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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.

Tale of strength, victory

The nine days of Navratri celebrate goddesses who embody strength in different forms; valour, compassion, creativity, austerity, devotion, justice, protection, forgiveness and wisdom. In our annual Navratri series, we celebrate the lives of nine women who strive to build happy and safe spaces for themselves and those around them.


PART - 13


Name: Bhagyashree Shinde | Where: Mumbai
Name: Bhagyashree Shinde | Where: Mumbai

Bhagyashree Kaluram Shinde, a young girl from the Wadar Vasti community, represents resilience and determination. Her family, part of the Mati Wadar community, has encountered significant obstacles. The family’s move to Wadar Vasti and the closure of her father’s traditional mattress weaving business during the COVID-19 pandemic rushed them into crisis.


Amidst hardship, Bhagyashree’s father adjusted to the situation by establishing a small general store within their community. The family of six, which includes Bhagyashree’s parents, grandmother, and two younger sisters, worked together to navigate their new situations. Despite the challenges, Bhagyashree remained unwavering in her academic pursuits and extracurricular activities.


Bhagyashree has been an enthusiastic and energetic girl since childhood. Her parents says that she first began learning karate when she was in class 4. With her interest in sports, she chose karate and initially took a few days of coaching.


However, due to her family’s financial challenges, continuing formal training was not possible. Recognising her dedication and passion, her karate teacher Nitin Kamble decided to train her completely free of cost, ensuring that her dreams were not hindered by financial constraints.


For the past nine years, she has honed her skills in karate and become a formidable athlete with his unwavering support, both financial and motivational. Her journey in karate is marked by dedication, discipline, and countless hours of rigorous training.

A member of Child Rights and You’s activity center collective groups, Bhagyashree, actively participates in all the programs and events offered. She achieved a commendable 54 per cent in her 10th-grade examinations last year, demonstrating her dedication to her studies.


Bhagyashree’s journey from a small community in Wadar Vasti to the national stage is a proof to her dedication and perseverance. Her achievements at the City and State level tournaments in Katraj, Pune, where she secured second place and earned a silver medal, have paved the way for her participation in the National level tournament in Haryana in August 2024.


This success not only represents a personal achievement for Bhagyashree but also brings great pride to her family and community.


Her accomplishments emphasise that no goal is unattainable, and through hard work, persistence, and the right encouragement, one can achieve anything. She is not just a talented karate athlete; she symbolizes resilience, hope, and the limitless potential that resides within each of us. The sport not only strengthened her physically but also built her confidence.


Bhagyashree says, “I am no longer afraid to walk around the community, even at night, because I know I can protect myself.” This transformation, she believes, was made possible only because of karate, which empowered her with both skills and self-belief. She is pursuing her further education while also teaching karate to children in her community. Her dream is not only to achieve personal success in the sport but also to empower other girls through karate, helping them become as brave and confident.

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