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...
Doing “Dirty Work”: The Midwives Of Rural Bihar Come Clean
Cleanliness is also a big facet of the work of midwives. An essential...
Lanji’s Quest For Education And A Better Life
Based on a narration by Lanji Majhi We all have had some old person trying to...
My Friend Azzli
I opened the door of our Drop-in Centre and found a short-statured dusky...
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...
Two Women Who Broke The Glass Ceiling In Dalsighsarai, Bihar
My stint in Dalsinghsarai, Bihar has made me stumble upon numerous striking stories. Some were positive, some negative and others inspiring. Amongst them all, the stories of these two women - Kumkum Devi and Mona Kumari have been intriguing and have stayed with me....
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...
Girls Who Stepped Out For Professional Courses For The First Time
As I mentioned about intervention of mentoring cum tutoring girls for various competitive examinations in my previous blogs how I was mentoring couple of girls for various competitive entrances. In this blog, we will talk about the results and the girls who did it,...
What Renu Managed To Do With Training And Courage
Renu Devi was 7 months pregnant and expecting her second child. It was around midnight that she started having labour pains. She ignored the pain since her expected due date was two months away so she thought these must be false pains. Moreover, it was late at night...
Sanju’s Tryst With Beekeeping
Beekeeping, apart from helping improve crop produce and sustainability, can also provide a viable source of income for many in rural India. An account of how the practice has helped a high-school dropout rediscover his purpose in life, thanks to proper training and...
Chewang Norphel : The Ice Man
A major breakthrough in the pursuit of water was achieved by Chewang Norphel. Born in 1936 to Tibetan parents, Norphel hails from Skarra village, 2.5kms away from Leh in Ladakh. All hundred families of his village have traditionally been subsistence farmers,...
Painting Hope Through Rogan Art
Craftsmanship is the spine of India’s non-farming rural economy. However, it continues to remain an unorganized sector with its market prospective unused. It isc ommon to hear about at least one master craftsman who is forced to give up his craft in exchange for a...