In Maharashtra’s Villages, This Man Drives for Hours to Bring Storybooks to 150+ Rural Schools

In Maharashtra’s Villages, This Man Drives for Hours to Bring Storybooks to 150+ Rural Schools

In a remote Zilla Parishad school in Maharashtra, a boy sits cross-legged on the verandah, reading aloud from a storybook. His classmates gather, wide-eyed and silent. For many of them, this is a first: the first time seeing a book with pictures, rhythm, and rhyme. The first time a story isn’t attached to a test. The first time they’re reading for joy. Scenes like this aren’t rare anymore, thanks to Chetan Pardeshi — an ordinary working professi…