From Chalkboard to Chapters: Angel Xpress Foundation Shaped Inside Mumbai: Stories from the Heart of a Vibrant City

 

Before I began writing Inside Mumbai: Stories from the Heart of a Vibrant City, I found myself staring at a group of children whom I had taught at Angel Express Foundation (AXF), an NGO that works to bridge the education gap for children from under-resourced communities in Mumbai.  

AXF wasn’t just about academics for the children. It was about discovering grit, ambition, humour, etc., that were packed into the lives of these children who had more wisdom in them than their years had even suggested.

 

Each student I interacted with brought a new layer of Mumbai to life. Some girls were so ambitious, balancing household responsibilities with homework, and countless others who engaged in little acts of courage that didn’t make the news but deserved to.   

 

Those few interactions I had with the kids and the hurried monsoon goodbyes shaped the emotional fabric of my book, Inside Mumbai: Stories from the Heart of a Vibrant City. The book follows the stories of seven journalism interns as they explore and report on different aspects of the city.

 

However, the city that I wrote about – the one that was pulsing with contradictions and humanity was introduced to me by the children I taught.

 

AXF gave me more than just a classroom; it gave me a lens and access to a Mumbai that is often unseen. A city which is not defined by skyscrapers or sea views but by the resilience, resourcefulness and relationships which run deep despite the chaos.

 

So, if you ever wondered where the stories in this book came from, know this – they were born not in a newsroom but in those quiet classroom moments that I was in AXF.

 

To the children of AXF – thank you. You were my co-authors in spirit and the beating heart of this book.