits of Yoga

Over the years, life has become more stressful and chaotic because of economic pressures, societal expectations, constant social media, negativity, changing family dynamics, poor work-life balance, and technology overuse.


Yoga offers a holistic approach with clear physical benefits—better flexibility, balance, strength, stamina, energy, improved breathing, and support for pain and weight management.


Emotionally, it eases stress and anxiety, improves sleep, sharpens focus, and boosts self-awareness, memory, and overall mental health.


Its power and benefits are vast, cutting across all age groups. Yoga is a timeless gift for well-being—a tool to live fully and freely.


Health is our greatest asset, often appreciated only after it’s lost. So this International Yoga Day, make an unbreakable commitment to adopt, practice, and prioritise your health.


Stay healthy and well.


Happy International Yoga Day!


(The writer is an educator based in Thane.)

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