What Ruta and Jui share in common besides their drive to study and understand the scenario in the State, is the fact that they both work for the Maharashtra Samajik Navnirman Akadamee located near Sangam Bridge. Started in March, the Akadamee focusses on building a strong documentation base about social issues. A brainchild of activist Anil Shidore, the Akadamee has a political connection too since it works in tandem with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Says Shidore, “A little before inception of the MNS, we had a discussion where we realised that people with social backgrounds can work with people involved in politics. If the two come together, it would be easier to address some issues.” The idea of setting up the Akademee thus got a boost.

Though associated with a political party, none of the members of the team at the Akadamee have a political background. “All our people come from different backgrounds. We always wanted to have a young team,” says Shidore. Jui chips in, “ My work involves research on public health and environment. Though we sometimes do interact with politicians, our idea is more academic.”

The team is now compiling information on major issues like health, roads, electricity, water, education and tourism. The material would be available in various forms — written and audio visual — making it more extensive as well as interesting, even for its makers. Says Radhika Mokashi — involved in creating video documentation through her production house Whatever Creations, “It did not make a difference to me that the organisation was connected with a political party. The issues which they put forth for documentation were important which was the reason why I accepted the work.”

The Akademee has held legal workshops and study sessions on RTI for MNS workers. The team was involved in organising the recently held exhibition on Chhattrapati Shivaji’s forts that featured close to 40,000 photographs. Efforts are also on to put together a library with books covering a variety of issues. Meanwhile, for the MNS, the idea of working in collaboration with an academic organisation is to reach out to a larger audience. Says Deepak Paigude, city unit chief, “For a youngster who wishes to step into politics, the Akadamee is a big help for information about the State. Also, it helps in reaching out to the common man with various Central and State schemes. Our members often make use of the data that the akadamee is compiling.”