How They Push And Pull To Make The Ends Meet

How They Push And Pull To Make The Ends Meet

I once had the opportunity to travel in the general bogie of a push-pull train connecting the place I’m in (Gudupalli, Chittoor) to the Bengaluru city. It was only 5.30 in the morning and there were more than 200 people in the compartment which had a seating capacity...

Aarogya: A Game To Meet The Need For Vaccination Information

Aarogya: A Game To Meet The Need For Vaccination Information

Imagine your child getting vaccinated and you are not aware of the name of the vaccine or its use. Scary, isn’t it? Well, that's the case with majority of parents in the villages of Dalsinghsarai in Samastipur, Bihar. This lack of information often fosters negligence...

When People Became My People

When People Became My People

As soon as the first part of our fellowship program, i.e. the induction training ended in Udaipur, one by one all the fellows and the team members started leaving for their respective field areas. I was the last one left to see off everyone as I had been placed with...

A Camp For All Seasons

A Camp For All Seasons

When you work at a rapidly expanding NGO like Mann Deshi, things happen at a frenetic pace. I realised this when I got back from India Fellow's midpoint training. Even though our training days were packed with sessions and activities, it took me a few days to adjust...

Surname, Please?

Surname, Please?

The train journey to Mangaon had worn me out. I had woken up at 5 am today, a record timing by my standards. Adding to this, the speaker on stage had been speaking in Marathi for the past twenty minutes. Due to these specific factors, my eyes steadily shut. Father...

Searching For Feminism In Rural Uttar Pradesh

Searching For Feminism In Rural Uttar Pradesh

About three weeks back while I was sitting in my balcony, observing the commotion on the road and thinking about the last 8 months that I have spent in Kantain village of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh, several thoughts ran through my mind. It was a mixed bag, of...

Vittyasaathi – A Lifestory

Vittyasaathi – A Lifestory

A bleak light begins to flicker in one of Kathotia village’s households at 3 am. A long day awaits Sabo Devi*. She brews herself some tea, feeds and cleans the cow, gets ready and is on her way to work by 5 o’clock. Her daughter, Julie*, takes care of every other...

I Do Not Ask A Child “If You Go To School” Anymore!

I Do Not Ask A Child “If You Go To School” Anymore!

Among them was a baby girl aged 10 months (however appeared to be no less than 3 months old). She was suffering from both Severe Acute Malnutrition and Tuberculosis. It was an image that has distraught me till date.

The Kind Of People I Meet During A Sale

The Kind Of People I Meet During A Sale

One of the best things about being a sales person and selling products is the variety of people you meet. From easy going and generous to the most fussy and reluctant. Happy children wanting the laddus to old people volunteering to help; it has been a very different...

हम लड़ेंगे साथी, गुलाम इच्छाओं के लिए

हम लड़ेंगे साथी, गुलाम इच्छाओं के लिए

मैंने खुद को 'कुंचोली' पंचायत के एक छोटे से गाँव में पाया, जहाँ एक मकान निर्माणाधीन था. उस दृश्य को मैंने तस्वीर में कैद करने की कोशिश की. अवतार सिंह संधू 'पाश' पंजाबी कविता जगत के जाने - माने - चाहे जाने वाले कवि  हैं. पंजाबी भाषा के सीमित ज्ञान के कारण, मैंने उनकी...

Kantabai: The Story You Don’t Get To Hear

One day, as I was walking via my usual route to the sabzi mandi (vegetable market), I noticed a group of people sitting in a flimsy yellow tent. I had actually been fascinated by this yellow tent for a couple of weeks, as I could see it’s movements from the window of...

When I Finally Grew Comfortable Being Their Teacher

When I Finally Grew Comfortable Being Their Teacher

One of the farthest schools from Kandbari in Panchrukhi education block is Rajot. I recall saying a few months ago that I had to hold on tight to my excitement of conducting a class during the hour long ride it takes to reach the school along the narrow winding roads....

Guided Discovery – Visual Notes From A Leadership Training

Guided Discovery – Visual Notes From A Leadership Training

Do you know that there are seven types of learners? I'm majorly Kinesthetic, Spatial and Logical. I wish my teachers realized this before they caught me sleeping and forced me to sit in front during their class. I make visual notes compulsorily. That's the only method...

An Atta-boy

An Atta-boy

They do not have advantage of a complicated system of metaphysics which could explain or rationalize  events for them. Their gods and goodness are much too simple to be of much help. प्रिय मित्र याद है वो पुराना किस्सा? वो काशीपुर? खत के बदलो से सतह दर सतह उतरोगे तो...