Anand Mahindra unveils ‘May a Million Buds Bloom’, a coffee table book on Project Nanhi Kali

Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, unveiled a coffee table book called ‘May a Million Buds Bloom’ on the impact of Project Nanhi Kali, which empowers young girls to break the shackles of patriarchy by providing them with holistic education. Since its inception in 1996, Project Nanhi Kali has positively impacted the lives of nearly 900,000 girls across 15 states.

“Our endeavour to empower underprivileged girls through academic support, sports, technology and now skill training is a testament of how Project Nanhi Kali has evolved with changing times,” said Mahindra in a statement, adding that the book, through a combination of visual art and storytelling, offers readers a glimpse of the impact created by Project Nanhi Kali beyond numbers.

The book is authored by Nitya Manoj Kumar, who, over three summers, travelled to and with the girls associated with Project Nanhi Kali all over the country, joined them in their classrooms, on the playground, at their homes, at the village square, and on public transport. The girls impacted by Project Nanhi Kali come from tiny hamlets in rural Maharashtra, from tribal settlements perched on the Araku hills of Andhra Pradesh, and from far-flung border districts of Darjeeling and Shravasti, as well as the congested bylanes of Varanasi, according to a statement by the Mahindra Group.

In more than three decades since its inception, Project Nanhi Kali has evolved from an endeavour to provide after-school academic support—through personalised adaptive learning platforms—to skills training. Project Nanhi Kali is jointly managed by K.C. Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation.

In recent years, Project Nanhi Kali has incorporated a professionally designed sports curriculum, providing the girls with an opportunity to participate in fitness activities and team sports. This culminated in the annual athletics and football tournament, Toofaan Games & Toofaan Cup, respectively.  With over 150,000 girls participating in the Toofaan Games athletics events—and 1000 football teams on the ground—Project Nanhi Kali is one of the largest active girls’ clubs in India today.

From the academic year 2024-25, the project started Nanhi Kali 3.0, adapting to the National Education Policy 2020. This empowers girls from lower-income backgrounds studying in secondary government schools with 21st-century skills, such as financial literacy, digital literacy, and life skills, making the transition from school to the workplace seamless.