Make room for the young: Here’s how study spaces in Colaba and Worli are helping students

"I have been coming to this study centre for five years now. I passed my Class 10 board exams with 92 per cent while I was studying here and since it is just five minutes from the bus stop, it is easily accessible too," says 22-year-old Vijay Rathod, a resident of Cuffe Parade's Ambedkar Nagar and a regular visitor at the Annie Shekhar Study Centre at Colaba's Cooperage ground.

As Rathod and his friends are seen engaged in their studies, some with books and others on laptops connected to the multi-plug board attached to the central pole, at the opposite end, sits UPSC aspirant Sagar Kanojiya engrossed in YouTube lessons for the Staff Selection Commission competitive exams. Built at the periphery of the Colaba Cooperage garden and just adjacent to the traffic garden, the study centre is a refuge for many such students residing in the nearby chawls and slum-areas of Colaba.

Abhyas Galli at Worli Naka. Image credit: Manjeet Thakur

Conceptualised and built in 1999 by former Municipal Councillor Annie Shekhar and her elder son late Vinod Shekhar, the Study Centre was based on Rabindranath Tagore's ‘Shanti Niketan'. "The idea was to provide a space for children from the nearby slum areas to study and have access to a 24-hours open library," says advocate Anita Chandrashekhar Castellino, daughter of Annie Shekhar.

Around 12 km away from the Study Centre at Worli Naka, one can find ‘Abhyas Galli', a lane designated as a study-space in 2015 by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in view of students who came to study there at night. Running adjacent to Poddar Hospital, a medical students' hostel and just across a regional office of the BMC, the street is not as busy as one may perceive it to be.

One can sense, with the presence of trees on both sides of the lane, halogen lights at equal distances and walls painted with creative artworks meant to educate children on different courses one can pursue after Class 10 and 12, the street does look like a space meant for youngsters to study and one may find a few of them during evening hours, unless it is raining.

‘Space is a major issue at home, so we come here'
"Most of the people coming here reside in slums. So the major problem is lack of space. One of my friends comes from Malad as well, because they don't have a similar space there," says Akshay Mohite, who has been visiting the Colaba Study Centre for over a decade and is now an advocate; he continues to visit the space to read books or prepare his litigation papers.

Vijay Rathod is a regular visitor at the Study Centre: Photo Courtesy: Raj Patil/Mid-day file pic

Unavailability of a separate room and a suitable environment to study at home is one of the major reasons, which do not leave a choice for the students, but to travel at least two to three km to study with bare minimum facilities. For Nishand Kadam from Worli's BDD Chawl, who is in Class 10, the Abhyas Galli provides a peaceful environment to prepare for his board exams. He does not mind walking five minutes from his home after school and tuition hours to study for an hour at the lane, which has limited seats.

"It is also a good place for group studies and clearing our doubts together. Though I know of just this lane, there should be more such places for students," the 14-year-old believes.

These open spaces also come as a saviour at a time when public libraries are inaccessible for students belonging to economically weaker sections who cannot afford the library charges every month. Additionally, most of the libraries do not allow group studies and are not accessible 24 hours for those who can only manage to study at night. Most importantly when Mohite questions, "How many public libraries are actually there in Mumbai?" one is certainly reminded of a dearth of affordable state libraries in the city.

Lauding the conception of the study centre, which has had an added facility of a roof since 2014, Mohite mentions a few concerns as well. He reports about the irregular garbage clean-up and delay in redressal of complaints regarding basic facilities due to unavailability of the concerned persons. "This place has shaped the careers of many people and this should continuously be under the supervision of someone, private or public, whoever has conceived this idea. Either the person should take some steps or the local authorities," he adds.

Artworks on the walls at Abhyas Galli. Photo Courtesy: Raj Patil/Mid-day file pic

On the other hand, Ronak Shivankar, a regular visitor to Abhyas Galli, brings to light that due to lesser benches, students resort to sitting on a mat under the streetlight to study. While the entire lane is a designated study-space, only one side is lined up with seating spaces. Though the painted colourful walls with graffiti on motivational quotes give an impression of a well-maintained public place, the civic authorities must pay attention to the basic facilities like enough seats to host more students and adequate lighting for them to burn the midnight oil with enough visibility.

"Surrounding wise, it is definitely peaceful than our houses, but, I do feel there should be a facility to at least keep our books and bags here," adds Shivankar, who has studied for his 10th and 12th board exams here and is now pursuing a diploma in electronics and telecommunications from Vidyalankar Institute.

Growing together
Interactions with regular visitors at the Galli and the Centre have developed a sense of belongingness and community among the students and working professionals alike. From learning together and guiding each other, each member has been able to access a network of sources and resources, which have added to their knowledge of the society, academics and opportunities for career growth.

Rathod says, "These group discussions have helped in providing perspectives with respect to different career options and competitive exams. The members here guide us and help us in choosing our career. This does not happen in a library,"

Whether it is Kadam's Class 10 doubts or Kanojiya's and Shivankar's curiosity about national and state level competitive exams, people from varied courses and streams come together and enlighten each other of the avenues in their respective career choices. While in the Galli, the graffiti artworks on career-guidance add to the tips, the Study Centre thrives with ideas solely through in-person communication.

According to the students at the Study Centre, the place has been instrumental in shooting up careers of many youngsters from the nearby slums, who are now working as engineers, chartered accountants, lawyers and many even went on to pursue civil services examinations. These students with established careers continue to visit the Centre and engage with the young group of visitors there.

For Mohite, whose earliest inspiration for pursuing law is rooted in these interactions, this camaraderie created a positive vibe, enabling him to meet younger people with refreshing ideas and thoughts; one of the reasons his ten-year-long association with the Centre is filled with memories of healthy chats, banter and hearty laughter.

"I came here and I realised the importance of collaboration. Not only did I learn how to pursue your career, but also, to develop mental strength, irrespective of your background," he adds.

Making urban-planning inclusive
As Mohite puts it, the needs of the 21st century extend beyond the basic facilities of food, clothing and shelter and access to education tops the list of our fundamental needs today. While for the privileged it is a fairly easy process, for people like Mohite and Kanojia and all those travelling at least two to three km to spend hours in these study centres, without home-cooked meals or any other spoon-fed services, it is a tougher journey. It is upon the state and local authorities to take up the cause of making urban public places more inclusive and ensure the challenges faced by these students are addressed.

According to Anita, while the study centres were envisaged to make room for children from the poor strata to study and engage with each other, the founders faced immense opposition from the Colaba residents, who accused them of encroachment and claimed that "there were no poor children in their area". The court's dismissal of a writ petition filed against the founder paved the way for the study centre.

Suresh Chandrashekhar, younger son of Annie Shekhar, believes local representatives must take inspiration and carry forward the concept of these study centres as a social responsibility. "All the elected leaders can certainly take inspiration from this. But, they must have a sense of social justice to use the funds available to them and spend money on long-term infrastructure."

Rathore, Kanojia and Mohite vouch for the same stating that every ward corporator and person of the legislative assembly should conceive this idea. "There could not be a better way to utilise the funds they get from the Maharashtra government. This can help the future generations and can be an investment towards their betterment," adds Mohite.

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