How this night reading hall by BMC in Mumbai's Andheri aims to inspire children to study

Students at the night reading hall in Koldongri’s Nityaanand Marg Mumbai Public School. Pics/Aishwarya Deodhar

The Nityaanand Marg Mumbai Public School in Koldongri sits atop a cemented hillock on Sahar Road in Andheri East. The evening traffic right outside it assaults our senses. As we pass through the school gates, the world goes quiet - a reprieve for our ringing ears set off by impatient drivers with feather-touch horns. At the end of the main corridor, we glimpse the doorway of the first night reading halls re-launched by the BMC after a lull of nearly eight years.

This is the school for children whose parents are employed in the manufacturing units and factories in neighbouring Chakala. On September 8, in conjunction with Vile Parle-based NGO Utkarsh Mandal, the BMC opened two reading halls, one for each gender, here. Ganpati Bappa flanks the corridor on the left, as if to bless students on their way to pursue knowledge. Mid-way stands a group of night school students, of all ages, speaking to a teacher. One of them is a man well into his 40s, with dishevelled hair and a grey-white checked shirt. "They also come here [to study] between 6 pm and 8 pm, along with day students," explains Ganesh Chavan, the secondary school teacher in charge of the school.

Class IX student Krushna Vinayak Thakur, 14, says he has been using the facility since day one; (right) Roshni Sanjay Sharma, 16, lives in a one-bedroom home with her joint family consisting of 11 members

The night reading hall, a slightly larger-than-average classroom, buzzes with obsessive compulsive vibes, its four rows of desk-benches laid out with military precision. On each bench is a student, nose deep in a book, a special identity card (made only after parents sign a consent form) hanging from the neck. In the other hall, male students try and outstudy their female counterparts.

The slight buzz of the fan rustles papers, and we almost feel guilty for disrupting the sacred hour until a bright-eyed girl with an equally bright yellow kurti locks eyes with us and beams. "Roshni," she chirps, "Roshni Sanjay Sharma."

Tauheed Shaikh and Ganesh Chavan

The Class X student lives in a 1BHK near the Bisleri factory at Chakala with 11 other people. "I have three sisters, one brother and two cousins. My cousins are really small - one is in Class II, while the other is in senior kindergarten. So my home isn't exactly peaceful," she says with a smile, but without hesitation. Her adolescent-to-teen cracking voice booms through the hall. "This has already become my haven to study. I go home after school at 2 pm, and return at 6 pm so I can study without being disturbed. I am going to really rely on this space when Board exams approach." We can't help but think that she is going to go places.

Much rides on the success of the Nityaanand model. Night reading halls were first attempted by the BMC in 2015, but certain technical issues had brought the initiative to a grinding halt.

BMC is extremely keen that history doesn't repeat itself. "We will meet with the NGO and the parents to explain the benefits of the night reading halls," says Tauheed Shaikh, administrative officer (School) of K East ward, "The fact that many of these children live in small homes and experience lack of structural facilities to support their studies is why we are trying to convince parents to allow their children to come study here."

Shaikh's ward alone has 2,606 such students. The BMC hopes that 11 other schools in the area will be inducted into the programme over the next few months, as word spreads.

Students such as Krushna Vinayak, who lives in Charat Singh Colony chawl at Chakala, need reading halls because at home, his mother tends to send him out on errands during study hours. "My elder brother works in Kotak so he is out," says the 14-year-old innocently, "and my younger sister is in Class VIII. So, whenever mummy needs something, I end up going to the store or helping out around the house. I know that when I am here - for these two hours - no one can interrupt me. I need to fare well [in the final exams] to go into Class X…" By now, he is looking away, almost talking to himself.

Utkarsh Mandal's 18 volunteers monitor the halls, "The volunteers come from all walks of life," says Jayanth Desai, a member of the NGO that was established in 1955. "Some of them are retired professors and teachers. In fact, just today a retired History-Geography teacher called to say she would not just help monitor the reading hall, but also tutor students for free."

As we wrap up our visit, we take one last look at the boys' reading room: Krushna is sharing a joke with the boy seated a few rows behind him. They spot us and get back to their books guiltily. We can't help but smile. There's always room for joy.