“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

                                                 ~ Charles W. Eliot 

A girl in a village with a desire to read is left unsettled with the lack of options for books to read. While there may be books in the regional language or Hindi, books in English are hard to come by. Even if she does have access to any English books, her choices are limited and might not include any that have critical acclaim. But for most of the children, their wish to read never comes true, and the names of the writers they have heard are left undiscovered. The only books known to them are the textbooks to pass exams.

Books are made to be read, to be devoured line by line, letting you live lives that were never yours. The best thing about reading is that it is a personal experience. No matter how famous or cult classic a book is, it will never have the same impact on two individuals. Some people might have cried with joy or mourned the loss of a character, some might have seen it as a good omen because they finally got the email telling them they got the job or passed an exam, whilst some might have come to terms with their own problems or losses reading it. Books are the ultimate bear hug that never lets you go even when you have finished a book.

With this in mind, at Nukkad Pathshala since we have officially started THE FRIDAY BOOK CLUB. Across all our centres the “Friday Book Club” is focused on introducing the students to new books, developing the habit of reading and language skills. 

The students may not be literary scholars, but they are one step closer to being one with the Friday Book Club. To make the Friday Book Club a success, we have set up a library at every Nukkad which offers a variety of books for students of all levels. 

The sheer excitement of talking about the books they read and the things they learnedwas a sight to behold and it just made our Friday more special.

The session starts by a student quickly going through the book assigned to them, whilst the others also follow along reading their copies. Then the teacher engages in an informal discussion wherein questions are put forth by both the teacher and the students. The teacher would ask about the opinions of the students on the book, the lessons they have learned and the moral of the story. The students, on the other hand, talk about the book and their reason for reading it. They also put forth any questions they have about a word or sentence in the book, which would further be discussed in class. In the end, the teacher asks the students which book they would like to read next week.

This initiative is a result of our aim to spread equitable learning, provide access to books, especially ones in english to the children in the rural areas so as to bring them up to the same educational level as their suburban counterparts. 

Nukkad Pathshala is a CSR initiative of New Opportunity which sets up free after-school learning centers across villages of India. We help students develop foundational Math, Science and English skills. Currently, we have 41 centers and 1500 students under our wing. You can learn more about our programs at www.nukkadpathshala.in 

Want to get involved? You can choose to join our Online mentorship program, spend some time volunteering, or intern with us! You will get to directly impact 1,500+ change-makers!