A graphic story questioning how culture shapes our idea of work and questioning what truly defines work and empowerment for a woman.
The Gospel According To Gian Kabuliwala
Some deep life lessons, dished out to you, quite simply, along with Kabuli Chana – and captured aptly by the author, a regular there.
Swasthya Sathis: The Unsung Heroes Of Swasthya Swaraj
The state of healthcare in tribal regions of India is abysmal. A group of women knows as Swasthya Sathis are changing this narrative.
Shantaben: A Community Leader In Kutch
I had been waiting for half an hour at Shantaben's house in Juni Ravalwadi,...
An Unwavering Commitment To Change: The Story of Mukesh
In a world where job-hopping has become the norm, Mukesh Ji stands out as an...
Qala Aur Kaam: A Day In The Life Of A Street Tattoo Artist
Picture this : a four-way intersection connecting that connect the arteries of...
Rolling With The Punches: Thinking About Labour And Leisure With Bihar’s Beedi Makers
"Butru humni ki business ke baare mein likh rahel [This young woman is writing...
My Definition Of Empowerment : The Inspiring Story Of Meenakshi Tai
A couple of months back, we had such an online session* on Empowerment by...
Mera Ghar Kahan Hai? Asks A Domestic Violence Warrior
The world in front of her eyes came crumbling down with the news of her wedding being fixed. She ran to her grandpa with millions of questions in her eyes and shouted at him. But, grandpa did not utter a word. His silence was enough to tell that her fate had been...
Doing “Dirty Work”: The Midwives Of Rural Bihar Come Clean
Cleanliness is also a big facet of the work of midwives. An essential component to understanding their responsibilities is caste. This is a representational image. “Who will I teach? They all tell me, ‘Who will do this hellish work? It is dirty and I feel...
My Friend Azzli
I opened the door of our Drop-in Centre and found a short-statured dusky woman, who had her pallu wound around her face, as if it were band-aid. And this kids, is how I met your…I mean, my best friend – Azzli*. In the beginning of the fellowship, new to the whole, “Ye...
Of Partition, Earthquake And Community Festivals: How Kharad Artisans Double Up As Storytellers
“You are looking at a handmade, natural-dyed Kharad painstakingly made by my son Samat and I,” says Tejsibhai Dhana Marwada, letting the coarse, flat-woven rug slowly drop to the floor revealing a design in intense colors of black, white and dark brown. “But most of...
How Shakil Bhai is Printing a Different Story, One Block at a Time
It's dirty, noisy and crowded. There's wastewater flowing in from one side. Cows and dogs are picking through piles of garbage, hunting for leftovers. There's an unpleasant stench wafting in the air. It isn't the most welcoming sight to witness, not...
A Model Sarpanch And Red Bindis
“Where do women and girls want to go and what do they want?” Until the day I visited a Sarpanch for the first time, as a part of my field visits, I realized that I had not given much thought to the little dots that we like to place on our foreheads as ‘bindis’. For...
From Waste To Wealth – The Story of Rajiben Vankar
Take a peak into the rise of Rajiben Vankar, as she paved her way from a weaver to an eco-entrepreneur
Kanku Ben: A Model Sarpanch
“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.”- Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar This blog is based on a telephonic interview of Kanku Ben taken by me. However, the whole conversation was in Hindi which has been translated, not word...
Taniya Parveen: A Journey of Hope and Aspirations
"You need to step out to know the world outside" - Taniya From Saradhi, Bangalwa village in Munger district of Bihar, where most girls are forced to stay at home and are valued with respect to their ability to do the household chores; a young girl Taniya Praveen is...
Inspiring Stories Of Everyday Heroes Often Known As Nurses
I am really grateful to have gotten an opportunity to work alongside these extraordinary women who are game changers in their own way.
Vittyasaathi – A Lifestory
A bleak light begins to flicker in one of Kathotia village’s households at 3 am. A long day awaits Sabo Devi*. She brews herself some tea, feeds and cleans the cow, gets ready and is on her way to work by 5 o’clock. Her daughter, Julie*, takes care of every other...
Kantabai: The Story You Don’t Get To Hear
One day, as I was walking via my usual route to the sabzi mandi (vegetable market), I noticed a group of people sitting in a flimsy yellow tent. I had actually been fascinated by this yellow tent for a couple of weeks, as I could see it’s movements from the window of...
The Unsung Battles Of Ordinary Women
The ongoing wave of feminism seems to have taken India by storm, but has it managed to hit all the right spots yet? Indian feminism has lately drawn strong critique for being exclusionary in nature and I found my own thoughts deeply resonating with this narrative in...
Goats And Nine Yards Of Blue
Across Munger district of Bihar, women dressed in sky blue saris are disrupting the community’s perception of their ability to improve the lives of poor. With help from a Goat Resource Center (GRC), a small establishment by the roadside that serves as an office and...