Breaking Boundaries

Ten randomly selected students from Std IX of each of the 27 schools in the district are part of this programme. Among the participating schools are Laxman Aapte School,Vimlabai Garware School,Abasaheb Atre School,Renuka Swaroop School and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Boys Sainik School. Students from the latter school,which is situated near Wagholi,have visited the Police Commissioner Office,Sassoon Hospital,Mandai and have also interacted with Marathi film actor Subodh Bhave.

Pankaj Dakliya,a student of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Boys Sainik School,says,“During our visit to the Commissioner’s office,we saw the actual control room and got an overview of the working of our police force. We also interacted with one of the constables who shared his experiences. The work of the bomb squad was also explained to us in detail.” For another student,Suraj Khule,the visit to Sassoon Hospital was an enriching and touching experience. “It was the first time that I saw various sectors of a hospital like the OPD department,ICU rooms and operation theatres. We also gave flowers and gifts to several patients,” he reveals.

Young Utkarsh Sali will always remember his meeting with actor Subodh Bhave. “He is a wonderful human being. He interacted with us not as a celebrity but as our friend and shared his experiences in the film industry. He told us to live life freely and achieve our goals even if it’s a hard struggle,” he recalls. The students’ visit to Mandai market taught them about the business of the vendors and the functioning of the market. Student Veeraj Kohli says,“We first visited the Lokmanya Tilak Statue in the market and saw various vegetable and fruit stalls. We also talked with some of the shop owners and asked about their business.” These Sunday visits have now become something to look forward to – a lesson that the participating students can hardly wait to learn.