The author talks about an interaction which he assumed will be a cake walk – turns out it was’nt! Read what played out.
Learning From Manthan And Co-Operative Model
For the film to be made, 5,00,000 farmers financed the production, contributing 2 rupees each, making it the first ever crowdfunded Indian film
Distorted Lens Of Caste In India
A powerful expose reveals the harsh reality of a Dalit woman cleaning human waste, challenging misconceptions about caste discrimination.
Redefining Development
In fast paced urban city development is often equated to material gain but what does it mean for rural India?
Dangers Of A Single Story
When we step into new spaces with open minds, we allow these fuller, more vibrant stories to emerge. This isn’t just about seeing women differently; it’s about approaching every community with humility, ready to discover the depth that a single story could never fully capture.
Changing Face Of Rural India
The author’s visit to a village in Rajasthan shattered their preconceived notions and she finds the changing faces of rural India.
An Interaction With Subhana: Lessons Beyond The Classroom
When you do out to meet an uneducated, tribal woman farm labourer, what do you expect to return from the conversation with?
From Bombay, With Love: To Be An India Fellow
In this blog author questions his ideas of what it takes to do the ‘social work’ and be an India Fellow.
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...
Pardeh Ke Piche Kya Hai?
An insight into the traditions of Thoor women folklore.
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...
We Need A Balance In Stories About Indian Villages
A single story is one where the same thing gets told over and over again about a people or a place we do not know first-hand. The danger? It leads to stereotypes, to half-truths, not the truth. Our lives and cultures are composed of many overlapping stories. A single...
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....
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-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
"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
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...