Small Benches. Real Stories. A Reading Movement in Sangli.

The Blue Bench Project

Every Blue Bench is more than a seat. It is an invitation for a child to pause, open a book, and discover the joy of reading.

The Blue Bench Project, led by Society Tea in collaboration with School Chameleons, brought together teachers, schools, and communities across Sangli to strengthen one simple but powerful idea:

Children learn best when they read books that are right for their age.

The initiative was supported by the Zilla Parishad Sangli, with Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust as the book donation partner.

What We Did

Together, these steps helped spark a growing conversation around age-appropriate reading across Sangli’s schools.

Teachers are the spark behind every reading movement.

Through 5 Tea for Teachers workshops, educators from across Sangli came together to reflect on how children learn to read — and how classrooms can nurture that journey.

During the workshops, teachers explored:

Why age-appropriate reading builds confidence and comprehension
How to introduce simple reading rituals in classrooms
Ways to encourage students to read beyond textbooks

Teachers were then invited to write stories from their own classrooms, capturing how reading is already taking shape in their schools.

Warm, reflective, and teacher-led — over tea, ideas turned into stories.

Stories from Classrooms

Across Sangli, teachers documented how they are encouraging children to read.

From small classroom rituals to creative storytelling practices, these stories captured the everyday efforts teachers make to build reading habits.

380+ Stories Collected

These handwritten stories offered a glimpse into:

children discovering books they can understand
teachers experimenting with new reading activities
classrooms slowly building a culture of reading

From these submissions, 10 stories were recognised for their originality, impact, and inspiration.

Stoffee: Stories Take the Stage

To celebrate these stories, teachers gathered for a special Stoffee session.

During this online event:

Teachers presented their stories to peers and educators

Participants listened, reflected, and shared ideas

Selected stories were recognised and awarded

The Stoffee became a space where teachers realised something powerful:

they were not working alone — a reading movement was emerging across Sangli.

Blue Benches Across Sangli

The project concluded by bringing reading into the physical spaces of schools.

65 Blue Benches Painted

Across participating schools, benches were painted blue and installed as dedicated spaces for reading.

These benches now serve as:

a place for children to sit and read together
a reminder that books belong everywhere in a school
a symbol of Sangli’s growing reading culture

What began as a simple bench is now a visible invitation for children to pause, open a book, and explore a story.