Anand Mahindra launches book on Project Nanhi Kali’s impact on girl child welfare

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra Group, ​launched a coffee table book, May A Million Buds Bloom, on Monday in Mumbai, which captures the qualitative impact of Project Nanhi Kali — an initiative started by him — on educating girls. The book was compiled by 18-year-old Nitya Manoj Kumar, a recent graduate of the International Baccalaureate programme at the International School of Hyderabad.

Mr. Mahindra began Project Nanhi Kali in 1996 with the objective of educating girls and encouraging Indians to contribute to a worthy cause. “In the 1970s, India was a demographic disaster,” Mr. Mahindra said. The population was spiralling, female literacy levels were low, and the number of women in the workforce was alarming, he said and added, “I felt that education of the girl child was the only solution.”

Project Nanhi Kali was designed as a sponsorship programme. Both individuals and corporates sponsor girls’ education for at least one year. Over the years, Project Nanhi Kali, which is jointly managed by the Naandi Foundation and the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, has reached out to close to nine lakh girls across 14 States. It tried to ensure that girls not only finish their schooling, but also taught them skills like sports to empower them. “The book, through a combination of storytelling and visual art, offers readers a thought-provoking glimpse into what change looks like beyond numbers,” Mr. Mahindra said.

Stories of empowerment

At the book release, project members recounted stories of empowerment beyond classroom education. In one village, girls got together to stop their fathers from eating gutkha, while in another, they gently convinced a man not to get his daughter married off young, they said. They also spoke of how sustained engagement with sarpanches, fathers, and grandmothers has been crucial in bringing about long-term change.

Ms. Kumar spent three years with nanhi kalis all over the country, in classrooms, on public transport, and at the village square, to capture the transformation brought out by the project.