top of page

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.

Leopard triggers terror in Bhayander

Family injured; the animal caught after seven hours

Mumbai: A groggy Bhayander family had an unexpected guest for breakfast – a young male leopard – which created mayhem in their first floor flat, leaving at least five of the hosts injured, and triggering terror in the vicinity, police said.


A daylong drama started around 8 am when the adult feline sneaked into the flat, suspectedly from the balcony as the family was just preparing for their morning cuppa and other routine chores.


On suddenly seeing the big cat lurking around in their small flat in Parijat Society, the family started screaming for help and panic gripped the entire BP Talav Road locality in Bhayander east.


Neighbours in the building who got a glimpse of the leopard joined in the melee, some shouting in the corridors and stairwells at the uninvited jungle hunter in the densely populated areas.


As the news spread like wildfire, people quickly remained barred in their own homes and kept a close watch outside, all the shops in the neighbourhood downed shutters and pedestrians disappeared from the streets, shaken by the early morning

nightmare.

The Navghar Police, Bhayander Fire Brigade along with 10 experts from Thane Forest Department and NGO SARRP’s seven volunteers with Asif Patrawala rushed to the building. The police immediately cordoned off the surrounding lanes, threw nets on the building and asked residents not to venture outdoors during the massive rescue operation.


After nearly six tense hours the rescuers monitored the leopard’s movements inside the flat and the building, once it was sighted on the staircase and then below an air-conditioning unit, searching for an escape route out of the concrete jungle to the green forests, glaring at the rescue teams hovering around.


As the cat apparently quit the flat, the rescue teams managed to extricate a badly mauled woman from a window of the flat, and the rest were also taken out slowly. They were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment where their condition was described as ‘stable’.


Surgical Strike

Finally, after around 3 pm, after a long and tiring cat-and-mouse game, the big feline was finally targeted by a surgical strike – of a tranquiliser dart – and it fell unconscious. The rescue teams managed to drive the leopard into a flat in the same building. “The animal was eventually cornered and trapped inside a first floor flat in the building, preventing further harm to the residents. The entire building and the surrounding areas were cordoned off as a precautionary measure, and the residents were advised to remain indoors,” an official said.


The forest officials lifted it and shifted it to the Leopard Rescue Centre in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali, for treatment and rehab.


As the shaken and scared Bhayander residents started returning to normalcy by evening, forest department has promised to enhance surveillance in such vulnerable zones. Locals say that the forested area is several kms away and wondered how the adult leopard managed to reach the Parijat CHS undetected.


An official of Navghar Police Station told ‘The Perfect Voice’ that the police are recording the statements of the victims and details would be shared later.


“During the rescue operation, our teams closely monitored the situation on the ground and rescue support was kept on standby if required,” said Pawan Sharma from RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare), who is also an honorary wildlife warden.


Polls round the corner, rattled leaders demand action

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Mira-Bhayander Narendra Mehta termed the incident as “extremely alarming” and shot of a letter to Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, seeking government aid for the medical treatment of all the injured and compensation.


He demanded stricter preventive measures, increased patrolling by the forest officials, and greater public awareness to prevent wild animals from entering thickly populated urban areas.


Shiv Sena Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik later told media-persons that the leopard was rescued safely while Municipal Commissioner Radhabinod Sharma said all the victims are receiving proper medical care.

Comments

bottom of page