It was a rather gloomy day when I had a chance to meet Lakhuna Das*. I was...
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...
Bail Pola: A Gratitude Festival For Bulls
India is known all over the world for its rich collection of different...
Gavari, The Goddess Who Comes To Earth
As per Hindu mythology, when Sati married Lord Shiva, her father, Daksha was...
Living A Precarious Life On The Delta
When I first heard about the Sundarbans I thought to myself ‘Why do people...
Sundarbans: The Mystical Land
India Fellow, as part of the workshops we do all round the year with our...
How did the people do their ‘business’ then? (Part 1 of 2)
“What is the most satisfactory and peaceful time in a human’s life?” was the...
A 6KM Long Trek For Water And Why Every Drop Counts
I can never forget Anupama’s (India Fellow alum) line, “Try and understand the...
Lessons I Learnt From Organizing A Sale
I have organised events when I was in college and have also worked with a wedding planner on a big fat Indian wedding. I always knew that it requires dealing with a lot of people, working with multiple opinions and preferences, unforeseen troubles and non-stop...
Living With Taboo And Stigma
Things that seem acceptable in urban educated society may not be the same everywhere. Until now, in my microscopic view of societal interactions, I have been living under an impression that the "normal' remains same across regions. Access to the best possible...
The Unsung Battles Of Ordinary Women
The ongoing wave of feminism seems to have taken India by storm, but has it managed to hit all the right spots yet? Indian feminism has lately drawn strong critique for being exclusionary in nature and I found my own thoughts deeply resonating with this narrative in...
Making Learning Fun, One Activity At A Time
I always found my school days boring as I never really enjoyed classroom learning, which now seems quite rigid. During my college days, I came across the NCERT books and a few websites for Creativity Learning. I found them interesting and was motivated to use this as...
Eagles Eye, Subtle Pry: A Research Study On Honeybees
Early in the morning, I left for field work, in Palghar, Maharashtra where I'm currently working with Under the Mango Tree (UTMT), a social enterprise. This was one of the designated tasks that demands to deal with orchard owners. I’m trying to find a relationship...
Can We Really Understand Others?
We millennials are born in the information age. I always thought that the evolution was mutual, as by the time people who were born after 1980s came in a position to exert their influence, the same happened with information via internet, smart phones and other...
Gun License, Hindu Identity: In Conversation With Locals Of Sitapur
While talking with people over snacks, there is so much that I learn about this place and its surrounding areas. The topic of gun license came up when I was interacting with parents of a girl, whom I teach in a school here at Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). It...
Where There Is A Will But Still No Way!
Have you ever noticed how women in rural-setups react if you ask how she feels? Or how often does she laugh? Does she feel a sense of contentment? On hearing such questions, at first, she smiles and then, shuns the questions. Next, she looks at us with utter surprise...
कोटड़ा की ‘वेर प्रथा’
Kotra, a tribal region in Udaipur district of Rajasthan, is where I have been living at, for the past six months of my fellowship. Often confused with Kota at my home, Kotra is the part of Rajasthan that I never knew existed (perhaps my ignorance is the reason behind...
मासूम परिंदे!
बचपन एक ऐसा शब्द है जिसे सुनते ही मेरे साथ आप में से कईयों के ज़हन में भी कई खूबसूरत लम्हें और तस्वीरें तैरने लग जाती होंगी. नाना-नानी, पापा-मम्मी सहित घर के सभी बड़े लोगों से मिलने वाला लाड़-प्यार व उपहार याद आ जाते होंगे. खेल-खिलौने, चॉकलेट एवं पसंदीदा मिठाइयों की...
A Taste Of Rural Patriarchy And Urban Feminism
The moment 'Vaishali Express' touched the borders of Bihar, an uncanny sense of masculinity emanated from all corners of the train compartment. The frequency of glares and stares increased exponentially. The background of an 18-year long experience in Uttar Pradesh...
‘Parag Kosh Ke Daane’ And Sex Education Post 377
What do you say to 12 year old girls who are extremely happy about the legal status of LGBT community because now they can marry their besties!? Well, I could only say, “That's great but don’t be too sure that you only like women; you can like both men and women, even...
The Story Of Informal Credit And Migrant Labor
Informal sector constitutes a major chunk in GDP of India. The sector is often associated with generating non taxable income and is seen as a hub of black money investment but has rarely been looked from the viewpoint of employers, employees and their struggles....
My Everyday Life In a Village Of Kanpur
Let me start with some honesty. Two months ago, when I got to know that I am supposed to work in Kanpur, that too not in the city but in rural areas, I was filled with anxiety. The organization wasn't known to me. I was envious of my co-fellows who would be working in...