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By:

Shoumojit Banerjee

27 August 2024 at 9:57:52 am

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of...

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of society in Maharashtra. The foundation has become a home for out-of-school children, those who have never enrolled, the children of migrant labourers and single parents, and those who scavenge at garbage dumps or drift between odd jobs. To call their foundation an “NGO” is to miss the point. Vinaya Nimbalkar describes it as a “democratic laboratory”, where education is not merely instruction but an initiation into citizenship. The couple were once government schoolteachers with the Solapur Zilla Parishad, leading stable lives. Yet what they witnessed unsettled them: children who had never held a pencil, begging at traffic signals or sorting refuse for a living. Prompted by this reality, the Nimbalkars resigned their jobs to work full-time for the education of such children. Leap of Faith They began modestly, teaching children in migrant settlements in Solapur and using their own salaries to pay small honorariums to activists. Funds soon ran dry, and volunteers drifted away. Forced out of their home because of their commitment to the cause, they started a one-room school where Vinaya, Mahesh, their infant son Srijan and forty children aged six to fourteen lived together as an unlikely family. The experiment later moved to Barshi in the Solapur district with support from Anandvan. Rural hardship, financial uncertainty and the pandemic repeatedly tested their resolve. At one stage, they assumed educational guardianship of nearly 200 children from families that survived by collecting scrap on the village outskirts. Eventually, the foundation relocated to Talegaon Dabhade near Pune, where it now runs a residential hostel. Twenty-five children currently live and study there. The numbers may seem modest, but the ambition is not. Democracy in Practice What distinguishes the Ajit Foundation is not only who it serves but also how it operates. Within its walls, democracy is practised through a Children’s Gram Panchayat and a miniature Municipal Council elected by the children themselves. Young candidates canvass, hold meetings and present their budgets. Children maintain accounts and share decisions about chores, activities and certain disciplinary matters. In a country where democratic culture is often reduced to voting, the foundation’s approach is quietly radical. It treats children from marginalised backgrounds as citizens in formation. The right to choose — whether to focus on sport, cooking, mathematics or cultural activities — is respected. “We try never to take away what is their own,” says Vinaya Nimbalkar. Rather than forcing every child into a uniform academic mould, individual abilities are encouraged. A boy skilled in daily calculations may not be pushed into hours of bookish study; a girl who excels in cooking may lead the kitchen team. For children who have known only precarity, standing for election, managing a budget or speaking at a meeting can be transformative. On International Women’s Day, the foundation seeks visibility not just for praise but for partnership. If you are inspired by their mission, consider supporting or collaborating—your involvement can help extend opportunities to more children in need.

Geet Ramayan: A Timeless Musical Epic

 G. D. Madgulkar’s lyrical narrative of the Ramayana transforms an epic into a song that speaks across generations.

The Geet Ramayan is a landmark of Indian music and Marathi literature and the most popular Marathi retelling of the Ramayana across literary, classical, cultural and spiritual spheres. Highly acclaimed for its lyrics, music and rendition, it was written by G. D. Madgulkar and sung by Sudhir Phadke and his team. Broadcast on All India Radio, Pune, in 1955–56, the work comprises 56 Marathi songs that narrate the events of the epic in chronological order. Created to entertain and to impart moral values, the Geet Ramayan remains a musical classic that continues to resonate through generations.


Madgulkar’s lyrical narrative is marked by unity and continuity. His lucid, simple and emotive style touches the hearts of listeners. He deftly weaves together theory and practice, philosophy and a vision of Hindutva as a way of life. The work echoes moral values, encourages spiritual awakening and educates audiences through its messages.


G. D. Madgulkar adopted a distinct narrative technique and was widely praised for his lyrics, earning him the title of a modern Valmiki. Geet Ramayan is regarded as the pinnacle of his literary work. He exercised artistic freedom in choosing metres, shaping the storyline and conveying its messages. Across 56 episodes of songs and commentary, 32 characters from the Ramayana were voiced. The poet captured the emotions of Rama, Sita, Hanuman and even the most humble figures, focusing on key dramatic moments and dialogues. Far from a single poem, the work is a sweeping collection that elevates the doctrine of Rama to its highest peak, akin to the Kalasubai summit in the Sahyadri. As the central figure of both the Ramayana and Geet Ramayan, Rama is portrayed in varied tones and moods, making him the most appreciated and frequently voiced character, with ten songs devoted to him.


The vivid portrayal of the Ramayana through song, music and dance held audiences captive, drawing them into the poetic narrative. In music, prosody refers to how meaning is conveyed through features such as emphasis, orchestration, melodic or rhythmic structure, and shifts in musical parameters. Identifying prosody from a set of audio clips is a challenge that can be approached using machine learning.


Prosodic features—tempo, melody and instrumentation—have been computationally analysed. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients have proved useful for instrumentation-based classification, while song tempo offers partial insight into mood; for instance, sad songs tend to be slower than those expressing fear. This study identified a set of prosodic features to determine a song's mood from its refrain, using a regression-based ensemble learning model that achieved 73% accuracy. Although the dataset was relatively small, this is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to apply machine learning to estimate prosody in Marathi songs, and the results are promising.


These timeless compositions have won the hearts of Marathi literature enthusiasts and continue to bridge generations. Geet Ramayan transcends time, carrying forward an era of truth, justice and vivid drama while retelling an ageless story. The beauty of the Ramayana is eternal, touching the vast horizons of Hindu philosophy and speaking to every generation. Today’s audiences seek forms they can relate to, and the work meets this need.


The epilogue notes that Geet Ramayan is not merely a dialogue between Rama and his kin but a “trilectic” creation, engaging the poet, the epic narrative and the vast, expressive Indian audience. It successfully conveys the moral and spiritual essence of the epic in the spirit of Saint Dnyaneshwar’s language.


माझा मराठीची बोलू कौतुके। परि अमृतातेहि पैजासी जिंके। ऐसी अक्षरे रसिके। मेळवीन


Maza Marathiche bolu kautikepari Amrutache hi Painjasi jinke as akshare rasike milvin.


चैत्रमास, त्यांत शुद्ध नवमी ही तिथी/गंधयुक्त तरिहि वात उष्ण हे किती! दोन प्रहरिं कां ग शिरीं सूर्य थांबला? राम जन्मला ग सखी राम जन्मला.


In many Marathi homes, these lines are familiar to both children and adults. With Geet Ramayan now translated into Sanskrit, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Sindhi, Telugu and even Braille, its creators hope the message of Valmiki’s epic reaches far and wide. In the spirit of the great master, Madgulkar shared this enduring melody with the public. As Dnyaneshwar observed, the true revelation of poetry unfolds over centuries.


(The writer is an assistant professor of English literature. Views personal.)

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