A Matter Of Semantics

A trip from Delhi to Tumkur in Karnataka, got the author in an interaction with a media activist who explains what it means to accept that the community knows better

Where Is The Village Of My CBSE Textbook?

Where Is The Village Of My CBSE Textbook?

Growing up in Delhi, my understanding of Indian villages was largely shaped by the CBSE textbooks. These books painted a picture of serene landscapes, close-knit communities, and a simpler way of life.

Financial Literacy – Necessity Of The Hour

Financial Literacy – Necessity Of The Hour

Trigger Warning: Suicide, Death, Distress Ramesh Lal*, his wife and their four children were found dead at their home in the Udaipur district on 21st November , 2022. He was the only earning member in this six-person household. He had earlier migrated to work at a...

A Library That Nurtures Choice And Freedom

A Library That Nurtures Choice And Freedom

I bleakly recall the image of me as a child looking with awe at the encyclopaedia and a lot of giant picture books kept high up on the shelf of our school library. We used to have a library period when we would go through the shelves and pick up a book with our own...

Reaching Rural Rajasthan And Attending Gavari, A Local Festival

Reaching Rural Rajasthan And Attending Gavari, A Local Festival

View as a pillion rider From Kerala To Rajasthan Via Karnataka My story started from a small village in Kozhikode, Kerala. I finished my schooling and graduation from there but I always had a feeling that it wasn’t enough for me. To expand my horizon and to challenge...

Maslow, Choices, Learning And A Library Somewhere In The Hinterland

Maslow, Choices, Learning And A Library Somewhere In The Hinterland

A handful of shared sand represents the handful of choices we have and how they are sometimes made for us or passed down to us. Every time I think about choices, I frequently wonder what they actually mean and signify? My thoughts go back to all the times I’ve had to...

Reality Of A Person Living With Multiple Chronic Diseases

Reality Of A Person Living With Multiple Chronic Diseases

It was a rather gloomy day when I had a chance to meet Lakhuna Das*. I was documenting stories and journeys of persons with drug-resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB). Lakhuna Das's journey caught my attention. Mukesh Yadav, my colleague at Innovators in Health had already...

How Do You Spend Rs. 200 In Your Day-To-Day Life?

How Do You Spend Rs. 200 In Your Day-To-Day Life?

What comes to your mind when you see a 200 rupee note? How do you spend it? Is it a big spend or it just goes away in everyday expense? Does it differ between men and women? I asked the same question to a set of people and here's what they had to say about it. As a...

What Bothers The Youth In Rural Bihar Everyday?

What Bothers The Youth In Rural Bihar Everyday?

As part of an initiative to understand mental health concerns affecting the youth in rural Samastipur, my colleague and I had a group discussion with a group of young (18-35 years) men and women. Initially, we did not mention our purpose or used any mental health...

Understanding What Primary Health Care Means

Understanding What Primary Health Care Means

80% of the diseases can be prevented or cured at the primary level only. And that is why corporates cannot provide primary care as providing primary care would affect the profit that they can make through secondary or tertiary careA doctor in an intense discussion...

ई-श्रम क्या हैं?

ई-श्रम क्या हैं?

https://open.spotify.com/show/37Dw12K7Lx5aIZhVdiIqrf?si=gEGh75VpSSezRNFehWyjDw The e-Shram card was brought in by the central government in August 2021 posing as an answer to the enumeration of migrant workers and consolidated social security benefits for all...

A Heart-Wrenching Tale Of A 13-Year Old Mother In Rural India

A Heart-Wrenching Tale Of A 13-Year Old Mother In Rural India

It was 11:30 PM when I received a call from Reema’s* mother-in-law. They belong to one of the villages in Panna, Madhya Pradesh where Project Koshika runs a health intervention. Reema complained of severe stomach ache, nausea and fever. I pulled out my notes to see...

Why 50 kgs On A Weighing Scale Comes As A Surprise To Me

Why 50 kgs On A Weighing Scale Comes As A Surprise To Me

Malnutrition as a term never occurred in my conversations before I started working with Project Koshika in Panna, Madhya Pradesh.It has become a reoccurring word in my dictionary now. Koshika runs a maternal and infant health intervention in 10 remote villages of...

Trupti Kitchen : A Community Kitchen For Senior Citizens

Trupti Kitchen : A Community Kitchen For Senior Citizens

MArathwada NAVnirman LOKayat 'MANAVLOK', the organization I am part of, is working on myriad thematic areas like watershed management, health, education, women empowerment, disaster relief, agriculture, and livelihoods. Think of a thematic area and I bet MANAVLOK has...