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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.

Mumbai Moves Forward

How Metro-3 is giving the city its time back

For decades, Mumbai’s local trains have been the city’s heartbeat, moving lakhs with unmatched pace and reliability. But the truth is, even with that backbone, commuters are still losing hours every day. Hours lost to traffic, delays, the grind of uncertainty. And when you lose time, you lose opportunity. As someone in the mobility sector, I believe: time isn’t just a convenience, it’s an economic asset.


So, when I look at Metro Line 3, I don’t just see another metro line corridor. I see a reset-button for a city that is too fast to stay stuck. Metro Line 3’s 33.5 km fully underground corridor with trains running at 85 km/hr finally gives Mumbai a way to move that isn’t held back by traffic or the monsoon. It won’t eliminate delays overnight, but it will make everyday travel more predictable and dependable.


Saving even 45 minutes each way gives a commuter almost 400 hours a year back a full workweek every month, or the time to finally upskill or simply have more dinners with family. Scale that to a million commuters, and Mumbai unlocks 400 million hours of human potential every year. This isn’t a minor efficiency tweak it’s time and opportunity returned to the people who power the city.


For years, Mumbaikars have been forced to budget for uncertainty, paying surge-priced cab fares, shelling out for parking, or leaving unreasonably early “just in case” traffic delays arrivals. When mobility becomes more reliable and predictable, it doesn’t just lower stress, it eliminates a recurring cost we’ve all quietly accepted as normal. A typical commuter shifting from cabs to the Metro could save over Rs 2 lakh a year when you factor in both reduced travel costs and the value of nearly 400 hours of time regained annually. This is the change I truly care about: a city that honors the time and earnings of the people who make it move.


With the local trains above and Metro Line 3 below, I see a Mumbai which now moves on two unstoppable tracks. Not just faster but forward.


(The writer is Co-Founder of Yatri-City Travel Guide. Views personal.)

 

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