What happens on a daily basis in a Self Help Group? Take a peek inside Mahi Mahila Bachat Mandal and how they build their financial security.
Hope In Their Hands: Women Stitching Empowerment
A women led initiative is teaching women stitching to help them become financially independent in rural Bihar.
Grinding For Survival: The Precarious Lives Of Steel Workers In Jodhpur’s Industrial Hubs
Surja Ram, a worker in Jodhpur, proves that no matter how difficult, the right to social security is something worth fighting for.
An Interesting Election: A Union’s Journey For Change
The chronicle of a union election and reflection on challenges collectives face in “keeping the josh high!”
Talim To Thrive: Women’s Path To Wellness
A photo story from a training session also known as Mahila Arogya Talim by Gram Swaraj Sangh to address health concerns in women of Rapar in Kutch
A Deep Dive InTo The Financials Of Migrant Workers
The author works in a Labour Hostel project. The blog has been written after conversations with approximately fifty of them.
A Homage To An Orphanage
A poem about despair and hope, based on an orphanage visit by the author – for girls, impacted by the suicides due to agrarian distress in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
Sparkling Eyes, Silent Dreams
Policies failing to align with reality or not effectively translating on the ground, make it impossible for the most needy to access their rights.
कश्ती गुज़ारे की, चाह की
मैं लखनऊ स्थित सद्भावना ट्रस्ट में इंडिया फ़ेलो के रुप में जुड़कर कार्य कर रही हूँ। सद्भावना ट्रस्ट एक स्वयं सेवी संस्था है जो मुख्यतः महिलाओं और लड़कियों से जुड़े सभी सामजिक मुद्दों पर काम करती है। जैसे घरेलू हिंसा पर मुफ्त कानूनी मदद देना, महिलाओं के लिए रोज़गार के...
जहाँ सोच, वहाँ शौचालय
विद्या बालन जी का यह विज्ञापन हमें सिखाता है कि अगर हम तय कर लें तो खुले में शौच करना रोका जा सकता है। साथ ही, यह बात भी सही है कि किसी भी जगह की सामाजिक पृष्ठभूमि का प्रभाव वहां के तौर-तरीकों पर पड़ता है। बात है करौली जिले के श्यामपुर-मंडरायाल क्षेत्र की जहाँ हम तरुण...
The Janmashtami Of Ratnal
Ratnal is a small village, spread on both sides of a highway connecting Bhuj and Anjar in Kutch, Gujarat. On the outside, it looks like a typical Indian village but there is more to it. After getting to know about the famous Janmashtami celebrations there, I planned...
Bringing Hope To The Children Of Families Who Migrate
Seasonal Migration In Chhattisgarh When I was going to the villages of Bodla, Chhattisgarh in summer, a large number of houses were locked. They had migrated in search of work and would return during monsoon to practice agriculture. Both seasonal and distress...
मिट्टी के साथ काम करने वाले कारीगरों से एक मुलाक़ात
मुझे खमीर में काम करते हुए तीन महीने हो चुके हैं। पिछले तीन महीनों में फील्ड टीम के साथ बहुत सी नयी चीजों को सीखने व समझने का मौका मिला। इस दौरान मुझे कुछ बड़े और दिग्गज कुम्हारों से मिलने का भी सौभाग्य प्राप्त हुआ जो कच्छ में पॉटरी को समझने आये थे। इनमें थे राजू जी...
भुखमरी
भुखमरी शब्द से आम तौर पे हम समझते हैं भूख के कारण लोगों का तड़पना या उनको खाना खाने को नही मिलना। भुखमरी से और बीमारियां भी होती हैं, व्यक्ति का वृद्धि-विकास भी रुकता है, और लम्बे समय से ग्रसित रहने पर इससे मृत्यु भी हो सकती है। इस से होने वाले कुपोषण का ही एक रूप है...
Theatre Of The Oppressed: Rehearsing for Real Life
These are my reflections from five months of practicing Theatre of the Oppressed with adolescent girls and children in Kutch By the end of design school, there was a certain mistrust in what I was doing. No matter how social the ‘problem’ is or how much one...
भुज की महिलाएं और कमला बेन की कहानी
भुज भारत के उत्तर-पश्चिम भाग में रहस्य की भूमि कच्छ जिले में स्थित हैं। कच्छ जिले का कुल क्षेत्रफल कुछ भारतीय राज्यों से भी अधिक है। यहाँ कई महत्वपूर्ण शहर और कस्बे हैं और उन में से सबसे महत्वपूर्ण तालुका भुज को माना जाता है। पुराना...
Sickle Cell Anemia And A Day In The Life Of A Counsellor
On 8th August 2023, I accompanied Laxmi Patkar, a counsellor at Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS) to many villages in Jaithari block of Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh. The purpose of the trip was to distribute sickle cell anemia test reports to parents of children who...
Observations And Realities In Schools At Saharsa, Bihar
Bihar is one of the marginalised states in India in terms of education. It has a total literacy rate of 64% and female literacy rate of 53%. Women's education and social development badly needs support. I'm working with Happy Horizons Trust on empowering adolescent...
Guftgoo-E-Mewat
“आओ भाईसाहब बैठो, कुछ ठंडा वंडा पीयो” These were some of the first words that came to my ears as soon as I set foot in Mewat, and they I continued to hear them as long as I was there. At the end of last month, a train from Nagpur brought me to Jaipur. Then I took a...
Fakirani Jats Of Kutch, Gujarat
Since I started working in the corporate IT industry, I've always been away from my home state, Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, it gave me an opportunity to explore, understand and experience other cultures. When I was working in Pune, most of my friends were from...
Migration And Sanitation
While migration offers economic and livelihood opportunities, it also brings forth challenges with sanitation being a prominent concern. Reaching urban cities, migrant workers often find themselves living in informal settlements. These are densely populated and lack...
सुकमा के स्कूल
देश को आज़ाद हुए 76 साल हो चुके हैं। आज भी हमारे देश में कुछ क्षेत्र ऐसे हैं जहां आधारभूत आवश्यकताओं के लिए भी काफी मुश्किलें हो रही है। चूंकि मैं शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में काम करता हूँ तो मेरे लिए शिक्षा से सम्बंधित मूलभूत सुविधाएं बहुत मायने रखती हैं।...