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Redrawing India : The Teach For India Story

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Eighteen-year-old Shaheen Mistri, having grown up around the world, spends the summer in Mumbai and wanders into the Ambedkar Nagar slum community. She sees Pinky, who becomes the first of the thousands of children whose lives she will touch on her journey. Hers are the endlessly compelling stories of the underprivileged children of India, the harsh realities that they face, and the hope and love that will catapult them into being a future generation of leaders.

This is a story of the power of personal reflection and makes us ask ourselves the question, ‘What is the greatest life I can live?’ And in answer are the personal accounts of so many Teach For India Fellows and staff, India’s best and brightest, who have shown that each and every one of us, working together, towards the belief that one day every child will have the opportunity to receive an excellent education, has the power to change the world

286 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

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125 people want to read

About the author

Kovid Gupta

2 books12 followers
Kovid Gupta is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books, Kingdom of the Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms , published by HarperCollins, and Redrawing India: The Teach For India Story , published by Random House.

In 2017, he was featured on Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 List and was also conferred with the McCombs School of Business Alumni Rising Star Award in 2019.

As a screenwriter, he has written over 1,000 episodes for some of India's most successful television shows including Balika Vadhu, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Krishnadasi, and Devanshi.

He was also the Assistant Director of the film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and has served as Head of Business Development for Vinod Chopra Films. In 2018, he founded Kovid Gupta Films with the mission of producing path-breaking cinema and television.

Gupta holds a B.B.A., B.A., and B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Meghana.
242 reviews58 followers
May 9, 2015
As a reader who's just finished the TFI Fellowship and plans to join their staff, this book was an enjoyable read. It was humbling and inspiring to read about Akanksha's, and TFI's, history, to learn about the numerous leaps of faith that have shaped both organizations into what they are today.

That being said, this book attempts to cram too many people, anecdotes, and takeaways into each page. The net effect would be overwhelming, rather than inspiring, for someone who isn't acquainted with the organization.

A short, easy read that reminds us how far we've come, and how much further we have to go, in addressing India's educational inequity.
Profile Image for Anurag Vaishnav.
57 reviews50 followers
July 14, 2017
The book tries to appeal to you emotionally. It touches upon the emotions experienced by the Teach For India Staff and Fellows. But the book is too superficial on facts about how the organization established and flourished. Nevertheless, immensely inspiring!
Profile Image for Rahul.
42 reviews16 followers
November 26, 2015
A truly inspiring tale of how an idea can actually germinate into something big if followed up passionately with the right approach and a right team of people. Though at times I felt things were explained too much in detail which might not have been necessary at every point.
7 reviews
June 2, 2016
A wonderful story of how a small classroom that started in a tiny house in the slums of Mumbai over the years turned into an organization that invites youngsters ignited with passion to walk into classrooms and transform lives of thousands of children who were deprived of quality education.
Profile Image for Arjit Anant.
33 reviews25 followers
January 9, 2015
Made me cry and rethink about what I'm doing or not doing to contribute for my country's development. A must read for everyone. Also gave a strong message about educational inequity in our nation.
Profile Image for Oskars Kaulēns.
583 reviews133 followers
December 19, 2018
iedvesmojošs stāsts par to, cik daudz var iespēt un paveikt viena cilvēka ticība tam, ka izglītība ir vērtība un iespēja iegūt kvalitatīvu izglītību ir katra cilvēka dabiskās tiesības. man kā Iespējamās misijas absolventam šis pieredzes stāsts daudz un bieži atgādināja, cik svarīgi un pareizi ir bijuši tie lēmumi, ko es reiz esmu pieņēmis pats savas eksistences uzturēšanai.
3 reviews1 follower
April 21, 2018
Heart moving book , made me introspect on my purpose in life

MUST READ if want to participate in transforming india . Book narrates humble beginnings of teach for india , it's progression story and ground reality of education in india and how teach for india is working on solving this MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE in transforming india by proding Quality and equitable education to every child in india eradicating the root cause of all this mess which is bad education or lack of education .
Profile Image for Samaksh Malhotra.
21 reviews
February 26, 2021
The TFI journey is very well articulated. The reader lives all the narratives mentioned by the fellows and Shaheen and goes through the entire range of happy, sad and anxious moments as one reads further.
Redrawing India definitely motivates the reader to work for education or atleast for the development sector to make some changes in the system for a better future.

Most importantly, "The book makes you QUESTION a lot many things and not just related to education"

Just one thing, the starting of the novel wasn't very gripping so the reader will have to dig deeper into the story to get more curious on what happens next and how Akanksha leads to TFI.
1 review
December 11, 2024
What a beautiful, heart felt tale. It is an easy read and a good synopsis of this important organization.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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