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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.

Let Them Be Children

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Relationships, emotions, sexual curiosity, jealousy, and much more—the terms sound very complex, and we would mostly associate them with teenagers who are just starting college. Interestingly, experts point out that this age bracket is shifting. While open conversations between parents and children have made parenting easier, they’ve also brought new challenges. With early exposure and easy access to all sorts of entertainment, the dynamics of adolescence are changing. In an interview with ‘The Perfect Voice’, Dr. Sachi Pandya, a psychologist at NH SRCC Children’s Hospital, shared her observations on how and why innocence among children is shrinking. Excerpts…


Adolescence is changing: from hiding relationships to confronting them openly, even in school. Your thoughts?

Adolescence has always been a period of exploration, identity formation, and boundary-testing. What’s changing is not the emotional intensity of adolescence, but the context in which it's unfolding. With increased exposure to social media, digital influences, and pop culture, relationships—especially romantic ones—have become more visible, performative, and accessible. What might earlier have been whispered among close friends is now discussed openly, even brought into institutional spaces like school. While this reflects growing confidence and openness in young people, it also illustrates the importance of deeper emotional literacy. Beneath the drama, there are still vulnerable teens learning about love, attachment, jealousy, and communication, often without the emotional tools to do so.


Girls as young as 7 years old are wearing heavy makeup, backless dresses, etc., for parties. Are we losing innocence among children too early? What factors are responsible?

What we’re seeing isn’t just a fashion trend but a deeper shift in how children see themselves and are seen. Today, appearance is often tied to value. The loss of innocence isn’t because children have changed—it’s because the world around them has sped up. Body awareness begins as early as age 3 to 5, and by age 6 or 7, children are increasingly conscious of how they look and how others respond. By middle childhood, they’re not only aware of body shape, skin tone, height, or weight—they also begin forming ideas about what’s “good,” “acceptable,” or “beautiful.” This is a sensitive stage, where comments from adults, peers, or media can shape self-esteem. Offhand remarks like “you’ve grown so big,” or “you should smile more”, or comparisons with others, can affect how children see themselves. Without protective, affirming messages, they may internalise narrow, unrealistic beauty ideals and feel inadequate. Media, influencers, beauty filters, ads, and even parenting styles can fuel this pressure, often before a child truly knows who they are. Rather than placing blame, we must ask: Are we giving children the space to be children? Are we letting them grow slowly, explore their inner worlds, and feel safe in their bodies, free from pressure to perform or impress?


Children are more open with their parents now about their relationships. Are there any adverse psychological impacts of such openness?

This openness is undoubtedly a positive shift. Adolescents today are more willing to share feelings, talk about crushes or relationships, and seek guidance from parents—something earlier generations often hid out of fear or shame. This reflects not just changing children, but evolving parenting styles. Parents are increasingly becoming safe spaces, and that’s a gift. But with openness comes responsibility: parents must now offer sound guidance, emotional support, and age-appropriate boundaries. It’s not enough to be open—we must also be wise. Adolescents are still developing emotionally and cognitively. Their understanding of romance, intimacy, loyalty, or heartbreak is still taking shape. They may not yet grasp the weight of certain situations or the emotional fallout of early exposure to adult dynamics. That’s why it’s vital to teach the difference between safe and unsafe behaviours. Children must know they can say no to touch, pressure, or anything uncomfortable. They need the language and confidence to make healthy, informed choices. Today, dating terms like "breadcrumbing", "ghosting", and "orbiting" often normalise ambiguous or unhealthy behaviours, turning emotionally distressing patterns into casual trends. From a psychological lens, this can desensitise adolescents to emotional hurt, reduce empathy, and disrupt the development of truly intimate, respectful connections. Earlier generations may have been more secretive, but there was also a sense of maryada—a cultural emphasis on dignity and boundaries. While we need not return to silence or shame, we can revive that spirit of sanctity. Love and relationships are beautiful, but they also call for readiness, responsibility, and self-awareness.


Are children missing out on childhood fun by being overboard with romance due to media influence?

Yes, children today often bear the burden of early emotional complexity. When the media glorifies romance as central to growing up, it can overshadow the simple joys of friendship, curiosity, silliness, and imaginative play. Romantic ideals, heartbreak, or pressure to “have someone” can crowd out tree climbing, doodling, or silly games. Children deserve the chance to grow up slowly, to linger in innocence before navigating emotional intimacy. The answer isn’t restriction but re-enchantment—reviving play, nature, creativity, and spaces where children can simply be. As adults, caregivers, and professionals, our role is to honour both the reality of the times and the timeless need of childhood for room to breathe.

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