Cleanliness is also a big facet of the work of midwives. An essential...
“Don’t Entertain Liars, Stay Far Away From Them”
Lali has been working with Basic healthcare Services (BHS) for a couple of...
Walking Through The Side-Lines
A school in Konta, Chhattisgarh As an India Fellow, I have been working with...
The Decaying Roots Of Tradition
After coming to Odisha, I was invited for a wedding for the first time in a...
अकाल राहत से ‘मनरेगा’ तक : आदिवासी मजदूरों का हक
हमारे देश में राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण रोजगार गारंटी कानून (मनरेगा) सन 2005 में लागू...
Dream A Little Dream Of Me…
Trigger Warning: Mentions rape, suicide. 'Didi vo thodi pagal hai, usko...
Gaanv Ka ‘Nazdeek-darshan’ : Taking A Closer Look
I stayed for about 15 days with a family in a village called Sonkachh in...
Mandav Utsav 2021 : What People Had To Say
This article is a critical appraisal of what I saw and heard when I visited Mandav for their yearly festival. All views shared are my observations from the conversations I had with the locals of Mandav,
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...
Not Asking Questions Ft. Women Of Kataar
Towards the west of Badgaon in Gogunda Tehsil of Udaipur, Rajasthan, lies a small hamlet called Kataar*. Famous for a beautiful lake and a dam aptly called Bada Talaab amidst green hills, Kataar served as a great destination for the first rural immersion as a part of...
‘Postnatal Care’ In Rural, Tribal Villages Of Southern Rajasthan
Ramila* is a 22 year old woman who lives in Hathiya Talai, a village in Gogunda block of Udaipur, Rajasthan. Ramila had high fever on the third day after her delivery. Her baby died on the second day. “There was no breast milk and the baby would just not open her...
Dealing With Covid-19 In Kalahandi
During the first wave of the pandemic, the areas where Swasthya Swaraj works such as Thuamul Rampur Block in Kalahandi, were relatively unaffected, even though many migrant workers from here, go to metropolitan cities in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala. There...
Of Clay And Mirrors [A Visual Story]
When Argaben begins pinching and shaping the clay dough, she's not doing so to put on a show. Yet, when she breathes life into the otherwise lifeless lump of clay, shaping different patterns and designs, we all watch in awe. The freehand work from memory. The fluidity...
ये हौसलों की उड़ान है
किरन आदिवासी* खमरी गांव में रहती हैं| वह यहाँ की बहू हैं। उन्हें बचपन से ही पढ़ लिख कर कोई अच्छी नौकरी करने का मन था। लेकिन उनके पिताजी बच्चियों को पढानें की जगह उनकी शादी करके ज़िम्मेदारीयों से मुक्त होना चाहते थे। इन्ही कारणों के चलते किरन की आगे पढ़ाई नहीं हो पाई,...
An Art Exhibition Like None Other [A Photo Story]
What comes to your mind when you think of an Art Exhibition? A gallery walk in a metropolitan city? An event hosted by a famous artist? A festivals in a well-known exhibition centre like NSIC or Kaala Ghoda? Some of you may even recall visits to museums that display...
Volunteering In Response To Covid-19: A Case From Rural Rajasthan
The second wave of the pandemic in the country saw a large number of volunteers in action. We saw an increase in the number of cases, lack of beds, oxygen and ventilators, data and stories showing a huge number of patients dying while waiting to find beds in...
बंधेज
नीता (लेखिका) तस्वीर के बीच में एक समुदाय परामर्श / जांच सत्र में मध्य प्रदेश और उत्तर प्रदेश के कुछ इलाकों से मिलाकर बने क्षेत्र को बुन्देलखण्ड कहते है। आज भी यहां बहुत सारी लोक परम्पराओं का चलन है। गांवों में आज भी बहुत से ऐसे स्थान हैं, जहाँ महिलाओं के जाने में मना...
मेरे गांव को आशा दीदी की आस है
बात मझोली गांव की है। पन्ना, मध्य प्रदेश की तहसील मुख्यालय अमानगंज से करीब 15 से 20 किलोमीटर की दूरी पर बसा हुआ है यह गांव। यह पन्ना जिले में स्थापित टाइगर रिज़र्व के अन्तर्गत आता है। आज तक इस गांव में आशा कार्यकर्ता की नियक्ति नहीं हुई है, जिस वजह से यहाँ के लोगो को...
Responding To Covid-19 In Rural India: An overview Of Our Approach In Southern Rajasthan
Note: This is a version of a document presenting the strategy of Aajeevika Bureau, Basic Healthcare Services (BHS) and Shram Sarathi, working in Southern Rajasthan. I wrote this along with my mentor Dr. Sanjana Mohan Brahmawar, co-founder and director at BHS. ...
Ghost Towns Of Banswara, Rajasthan
Migration for work is etched into the identity of several districts that fall within the perimeter of Southern Rajasthan's tribal belt. Hundreds of private buses ply each day, carrying thousands across borders to cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Mumbai. A range of...
What It Means To Work With A Community
We were in Sillet, an isolated village that has no electricity, no telecom signal and no water. We had heard that the people from this village had a problem with us - Swasthya Swaraj. It had something to do with a small facility that we were trying to set up in the...
Sorry Harry, But It’s Time We Talk About The Potters Of Khavda
In the Harry Potter universe, magic is the heart and soul of the wizarding culture. It sets the wizards and the witches apart from their Muggle neighbours. While Ismailbhai Kumbhar, may pass off as a Muggle, in this context, he doesn't need an Albus Dumbledore or a...