MIHIKA BASU

IMAGINE walking into astationery store, buying andmaking payments — all thiswithout a shopkeeper. Thismay sound strange, but anMBA student has imple-mented this model of ‘trust’and ‘good faith’ to start abusiness venture, a shopthat sells pens but is notmanned by anyone.

Located in a room on thefourth floor of a 11 storeyedhostel building, the venturewas started by NarayananPalani, a student of execu-tive MBA programme at theK J Somaiya Institute ofManagement Studies andResearch (SIMSR), lastmonth.

“When I got selected forthe MBA programme, Iknew I wanted to do some-thing different. It was whilelearning concepts like busi-ness ethics and entrepre-neurship that I decided toimplement principles oftrust and faith in business. Icame up with the idea ofstarting a small shop with-out a shopkeeper that sellspens on trial basis before ex-panding it. The aim is tomake students understandthe values of truth and hon-esty and promote the con-cept of ‘swadeshi’ amongthem,” said Palani, who hasnamed his venture as ‘Gand-higiri shop’. And true to itsname, the shop will sell only‘swadeshi’ or Indian-madeproducts.

“No one is watchingwhether you are paying ornot. But whenever you paythe exact amount, you areincreasing the trust in you.You are finding Gandhi inyou,” reads the motto of theventure.

Customers or students

can walk into the room any-time, pick up a pen and dropRs 10 in the payment box,which mentions the amountto be paid. “This shop runsby zero human interventionand no one monitors thepayment. Yet no one hasstolen any product, whichgoes on to display honesty,something that may not beseen even in highly mannedshops,” he said.

Palani said while it hasonly been a month-and-a-half since its launch, theshop is quite ‘popular’among the students. “Weend up selling two packs, of10 pens each, weekly. How-ever, during exams, the twopacks get sold within two

days,” he said.Having experimented

with pens, Palani is nowworking on gradually ex-panding his business byadding more stationeryitems.

“I want to incorporateproducts, which are not eas-ily available nearby like de-tergent, toothpaste, scaleand pencils among others.The idea is also to haveproducts, which are not ex-pensive, but are a must forstudents. I want to keep therates nominal. I am workingon a revised plan to expandthe shop over the next fewmonths,” he said.

Palani is also in talkswith corporate houses andeducational institutions toestablish similar models. “Iam negotiating with twocompanies to implementthis concept. The shop willhave products or items,which are of use to the em-ployees of a particular com-pany. Hence, we are deliber-ating on the kind ofproducts, which can bekept. It will require creatingawareness among the em-ployees, demonstrating themodel to them and monitor-ing weekly activity,” he said.

JOSHUA PATNIGEREFEBRUARY 18

THE transformation isstriking, as hertimid, lost expres-

sion gives way to a confi-dent look as the familiartunes of Kolaveri Di playsin the background. The 13-year-breaks into a dancebut as she tries to co-ordi-nate her movements, thereseems to be somethingamiss. Her steps do notmatch the rhythm despiteher huge effort.

The woman in the back-ground explains, “She suf-fers from Down syn-drome.”

Komal Gadve is just oneof the many special chil-dren who attend thisschool in the heart of NaviMumbai’s Kopar Khairanearea. Located in sector 7,Asmita Special School hasbeen teaching such chil-dren since 1998. Theschool, started in a room inTurbhe, was later shifted toa bungalow in KoparKhairane, which doublesup as a school and a day-care facility for these chil-dren, some of whom themfrom very poor families.

“We started with 13 stu-dents and now have 45.We are now officiallyrecognised by the Govern-ment of Maharashtra,”says Manda Karande,founder trustee and princi-pal of the school.

The school caters tochildren who suffer fromautism, Down syndromeand children who are dif-ferently abled. The schoolcharges students a nomi-nal fee of Rs 200 permonth, which is waived ifparents cannot pay it. Adonor is then sought by theschool so that children can

be taught activities to helpthem depend less on oth-ers in their daily chores.

“The children whocome here belong to low-income households. Whileparents of some kids arevegetable vendors or au-torickshaw drivers, parentsof others are daily wageworkers. The common fac-tor for all these children isthat their condition makesthem slow learners andsome have IQ levels as lowas 20-34,” says Karande.

The school functionsfrom 9.30 am to 3.30 pmMonday to Saturday. Aminibus received as dona-tion is used to ferry kidsbetween their homes andthe school.

While Karande admitsthat the work is difficult,she says there are peoplewho support the institu-tion.

“I have 11 people whohelp me run the institu-tion. They have to be paidtheir dues. Fees are an op-tion and there are studentswho do not pay. We have afew donors but there aremany expenses that haveto be met. We run short offunds many a time. We arehoping that people realisethat institutions like oursneed all the help and sup-port so that we can helpthese children lead a nor-mal life,” Karande says.

The children have amonthly medical check-upand doctors are called in tocheck them for ailments. Adance teacher and a phys-iotherapist are also calledonce a week. The institu-tion also performs an IQtest for the children at gov-ernment-run hospitals.The children are taught al-phabets, numbers andnames of fruits and vegeta-

bles. Karande says thatwhile some children can betrained to know their sur-roundings and take up jobsthat do not require a highIQ, others can be helped tobecome self reliant. “Thesechildren can be trained to behelpers at conveniencestores and office assistants.Some of them suffer fromhandicaps and cannot walk.These children can betaught skills like eating foodby themselves and main-taining hygiene. All theseare taught here,” she says.

One of the children, So-hel Shaikh (15), who lives inGhansoli, walks towardsKarande’s desk, a puzzledlook on his face, as she giveshim a smile. Pointing at us,he asks “Who are they?”Karande explains.

He smiles and says. “Ihave just learnt about veg-etables and body parts andknow numbers from 1-50. Iwant to be a police officerone day so that if any police-man stops the bus I will beable to tell him to let the busgo.”

Karande reveals that So-hel’s IQ is in the 20-34range. “He has improved

and can now talk confi-dently with others,” shesays.

While Sohel speaks witha sense of determination,there are some children whotry their best to talk butcan’t be understood. Four-teen-year-old Jatin Surya-vanshi, whom doctors havecalled a slow learner and isspeech impaired, tries totalk. Ask him where he livesand he replies in monosylla-bles that cannot be under-stood. Karande reveals thatJatin’s father has desertedthe family and his mother ishis only relative. With fi-nances being limited andmore often than not, un-available, Jatin seems tofind solace in the fact thathe has friends, she says.

“The going is difficult butteaching these children isour service to God and ourway of giving back to soci-ety. This is our job, they areour life,” Karande says.

As you make your way tothe door and bid the kidsadieu, Prathamesh Kute(5), blocks the path.Prathamesh suffers fromDown syndrome and hasbeen classified as a slowlearner by doctors. Tryinghis best to avoid eye con-tact, he asks, “When willyou be back?” The answer‘soon’ seems to be one heagrees with. He steps awayand sits in a corner, wavinggood-bye. His eyes meetyours for a split second, be-fore he turns away, oblivi-ous of others in the room.

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The manufacturers directly sell

Students of the Asmita Special School in Kopar Khairane during an exercise session. NARENDRA VASKAR

REAL PAGE 3MUMBAI I FEBRUARY 19 I 2012EXPRESS

Down But Not OutSpecial school grooms children with Down syndrome and other mental, physical

challenges to depend less on others, lead a normal life and find employment

Unmanned ShopThe venture aims at making students understand the value

of truth, honesty and promote concept of swadeshi

Havingexperimentedwith pens, Palaniis now workingon graduallyexpandinghis business

“The going is difficultbut teaching thesechildren is our serviceto God and our wayof giving back tosociety. This is ourjob.Manda Karande,Founder trustee and principal

help athand

Narayanan Palani PRASHANT NADKAR

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