Recipient of the Somchand Parikh Award for Best Teacher to Asawari Kolhatkar, Principal, Sangharshnagar Municipal Marathi School, Powai
I told my school where I am going today. I am a little afraid about how and what I’ll speak but after I reached here, I felt some confidence. Today, I am here to ask for a computer lab for my 1500 children. I have been working for 30 years and I am about to retire in two years, but I am going to continue my good work in education.
The place I work in has a majority of single parents, single mothers; when they see me, there is a hope in their eyes that I’ll guide their kids to a bright future. They all want their child to be successful. It is for this that I am asking you for help. I am obliged that you have felicitated me with this prestigious award.
We have kids from pre-primary to standard 8, that is the age group from 4 to 15 and there are 1500 students. Gurbir Singh and Shabana Azmi inaugurated the school along with former PM Prithviraj Chauhan in 2011. Azmi madam said that she was hopeful for the bright future of the children and that they are in our able hands.
Gurbir Singh:
This was actually a rehab project for slum dwellers who had encroached upon SGNP. The layout is about 90 acres, just behind Hiranandani Powai, developed as an SRA project. They are small tenements; for each block, the builder has to give a block and balwadi. We thought this will not happen because they will eventually turn into shops instead. So, we aggregated it and made a school. It took a lot of struggle and protest but finally the Municipal School was born. So, now it’s doing fine; there are two other layout reservations; one of a secondary school and the other is a sanstha.
