“We are all a family here,” my colleague Shiney* tells me as we eat dinner. I...
Good Governance Practices – An Initiative To Encourage Gram Panchayats
It has now been more than a month since I reached Setu Abhiyan, an organistion...
Digital Mobility In Panna, Madhya Pradesh
Sajan Bai (on the left) glares as I (on the right) download WhatsApp on her...
Jo Bhi Karna Hai, Aadhe Mein Se Karo!
Every Friday afternoon, the Aavishkaar team huddles in Ojas, the campus gazebo...
Diving Into A Non-Profit’s Vaccination Journey
Taking you through my month long experience of being part of vaccination drives for migrant workers in Kerala.
C.R.E.A.T.E (Creative Resources For Education And Teachers’ Engagement)
As an India Fellow at Agastya international foundation, I have been working in...
Number Talk Se Ganit Charcha Tak…
Researches prove that discussions and open conversations enhance the quality...
Aavishkaar, As I Saw It
I joined Aavishkaar five months into the fellowship. It was a shift from my...
Ama Sangathan – From Bonded Laborers to Entrepreneurs
In Desia, a local language used in Odisha, Halia means people who work under the king. Sahi refers to a small part of the village. So, Halia Sahi is a small village near Mandibisi in Rayagada district of Odisha. Back in the late 1980s, the people of Halia Sahi were...
Many Cures For The Same Disease
Access to healthcare is a necessity to all communities. However, the diagnoses, treatment and recovery vary as widely as the communities themselves. To aid a human body heal itself is considered a noble cause, and the need for it is only increasing with the population...
The Hiring And Firing!
I have now spent about a month with my host organization in Indore. During this time, I've been spending time trying to understand the culture of the organization. It comes without a surprise that the corporate sector and the social sector have their own values,...
Dream For One And Curse For The Other: The Dark Side Of Auto Manufacturers In India
Who doesn’t dream of buying a car? Or a two-wheeler? It’s a matter of comfort for someone and a status symbol for someone else. There can be many other reasons to buy it, but what if I will say that many people have given their lives in the manufacturing process of...
Whom Do We Serve?: Making A Tough Choice For The Organization’s Ethos
When I first got to know about being placed at Shram Sarathi for my fellowship year, I was pleasantly surprised. Wanting to work at the intersection of finance and development, this was like a dream come true. It was also like coming back to a point where I had...
Socialising At Clinics: How ‘Beemari’ And ‘Dawai’ Became My Go-To Conversation Starters
It has been almost a month since I joined Basic healthcare services (BHS) in Udaipur, Rajasthan. BHS runs clinics in remote villages of Udaipur to provide healthcare services to the tribal population, many of whom are also domestic migrant workers. These clinics are...
A Model Sarpanch And Red Bindis
“Where do women and girls want to go and what do they want?” Until the day I visited a Sarpanch for the first time, as a part of my field visits, I realized that I had not given much thought to the little dots that we like to place on our foreheads as ‘bindis’. For...
Contemplating Child-centric Education In Rural Ranthambore
Travelling from New Delhi, I was welcomed to Gramin Shiksha Kendra (GSK) office campus in Sawai Madhopur with the quintessentially autumn scent of shiulis, and a reminder of what fresh air on my face and in my lungs ought to feel like. Notably, with the nearby roads...
From Waste To Weave
In the menace of plastic in Bhuj, lies livelihoods of many weavers of Kutch. Upcycling plastic has proven to not only be a livelihood initiative, but has morphed into a culture of love, protection and well-being of the planet.
Who Are the Lucknow Leaders?
Looking back at leaders of Lucknow and learning from them.
Is Gandhi’s Nai Talim Relevant Today?
An insight into Khamir’s philosophy of Education through Handicrafts
Main, Meri Organization Aur Woh
What a (nomad) fellow does.
Setu Abhiyan: Strengthening Local Governance
India is poor because villages of India are poor. India will be rich if the villges of India are rich. Panchayats should be given greater powers, for we want the villagers to have greater measure of Swaraj (Self Government) in their own villages.Jawaharlal Nehru, The...
Tech Solutions To Structural Problems?
As part of my year at the fellowship, I am working with Nayi Disha Resource Centre (NDRC) — a one-stop-shop for caregivers of persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs). In today's India, the resources and platforms available for persons with...