An Atta-boy

An Atta-boy

They do not have advantage of a complicated system of metaphysics which could explain or rationalize  events for them. Their gods and goodness are much too simple to be of much help. प्रिय मित्र याद है वो पुराना किस्सा? वो काशीपुर? खत के बदलो से सतह दर सतह उतरोगे तो...

Young, Wild And Free…

Young, Wild And Free…

Fondness grows with time. 11 months in Kotra and my life mostly revolves around my students in the school here. Think of a child who is to get a new game which her mother is embracing. She would run to get it. The excitement would barely diminish even if one of her...

Sriram, Version 2.0

Sriram, Version 2.0

I always remember one thing which Anupama, India Fellow team member said, “Look Sriram, India fellow nowhere mentioned that you are going into non-profit sector or development sector, it’s a 13 month social leadership program, to discover your own journey and to know...

Deep Rooted Craze For South Indian Films

Deep Rooted Craze For South Indian Films

It’s been over 100 years for the Indian cinema. Movies have always inspired and entertained the people of India, and they have become one with our daily lives. The main focus and objective of movies are for entertainment and also hopefully for conveying some good...

How I Started Telling And Listening To Stories

How I Started Telling And Listening To Stories

After a presentation loaded with a large number of slides containing a lot of statistics, figures and other information, how much do you remember? Hardly a line or a graph. That's exactly what happened when I recently presented my experience in the first six months of...

Monthly Meeting And A Trip To Magical Melghat

Monthly Meeting And A Trip To Magical Melghat

At Under The Mango Tree, the Maharashtra team gathers every month at one of the three field areas to discuss the on-goings of respective projects, to analyze growth and simplify challenges. The three locations are Umergaon office in Palghar district, Pimpalner office...

The Best, The Craziest And The Weirdest

This blog is about my experiences with the local community and, in my humble opinion, their subtle, loud, huge and tiny aspects of daily lives. It is about the ways in which they show respect to elders, a ritual for one of the Hindu Gods and an English word quite...

What Came First – The Chicken Or The Egg?

What Came First – The Chicken Or The Egg?

For over 2000 years, a question has stood the test of time. It has baffled philosophers, scientists and kids alike. A lot of them have chickened out from answering it (I can’t promise if this will be the only pun in this blog). What came first - the chicken or the...

Marriage In The Country That I Belong To

Marriage In The Country That I Belong To

I visited her place in the beginning of November to ask about Sohan, her son, not coming to the school for a while. And a class 3 kid, Nikesh leads me to his place, i was urging to go for so long. When I visited no one was there but Maggu aunty, carrying fuels for her...

Bihar Unfolded: You Need To See It Before You Judge It

Bihar Unfolded: You Need To See It Before You Judge It

"How many times in our lives, had we known with certainty that something happened in a certain way, only to discover later that it wasn't true? How many times has our lack of trust within us made us judge other people unfairly with our conceited ideas, often far away...

काशीपुर से ख़त

प्रिय मित्र, कभी रोमांटिसिज्म के बारे में सुना है? कहीं उन्नीस्वीं सदी में इस टर्म को पहली बार इस्तेमाल किया गया होगा| पहले भी होता होगा पर उन्नीस्वी सदी के बाद इसने गति पकड़ ली| ये एक जादुई पर्दे की तरह है जो न होता तो हिन्दी सिनेमा कब का ठंडा गोश्त बन गया होता| असल...

Tapola: A Stumble Upon The Unknown

While being in Palghar district through summer, I realized how the terrain takes a fresh look as monsoon arrived. From parched fields in summer to profuse lush greenery, it was a pleasant surprise to see such tremendous change in landscape. The whole picture of each...

Through The Rural Lens: Understanding Differences

Through The Rural Lens: Understanding Differences

In the beginning, it was labelled as "getting adjusted" to the new work environment. Different people, their habits other than mine, and distinct surroundings while working in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh made me realize that adapting here meant recognizing several...