A theatre and film actress’ phenomenal work in helping single-handedly build schools in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad tehsil is a story of perseverance rare in the glamour world
Rajshri Deshpande with students at the recently constructed Zilla Parishad Primary School in Pandhari
In 2018, when Sacred Games made its startling debut on Netflix, actress Rajshri Deshpande, who was cast as Subhadra, wife of the antagonist Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), was working overtime in Pandhari village in the Aurangabad tehsil. She remembers having to skip being part of the crime web-series’ media promotions, and even holding back on several new film offers that followed its success, because she had made a promise to the villagers. Deshpande, at the time, was in the midst of rebuilding the Zilla Parishad Primary School in Pandhari, home to around 75 children. The dilapidated building meant that the kids were studying in the open grounds or under a tree.
Having worked in the village through her NGO Nabhangan Foundation for nearly five years, the actor had felt an almost desperate need to provide a pucca structure to the children. “I had appealed to the local authorities, but they didn’t seem to have the budget for it,” she says. On an impulse, Deshpande remembers telling them that she would take up the cause. “I wasn’t an educator or architect. I didn’t even know what it takes to build a school,” she tells us. And yet, two years later, Deshpande had managed to raise Rs 60 lakh and gift a new school to the kids of Pandhari. Today, the Zilla Parishad school is home to nearly 125 kids.
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The new ZP school has been rebuilt keeping sustainable and eco-friendly principles in mind. The classrooms are airy and well-lit throughout the day
Next up, she hopes to rebuild another school in the tribal village of Dhorkin, in the Paithan tehsil of Aurangabad district, not too far away from this one. The actor is looking to collaborate with private firms and individuals to raise Rs 30 lakh before the new academic year begins.
This is the third project that Deshpande has taken up. She previously repaired the toilets at a government school in Ambi village in Pune district. “Ever since the kids of Pandhari got a new school, a lot of teachers from the nearby villages have been reaching out to me, requesting that I help them too,” says Deshpande. Most are in a state of ruin and disrepair. The classrooms are crammed and poorly ventilated, the walls collapsing, and the toilets broken.
“It’s sad that children are being denied something as basic as education in a safe structure,” says Deshpande, admitting that she hasn’t been able to pursue all the requests, primarily due to lack of funding and support from villagers. “This particular teacher from Dhorkin had reached out to me even before the pandemic. She had shared pictures of the school. At some point, I decided to visit the village, and meet the locals, who were more than happy to be part of my effort.”
Deshpande believes that for any new project to succeed, all the stakeholders need to be on the same page. “I don’t begin any work, until I don’t have the support of the local residents,” she says. “The ultimate goal is to ensure that a village is self-sufficient, but for that we need to focus on holistic development. My work cannot end at building a school structure or taking care of the village’s water needs. We also have to ensure that they have enough opportunities to earn a living. Till the time, economic stability is missing in homes, the kids won’t have a happy environment in the house, and won’t be able to focus on education. It’s all connected.”
The actor is also hoping that these schools don’t just become centres of learning, but help hone creative talent too. Late last year, Deshpande opened a library at the ZP school in Pandhari named after veteran theatre stalwart Satyadev Dubey. The library comprises nearly 1,500 books on a range of subjects, including the arts, music, science, and environment. “The kids will be trained to read, so that they develop an appreciation for books. There’s also a theatre group that will visit the school from Aurangabad regularly, and perform plays here. From next year onwards, I am looking to hire someone from the field of sports or martial arts to coach the students.” Since Dhorkin is in the same district as Pandhari, Deshpande says she will be extending the facilities to the new tribal school as well.
She rues about the state of affairs in several of Maharashtra’s villages, describing the apathy as tragic. “It’s sad that even two years into the pandemic, we still have to distribute ration among villagers. Change can’t be implemented on paper alone.” Deshpande can’t wrap her head around why the Centre and state governments have fallen short, despite so many schemes being announced during the annual budgets, and the existence of the Right to Education Act 2009, which lays down norms and standards for how schools should function. “I wish I knew [the reason for this]. It would have solved the mystery for me,” she says.
She, however, believes that small efforts by individuals will go a long way. Dipali Choure, a teacher from the ZP school in Pandhari says that only this week Desphande had sent across badminton kits and skipping ropes for the kids. “They now enjoy coming here; attendance has increased and most of them prefer to spend time after school hours too. Earlier, they would struggle to concentrate in class, especially in the peak of the summer season. The new school has been built in such a way that it’s cool and airy throughout. This is a great environment for them to study.”
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