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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.

The Transformative Power of Spirituality

Can spirituality answer life’s biggest questions—providing inner peace, self-awareness, and a deeper connection with the universe?

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In a broader perspective, spirituality is a search for the inner self, something beyond the earthly world. It encompasses self-discovery, mindfulness, introspection, self-compassion, meditation, prayers, and connecting with something larger than oneself.


Spirituality is a personal quest to explore meaning and purpose in life. It is very much individualistic. It refers to belief in a higher power, not specifically to a specific deity.


Conversely, being religious is a structured belief system and rituals involving the worship of a deity or deities.


Well, it is considered a divine calling, a deeper invitation to explore deeper concepts, which leads to a life full of purpose and meaning, thereby to have a fulfilling journey. This is referred to as "Spiritual Awakening".


It includes being drawn towards the purpose of life, the search for the very existence of individuals, and interconnection, reduced desires towards worldly things, peace seeking, meditation, and prayers. Although the calling is unique for each individual based on their values, beliefs, and karmic accounts of the past and present.


Impact of spirituality

It impacts an individual profoundly, making a significantly noticeable change in a sense of reduced attachments to materialistic possessions, increased sensitivity, a questioning mindset, and increased inclination to supreme power. Appreciation for simpler things in life begins, and greater awareness of one's intuition aligns with emotions and thoughts. Practices like yoga, meditation, and prayer enhance the ability to overcome grief or sickness.


Helps to develop a sense of acceptance and to make peace or come to terms with the facts of life. Emphasises the significance of relationships with the partner and to build harmonious relations with one and all, underlining the strengthening of bonds.


Spiritual communities offer support and belongingness to individuals, which is highly valuable. It helps to connect with our faith emotionally and psychologically, facilitating peace and acceptance at the end of life. It nurtures values like compassion, empathy, and forgiveness while emphasising service to society and a sense of interconnectedness with the world. At the same time, it encourages the practice of gratitude, a powerful tool for liberation.


One learns not to hold on to grudges, anger, hatred, and bitterness, and to release suppressed negative emotions, thus feeling lighter and liberated.


It helps us overcome the fear of loneliness, teaching that solitude can be enjoyable. This fosters self-sufficiency, reduces dependency, and encourages us to explore life independently. It can have a huge positive impact on mental health, reducing stress and depression.


De-cluttering on the mental level begins systematically. Spirituality is a lifelong process of learning, growing, and connecting with the divine. Although highly religious and following practices and rituals as meticulously as possible, I turned to Spirituality when life threw unlimited challenges, and I hit rock bottom, mentally drained. This was the time 'Spiritual Awakening ', so-called "Divine Calling'' occurred, and where I found changes happening within me as an individual.


I started practicing yoga, meditation, self-compassion, forgiveness, and releasing negative emotions and thoughts, while religiously praying daily.


It has taught me that nothing is permanent; we come alone and leave alone. Hence, enjoy the journey called "life", go with the flow, and deliver your duties and responsibilities to the optimum. I feel extremely light and liberated, having a sense of attainment of 'Nirvana'.


Today, I stand strong and fearless and have emerged a better human being who can calmly say and embrace the quotes of the Bhagavad Gita, "Detachment from the results of action (karma) is the path of liberation and spiritual growth."


The higher power decides it's payback time for all the positive karmas made in the past. So keep an attitude of gratitude. Have the wisdom to know the effects of karma and navigate positively. Stay strong and stay blessed. Let divine blessings be showered on each one of us.


(The author is an educator based in Thane.)

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