The Hindu Business Line : Shelter and... a future

In a sleepy village near Mumbai, one individual has quietly and tirelessly worked to transform the lives of many young people from the poorest of poor families.

The children staying at the hostel and other trainees from nearby villages are drawn from families that at times don't get even one meal a day.

Roti, kapda aur... S.K. Choudhury with his wards at the boys' hostel run by him in Jambhulpada village near Mumbai - HARSH KABRA

It's past his usual lunchtime. But S.K. Choudhury isn't reaching for his plate just yet. "I'll eat only after the kids have had their lunch," he insists. As the kids scurry back during the school break, his eyes light up. Over the next hour, he fondly inquires after the kids as they devour a sumptuous meal before rushing back to the school. This may seem like a conventional patriarch presiding over an everyday family occasion. But in essence, the man is as unconventional as the family he so adores. For what connect him to these kids are not ties of blood, but bonds of affection.

We are at Chittaranjan Chhatralaya, a unique boys' hostel run by a trust named Chittaranjan Seva Pratisthan (CSP) in Jambhulpada, a sleepy village about 100 km from Mumbai. For its 240 young inmates hailing from the poorest of poor families in over eight districts of Maharashtra, the hostel is a home away from home. This hostel is a labour of love of 68-year-old Choudhury, a civil engineer, social worker and former sheriff of Mumbai, who founded CSP in 2000 and is its chairman and managing trustee.

Nestled among verdant hills, Jambhulpada could be mistaken for yet another Indian village with a deprived past and an indistinct future. But talk to the villagers and they'll tell you how the village has hosted a quiet revolution for the last seven years. At its forefront is Choudhury, who disagrees that poverty could be banished by saying "garibi hatao" (remove poverty). Instead, "amiri lao" (bring affluence) is what he believes is the crying need. At Chittaranjan Chhatralaya, boys from families living below the poverty line (BPL) are provided everything from accommodation, food, nutrition, and healthcare, to education, clothes, books, tuition, moral instruction, vocational training and placement absolutely free of cost.

Quiz Choudhury about the genesis of CSP and his mind races back to 1989. On the dreadful night of July 24 that year, when the villagers were fast asleep, the Amba river, swollen by incessant downpour, suddenly unleashed its fury. The flash floods took a heavy toll, snuffing out over 100 lives and reducing the village to a heap of rubble. Choudhury, who had known the village through a friend, was at work in an old age home in nearby Khopoli town when he read about the tragedy. "I went to the village the next day to help provide immediate relief and was moved by the heartrending scene," he recalls. "The village was totally ravaged and corpses were strewn around."

Most disconcerting was the condition of the village children. "There are organisations to prevent cruelty to women, the elderly, animals, even trees. But little is being done for the prevention of cruelty to children, although it is so rampant," says Choudhury. CSP, thus inspired by a quirk of fate, took upon itself to rewrite their destinies. What started in 2000 from a 1,300-sq-ft rented house with 18 boys, mostly orphans, from Jambhulpada and neighbouring villages has today scaled up to 10 properties, either owned or rented by CSP, and a one-acre plot slated to be the site of CSP's industrial training institute.

An alumnus of the University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee) and the University of Birmingham, Choudhury has had a long stint in the construction business. Even today, he single-handedly runs an ISO-certification company and a software sales business to support his extended family as well as his immediate family — his wife and a daughter pursuing her MBA from Mumbai University. They are not used to seeing him at home on Sundays. For, at the crack of dawn every Sunday, Choudhury leaves his Bandra residence to visit his extended family at Jambhulpada. En route, he buys next week's supply of fresh vegetables and other provisions for the kids at the Panvel wholesale market. "Throughout the week, I keep in constant touch with the hostel staff on the phone," he says.

Inspired by his mother, also a social worker, the Varanasi-born Choudhury has been actively engaged in social work since he was 25. His work spans a wide spectrum from leprosy eradication and patient rehabilitation programmes to serving as part of the Mumbai-based Fellowship of the Physically Handicapped. It was in recognition of his work that he was made the Sheriff of Mumbai in 1995 soon after Sunil Gavaskar. As a social worker, Choudhury had seen from close quarters the dismal state of rural children, especially those from BPL families. Conditions are so bad that these people can't afford rice and wheat even at subsidised prices of Rs 3 and Rs 2 per kg that their yellow ration cards entitle them to. The government's mid-day meal scheme is also riddled with corruption. Bred on disdain and poverty, the children and youth often fall prey to crimes and anti-social activities. "A large population doesn't mean a large workforce. Education by itself means nothing if it doesn't help an individual to develop a skill that can help him earn a livelihood. This is at the root of abject poverty. Even if one member from every family starts earning, poverty can be tackled effectively."

Which is why CSP has embraced education and vocational training as ways to empower rural youth and help weed out poverty. CSP's Swavalamban Prashikshan Kendra (Vocational Training Centre) trains students in nearly two-dozen trades — all in accordance with government-recognised syllabi. "Boys often can't decide what they want to become. So we mentor them," says Choudhury. The hostel is complemented by a gymnasium, sport club, healthcare centre, library and information centre. Choudhury meets the expenses all by himself. He neither takes government grants, nor scouts for donations. Voluntary contributions, however, are welcome.

The children staying at the hostel and other trainees from nearby villages are drawn from families that at times don't get even one meal a day. Choudhury relates how many of the boys refuse to eat vegetables in their early days at the hostel. "Most come from tribal families that survive on rice mixed with some salt or a watery dal and have never tasted vegetables before," he reveals. "I often have to insist that if only they eat vegetables will I do something they want, like watch their kabaddi match." Early morning tea and breakfast, a glassful of milk early evening and two carefully worked out meals — nutrition is something that never gets a short shrift here.

Two months before the schools reopen in June, CSP sends out a circular to all village headmen (Sarpanch), Gram Sevaks, BDOs, and Talathis in the State. "Each aspirant is required to produce his family's yellow-coloured ration card bearing his name or a certificate from the Sarpanch, Talathi or Tehsildar confirming that he belongs to a BPL family.

We even have to pay them the bus fare to come here. We take boys aged 14-21 because it is difficult to train younger boys." Vocational training is more important than marks here. The boys stay for up to six years and go to the local school and junior college. For vocational training, CSP has employed trainers from nearby villages. "They are all trained at ITIs or polytechnics, adhere to the government's minimum qualification stipulations, and receive regular salaries," reveals Choudhury.

CSP plans to expand its activities to other rural pockets of Maharashtra such as Dahanu, Talsari (Thane) and Chiplun and Malgund (Ratnagiri). "I want to demonstrate what difference one individual can make and set an example for others," says Choudhury. "This is the only way I know of alleviating poverty.

I don't subscribe to the culture of subsidies, doles and alms, which have made even a big country like Russia go bankrupt."

Success stories

At Chittaranjan Seva Pratisthan's Swavalamban Prashikshan Kendra, boys are trained in trades such as electric wiring, plumbing, gardening, sewing and tailoring, welding and steel fabrication, computer operation, car driving, cycle and stove repairing, carpentry, motor mechanism, masonry, welding, diesel engine mechanism, chemical plant operation, electronic and electrician course, air conditioning and refrigeration, building construction supervision, and others. The place is abuzz with success stories. Amit Pangare, a carpenter's son from nearby Tuksai village, underwent computer training here and is now in the second year of his Bachelor of Computer Applications studies.

Having passed the PWD's wireman licence examination, Kiran Deshmukh is working in a nearby factory and supporting his family well.

Nagesh Deshmukh, who came here as a class eight student, has since completed a two-year chemical operator's course from an ITI at Nagothane village. He beams with pride as he reveals that he is now working in a chemical factory and drawing Rs 5,000 every month with free meals.

Ganpat Bangare, a tribal boy, has completed a diesel engine mechanic's course from an ITI at Khalapur and is working in a steel rolling mill at Khopoli.

After learning steel fabrication work, Haribhau Borse has set up a small fabrication shop and a flourmill in his village near Malegaon in Nasik district.

Prakash Sonawane learnt motor driving here and works for the owner of a pharmaceutical shop in Nasik. Sanjay Trikhande, a backward class boy, has passed his electric wireman's licence examination and now works with an electrical company in Rasayani, drawing Rs 4,000 a month with free lodging and boarding.

Yogesh Kharat, 18, is a backward caste student from Murbad village. He recently completed the government-run librarian's course with distinction and is all set to start his career in a government school with a monthly salary of no less than Rs 6,500.

"These salaries may seem ordinary to urbanites like you and me," says founder S.K. Choudhury, "but for these boys who have seen the worst of poverty, they are nothing short of a windfall."

To contact Choudhury: (022) 26656224 / 26662133

More Stories on : People | Children & Parenting | Rural Development

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