Of People And Places

Ever had the feeling where you were kicking yourself for leaving the good life behind? From being a reasonably well-off graduate student in Toronto, enjoying first-world comforts, to being completely drenched and hanging on for dear life, on the roof of an overcrowded...

A City That Existed Before : Palesar

"*Kishanlal is a farmer who is aspiring to make a "Pakka Makaan" which he is not able to. Money is a major constraint and he worries about his 'Kaccha Makaan' falling down due to the excessive rain, just like it happened with the few unfortunates who died last year....

Do Beegha Zameen

A still from the movie Do Bigha Zamin (1953) ‘… Jisse ghar mein paans paans basse hain, ussa do bigha zameen mein syaa hoga?’ posed *Jaspal Singh as he closed his response. His response was to a question asked by me about land ownership in his village, Palesar. And...

I Have Got A Hidden Hand … So Do You!

If like me, you aren’t a believer of God, or luck/destiny, let me share a new principle I learnt. You may choose to consider it and may-be, call it a belief later. It’s called the principle of the hiding hand. Remember, how as a kid, you sat on a bicycle without even...

The Corn Vendor’s Insight

The Corn Vendor’s Insight

My co-fellow, Alston and I started our journey of testing our stereotypes by sharing a samosa on our way to a village called Devali in Udaipur. I believed that families did not prefer sending their kids, especially girls, to urban areas for higher education. As easy...

Two Different Worlds

Two Different Worlds

My new assignment brings me to a village in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, named Chandpur Khurd. On you way from Noida to Agra, it is located off the Yamuna Expressway right where the milestone indicates distance to Mathura, 62 kilometres. As soon as you get out...

Two-Face : Harvey Dent In Rural India

Two-Face : Harvey Dent In Rural India

My jaw dropped when our wallets were confiscated by our fellowship co-ordinator. We were told to survive on a paltry sum of Rs. 40! We had to find a village and return back using this nominal sum! My mind raced with thoughts and a slight sense of panic crept in....

Turning The Table

Turning The Table

"दबाव बहुत है। हम तो कोशिश कर रहे हैं।", Nagma said. Nagma is a middle-aged health worker in the primary health centre (PHC) of Nichli Badi. She has been overseeing the PHC functions in absence of a doctor for the past one and a half month. A soft-spoken woman, she...

Learning Empathy

Learning Empathy

I walked into the village, excited about getting to see something new, enthusiastic about meeting new people from different walks of life, all set to explore how majority of our country's population lives. What I was faced with was a wandering naked three year old boy...