Mukund maigur helps troubled teens and juvenile delinquents find their place in society
Hubballi: As she was growing up, Nivedita found she just couldn’t keep pace with her classmates at school. Her academic progress worsened steadily until the school management decided she couldn’t continue studying there any longer.
Her parents and teachers weren’t too sympathetic either and Nivedita completely lost faith in herself. She developed an inferiority complex and went into a deep depression.
Her future held little to hope for until a timely intervention made by Kriyasheela Geleyaru, an NGO that works with notorious teens and youngsters with behavioural issues.
With intensive counseling, yoga and theater therapy all provided by founder Mukund Maigur and his team, 21-year-old Nivedita is now doing a degree in Psychology.
She wants to help other children like herself. Fifty-eight year old Mukund Maigur, who founded the organization in 1992, has provided the perfect platform to thousands of run-away and notorious teens who have behavioral and attitude problems.
Maigur works round-the-clock to transform the lives of rebellious children and juvenile offenders simply by never losing faith in them.
He provides food, accommodation and shelter to dozens of children, with full support from his own wife and kids. Dozens of teenagers with behavioural problems have managed to work their way past the challenges and settle down.
“Dysfunction in the family can cause great damage to the self-esteem of children. The notions of parental love and affection have totally disappeared in this era of globalization, which has led to a number of lead to behavioral disorders among children.
Teachers who fail to spot the signs only worsen the issue. At the organization, our aim is to provide practical education instead of rote learning. We help the students become curious about wht they study through theatre, games and painting,” said Maigur.
“I was a poor student but Mukund Maigur sir changed all that. He and his wife Malati treated me like their own child, apart from simply giving me an education. I want my daughter to learn from Maigur sir as well,” said Vasundara Sharma, who is a software engineer working in New Jersey.
Maigur is also an environmentalist who received the Rajiv Gandhi Environment Award. With the prize money he received, He used the prize money to take his students to the mining district in Bellary, to help them understand the adverse impacts of a dwindling forest cover.
Ayurveda, pranayama and Indian martial arts like Kalaripayattu are often used to restore the mental balance of the students. Communing with nature through frequent treks in the forest is another popular method.
A group of engineers who studied under him went on to form their own organisation in Bijapur. They visit schools in the area and provide counseling to the more troublesome students.
“Mukund Maigur changed my life, I have only the utmost respect for him,” said Shreyas Mangalagi, who aced the IIT entrance exams.
Teens who wouldn’t have stood a chance in this world now have bright, shining futures, thanks to Mukund Maigur, who believed in them when nobody else did.
