Once upon a time in Surat, under the soft glow of a streetlight, a few women sat cross-legged on the pavement. Not to gossip or pass time, but to learn.
They held pencils awkwardly, tracing letters on lined paper, their eyes wide with focus. The unusual classroom was led by 48-year-old Beena Kalathiya, who smiled gently, offering quiet words of encouragement to her students — most of them older than herself.
Beena’s journey into education didn’t begin in a university or a training institute. It began in the heart of her home. Like many women in India, she spent years juggling chores, raising children, and putting her family first. But when her children grew up and moved on, something shifted. With time on her hands and a mind full of purpose, she turned to seva — selfless service — and decided to fill a gap that society had long overlooked.
In her words, “Many of our elders never had the chance to go to school. Now the world is changing so fast, they often feel left behind. Some even believe they don’t know anything.”
Determined to change that narrative, Beena started small. Her first paathshala — her first classroom — was the street itself, lit only by a single streetlight. A few curious women joined her, hesitant at first, but warmed by Beena’s patience and kindness. Slowly, letters turned into words, and words into sentences.
Nine years later, what began under a streetlight has blossomed into a full classroom at a local senior citizens’ centre. Every evening from 3 to 5 PM, Beena teaches over 120 elderly women how to read and write — many of whom had never held a pencil before.
With no large NGO backing her and no sponsorship banners in sight, Beena funds the school herself. By day, she runs a small mukhwas (digestive mouth freshener) business with her sisters. Whatever they earn goes straight into buying notebooks, pencils, and chalk.
But Beena is giving her students much more than literacy. She is giving them dignity. Confidence. A sense of belonging.
The curiosity and laughter that fill Beena’s classroom each afternoon are proof that it’s never too late to learn — and never too late to begin again.
With nothing but immense willpower and a box of chalk, Beena Kalathiya is quietly lighting up lives, one alphabet at a time.
Edited by Khushi Arora
