First Immersion

An account of the initial immersion into the grassroots. Fellow’s encounters with diverse realities, unfamiliar terrain, and new relationships

Men And Boys In Badgaon

Men And Boys In Badgaon

How do interactions with the men and boys of a city shape our understanding of it? Does their behaviour make us feel safer or otherwise?

Down to the Last Rupee

Down to the Last Rupee

Discover the harsh realities of rural poverty in India, from coping with emergencies to navigating high-interest loans

An Unfamiliar Side Of Deccan And Its Wool Chain

An Unfamiliar Side Of Deccan And Its Wool Chain

Since the day I started working with the Centre for Pastoralism (CFP), I have been travelling more frequently to new places. At CFP, we have divided the locations of our work with the pastoral communities, based on the climate/geography. The Himalayas, Semi-arid or...

A Tale of Two Analogous Events: Sickle Cell Anemia

A Tale of Two Analogous Events: Sickle Cell Anemia

As a fellow, the excitement of a field visit is unparalleled, especially before one has experienced it. This is largely due to the underlying fact that the human mind is curious for the unknown. In my case, the first month of the fellowship was about constantly...

जब किशोरियाँ सवाल पूछती हैं

जब किशोरियाँ सवाल पूछती हैं

हमेशा किसी भी कार्य की शुरुआत होती है एक सवाल से! किसी भी विचार में, बात में, विवाद में, चर्चा में या आंदोलन में। एक सवाल जो उठता है चिंगारी की तरह और थोड़ी हवा मिलने पर बड़ी और चमकीली लपटें पकड़ता है। जरूरत होती है बस उस चिंगारी को जगाए रखने की। भुज, कच्छ में ऐसा ही...

Conversations About Boundaries

Conversations About Boundaries

"I think women's tolerance to male entitlement has come down as compared to our mothers' generation", said Rohini* sitting on one side of the canal. We were five India Fellows who had come to this beautiful village called Noor* for our rural immersion. Two other...

Meenakshi Devi and Her Never Give Up Attitude

Meenakshi Devi and Her Never Give Up Attitude

A still from Meenakshi Devi's classroom My anticipation from the first field visit during our induction training was largely based on my stereotypes of villages. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie puts this across eloquently in her TedTalk 'The Dangers of a Single Story' She...

Redefining My Idea Of A Village

My father grew up in a village named Purana in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha. My grandmother, whom I fondly call bou (mother, in Odia) still lives there. As a child, I visited and stayed there during summer and winter vacations. However, most of my ideas about the...

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....