00:00Thank you for listening.
00:51Rubal Nagi has become a first Indian woman who wins the prestigious Global Teacher Prize.
00:57She turned art into a bridge to education and transforming the underserved children's
01:05life.
01:07Rubal ji, welcome to the ETV Bharat.
01:09And everyone is talking about your incredible achievement and congratulations for your achievement.
01:15But we want to know about your journey, how it starts and we want to know the hard work
01:20and dedication behind it.
01:22See, firstly, I am very, very honored, very grateful to God for putting me on such a global
01:33stage.
01:34And thank you to His Highness and Ms. Sunny Varki, who is the founder of Varki Foundation,
01:40for choosing an Indian daughter for GEMS Global Teacher Prize 2026.
01:45It's truly an honor.
01:46And as I said earlier, when I won the prize, that I dedicate this prize to all the children
01:53who dare to dream and have made sure that they reach their school, they reach their classrooms,
02:00despite all the difficulties of their life.
02:03And to all the teachers, not just of India, of the entire world, who are shaping the future
02:09of every nation, be it Prime Minister, President, or anyone.
02:13I mean, you, me, we've all studied from our teachers and here we are today.
02:18And to the vision of Iksat Bharat.
02:20And truly humbled.
02:22I have a very humble beginning.
02:24My father was in the army, simple medical class household.
02:28lived mostly in the remote areas, far-flung villages.
02:33In fact, Kolkata was the first big city posting for my father, which I was very excited about,
02:38back in those days.
02:40But, bhaat saada aghar, bhaat simple upbringing.
02:46Jaisi hum sabki, I mean, most of the people around me at that time had all come from humble
02:51biglings.
02:52So, that's where it started.
02:53But then, 19, 18 and a half, 19, I got married and I came to Mumbai.
02:57My husband is from Mumbai and that's where my entire work started.
03:02I was still studying at that time and came to Mumbai, did my studies also and then started
03:10working as an artist with my mother-in-law.
03:12My mother-in-law bhaat sa.
03:15And that is where the journey of art started.
03:17But, you know, to be very honest, I somehow had this thing from my childhood that whatever
03:23I do in life, I want to do it by, you know, I just always prayed that God, any profession
03:30that you make me choose, make me choose, keep me surrounded by kids.
03:34You know, I love, people who know me, they know I love children.
03:37Mujhe bachchon se bhaat piyaar hai.
03:38Or mein sab se zahada khushi or mujhe happiness, inner happiness, you know, is I feel when I'm
03:43surrounded by kids.
03:44With their energy, unka hala gula, their love and their hugs, I think that is the biggest
03:49award for me.
03:50So, I prayed for that and slowly and gradually we started with a different art workshop with
03:54an NGO called Prapham, which is also an Indian NGO.
03:59And one after the other, one after the other, we reached out to many more children and then
04:05Rubal Nagi Art Foundation was founded.
04:07But how your journey begins, like you start that underserved communities, education, the
04:15children are coming in this classroom.
04:17How that journey has begun?
04:19So, my first...
04:20Is there any story?
04:21Yes, you know, I have written in my book, I must give it to you also, that, you know,
04:26during my initial day's art workshops, you know, I still get emotional, my heart gets
04:34emotional when I say this, that, you know, while giving stationery and art material to
04:40children, when one child said that he had not seen a pencil, he didn't know what that
04:44is.
04:46And I first thought that he was joking.
04:49But then when I realized after saying for the third or fourth time, I was like, no, he's
04:54serious.
04:54And I sat there, I told him what that pencil is and what you do with it.
04:59And, you know, I came back home, I couldn't sleep for many days, over a month, I told my
05:04husband, I said, just to test him, I said, have you met a child who's not seen a pencil?
05:08He said, oh, come on, what's wrong with you?
05:09He said, no, obviously not.
05:11I said, see, your instant reaction is no.
05:14But I met a child today who had not seen a pencil.
05:17He said, really?
05:18And then he said, it's okay, you know, don't feel bad.
05:20I said, no, there's no feeling bad.
05:23Now, I want, we are too blessed with everything God has given us enough to survive and we work
05:29hard.
05:29But I want to make sure that in my circle, kids that I come across, I pray to God that
05:37I never meet a child again who's not seen a pencil.
05:40You know, if you've not seen colors, if you've not seen crayons, acrylic colors, it's understood
05:45because everyone doesn't know the art colors.
05:47But a pencil?
05:49That's right.
05:50You're a child, you're a child.
05:51I mean, today also I write appointments, I write my notes, I write a lot, I've written a
05:56book, I've written with pencil.
05:57Pencil doesn't know all of you.
05:58So I guess, you know, that, that day is something I decided and I, today, you know, I say thank
06:04you to God.
06:05That, you know, it opened many doors for me.
06:13Like, I dedicated my life to this, would have not happened if I had not come across that
06:24incident.
06:25So, you know, some things I think God planned.
06:27Then you start your...
06:28Yeah, yeah.
06:28Then, then, then there was no looking back.
06:30Then from 30 kids to 3 lakh kids, we went, oh, they're not on a roller coaster ride.
06:36I was like, no, let's go wherever we...
06:38And then social media was picking up at that time.
06:41So whenever we posted a picture of some, either a slum or a village with children, with beautifying,
06:46people started reaching out to us.
06:48So, you know, it's, it's like, it's divine planning by God.
06:56So, you know, it's, it's like, it's divine planning by God.
07:08And then one after the other, we reached out to so many different areas.
07:13When you decide to take this initiative, what kind of difficulties you face?
07:18Difficulties, toh jab decide keata, to be very honest, at that time we didn't feel much.
07:22Once you decided that you're going ahead with this and I started, then difficulties came.
07:27To decide, for me to decide, it was not difficult because I always knew, now I'm going to do this.
07:33But when we started, you know, two and a half years, two, two and a half years, it took me
07:37to do parent counseling because parents were like, ma'am, why do you go to school?
07:41We'll go to school, ma'am.
07:42We'll go to school for 10 years, we'll have to do 10 years.
07:47And, you know, I was like, you know, how can a parent talk like that?
07:50But they were their own difficulties, their own reasons.
07:54So, you know, very patiently with respect and giving them respect and dignity and love.
07:59I have seen, you know, when you give love and you listen to somebody patiently and you
08:05tell them the good and bad, sab samajte hain.
08:08Baut sare parents hai, jab mein ek baar nahi samjhe, dhusri baat, they used to see me coming
08:13from door, toh phatapad lock karthate this door ki.
08:16Ne, ne, ma'am, ap kal aie, kal aie.
08:18But I never gave up.
08:19I went every day.
08:21I said, no, till the time your kid is in government school, in the school, I'm coming back every
08:25day.
08:25So, of course, lots of difficulties when you're working in some, when you're working
08:29in remoter villages, far-flung areas, difficulties toh hai.
08:33But if you have chosen, and it's a big responsibility, you know, it's not something I can say ki, oh,
08:39meinai mera man tha karne ka shuru, I did it and then I left it in between.
08:43No, it's not something I can leave till I'm alive.
08:46And I think shiksha education, good education is the only gift you can give to a child permanently.
08:52I can give you any, everything else.
08:54But that is not a permanent gift.
08:56But your quality education, your education and your degree is a permanent gift to you,
09:01which you can give to a child.
09:03And I have seen, I don't have one example.
09:05I have so many examples where kids, one child of the house is educated, has transformed
09:09the entire house.
09:10You know, my girls in villages, one girl has transformed the entire village.
09:15She, not just her household, started with single girl.
09:20Today she has more than 350 girls.
09:22She is taking into her skin centers and teaching them.
09:25So, you know, how you educate a woman, you transform the entire village.
09:31And I always say, you know, art gives dignity to neglected spaces.
09:36But education gives dignity to neglected life.
09:39So, education is most important.
09:41When you start from one center and now you are working in around, across the country.
09:48So, how you build that structure?
09:50See, like I said, that thanks to social media, when we started posting about our work, a lot
09:56of people reached out to us.
09:57Like somebody from Hyderabad reached out to us saying that, you know, we are running this
10:02school.
10:03We have this place here.
10:05Would you, we would like to collaborate and do something with you.
10:08I said, all right, let's visit and see it.
10:10Okay.
10:10Rajasthan, we did the same thing.
10:12Jammu and Kashmir, it's my hometown.
10:14But the first, I mean, we've been working there from 13, 14.
10:18But first, call for making a center came from this girl, which I said, transformed the entire
10:24village.
10:25So, like that, people started connecting.
10:27You know, social media, honestly, today I feel has been a big help to us because so many
10:32people we wouldn't have been able to reach out to if we didn't talk about this.
10:38Because earlier, you know, for first few years when I was working, I never took even pictures.
10:43I never spoke about it.
10:53Then some people who are very experienced in the sector of education and social work,
11:00they said, and they've been very instrumental in my life, they said, Rubil, if you want to
11:04just get restricted to or save with only 300 kids, then you don't talk about it.
11:10But when you want to reach out to many more children, and you're very good with children,
11:14then why not speak about it?
11:15So, you know, because I was very young myself.
11:17So, these people guided me that, you know, start talking about the work you're doing,
11:23how kids are so good.
11:25Start from basic.
11:26Like, speak your heart out.
11:27And you see what happens.
11:29And it actually became like a ripple effect.
11:31You know, with one post, hundreds of emails, hundreds of inboxes about,
11:40So, that's how we reached from one to many today.
11:44Now, that was the incredible achievement that you have been, that Global Teacher Prize.
11:51What is your next goal?
11:53What you want to do with this prize money?
11:56And have you decided what to do with that?
11:59Yes, I've already decided that I'm going to open new skill centers and learning centers in Kashmir,
12:06few in Maharashtra, few in Rajasthan.
12:09So, I'm going to divide the prize money into reaching out to more and more people,
12:14but in remoter area, in slums, nothing in fancy places in a city,
12:21but where the intervention is really needed.
12:25And, like, you know, a lot of people told me,
12:27that government schools are giving free education and kids are not going to school.
12:33I said, well, I will not say it.
12:36Let people say it.
12:37So, yesterday, I came back from Kashmir and I was at line of control,
12:41one of the villages named Simari.
12:42And, my first question to people was,
12:46how many kids are not going to school?
12:49And, you know, maximum hands were up.
12:52So, I said, why are the kids not in government school?
12:55They had a list of problems.
12:57So, it's not that the government is not giving.
12:59You know, government is giving and a lot of kids are in school.
13:02But then, there are still many kids who have not been able to leave that school
13:06despite the school being there.
13:08So, now, I've mobilized one team of volunteers
13:11to get us the names of the families where their children are not in school.
13:15And, I promised them, all the parents for sitting.
13:18I said, when I come end March, I will make sure that all of you are in school.
13:21And, then, I'll sit with them, tell them that despite all the challenges that you're facing,
13:26because they are in a very, you know, mountain, I mean, you know, they're close to LOC.
13:31So, there you have restricted things.
13:34Okay.
13:36So, this is the love I work for.
13:43So, there they have bigger, more challenges than other areas.
13:47But, I will invite you to see how all the kids of that village are in school.
13:53Thank you for joining with us and all the best for your, whatever that you have decided to go ahead.
14:00With the cameraman, Anil Nirmal, I am Project TAPOL, ETV Bharat, Mumbai.
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