Gokhale Institute

Our institute is tucked away in the Nirmalnagar row housing society in Ahmednagar. It’s a residential area, so it’s much quieter than being right on the main Aurangabad Road, though you can still hear the buses passing by sometimes. We have turned a few rooms into classrooms with desks and whiteboards for the students. It’s not a huge campus with grass and fountains, just a practical place for people to come and learn. Anjali and the rest of the staff stay busy keeping the schedules straight and making sure there’s enough chalk and paper. We have students of all ages coming in at different hours of the day. During the breaks, everyone stands around outside near the housing gate and chats. We have a small stove in the back where we make tea for ourselves. The building is a bit older, and the walls could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but it works for what we need. We don't go in for anything too fancy. We just focus on the lessons and making sure everyone understands the material. It feels like a small community here because we see the same faces every day. We’re just local people trying to run a decent place for education. We keep the doors open and the lights on until the last class is finished each night.