I Asked Authority Figures What Do They Think About Authority

I Asked Authority Figures What Do They Think About Authority

The following conversations are my attempt to explore the less spoken-about, low points in the journey of being a leader and a person seen as an authority figure. I’ve not written these conversations verbatim. There are five conversations in all, with no fixed...

Sketchy Notes From The Lanes Of Bhuj City

Sketchy Notes From The Lanes Of Bhuj City

The following blog has been co-written by co-fellows Daraab Saleem Abbasi and Sourav Roy, from India Fellow 2022 cohort. For a few months now we had been wondering what life in an odd town like Bhuj looks like, after lights out. The shops start shutting by 8 PM....

सुकमा की विलुप्त होती मौखिक भाषाएं  

सुकमा की विलुप्त होती मौखिक भाषाएं  

परिचय सुकमा छत्तीसगढ़ राज्य का एक ज़िला है।सुकमा ज़िला के पूर्व में उड़ीसा तथा दक्षिण में आंध्रप्रदेश है। सुकमा एक आदिवासी बाहुल्य ज़िला है । यहाँ आदिवासियों की आबादी लगभग 85% है। सुकमा में मुख्यरूप से गोंड, धुरवा, डोरला जनजातियां निवास करती है । यह...

Insurance And Inclusivity : How Far Have We Reached ?

Insurance And Inclusivity : How Far Have We Reached ?

Five years ago, an insurance agent came to my house to convince me to get life insurance. "I'm pretty healthy, nothing horrible is going to happen to me," I thought to myself. At that time, I did not understand how life insurance works. All I thought was if I need to...

30 Years Since The Devastating Killari Earthquake

MANAVLOK, the host organization I am working with has 7 sub-centers scattered over the three districts - Beed, Osmanabad, and Latur. This was my first visit to the Salegaon subcenter of MANAVLOK. Salegaon lies in the Omerga block of Osmanabad. I along with three of...

Winters Of Bihar [A Poem]

Winters Of Bihar [A Poem]

Seasons are poetic by their very nature. They try to tell us something about what they do, what they bring, and what they take away. The shedding leaves remind me of emptying ourselves before blossoming into wholeness again. They speak of revival. This year's winter...

8 Things To Keep In Mind While Preparing For A Village Meeting

8 Things To Keep In Mind While Preparing For A Village Meeting

It's been almost 18 months since I started identifying myself as an India Fellow. It's been 18 exciting months of having to do something that I have never done before. And putting myself in roles that would have otherwise made me nervous. I can't help but look back at...

Poshan Mela : A Celebration Of Local Recipes From Bundelkhand

Poshan Mela : A Celebration Of Local Recipes From Bundelkhand

On a mundane afternoon, I was going through the booklets that ASHAs and ANMs are given to distribute to pregnant women. I work with Project Koshika where we work with tribal communities of Panna tiger reserve, Madhya Pradesh to improve the condition of maternal and...

Beyond The Butterfly Swords : An Illustration

Beyond The Butterfly Swords : An Illustration

'Beyond the butterfly swords' is an illustration made to represent and express lesbian relationships. I work with Aajeevika Bureau in the Banswara district to nurture women’s collectives in the region. I decided to make a strong but simple and...

Image Of A Working Woman

Image Of A Working Woman

I am a 22-year-old woman who has very recently entered the world of work. My mother was 21 when she quit her job as a school teacher when she conceived me. Post-childbirth there were various times when she considered getting back to work but the decision never...

जब किशोरियाँ सवाल पूछती हैं

जब किशोरियाँ सवाल पूछती हैं

हमेशा किसी भी कार्य की शुरुआत होती है एक सवाल से! किसी भी विचार में, बात में, विवाद में, चर्चा में या आंदोलन में। एक सवाल जो उठता है चिंगारी की तरह और थोड़ी हवा मिलने पर बड़ी और चमकीली लपटें पकड़ता है। जरूरत होती है बस उस चिंगारी को जगाए रखने की। भुज, कच्छ में ऐसा ही...

A Community Engagement Program At A School In Bihar

A Community Engagement Program At A School In Bihar

In his book "Whose Reality Counts?", Robert Chambers highlights the significant disparities between the realities experienced by those in positions of power and those at the periphery of society, particularly in the context of India, where the divide between the rich...

Role Of Women In Indigenous Pastoral Community

Role Of Women In Indigenous Pastoral Community

In the last 6 months of working with the Van Gujjar community in Uttarakhand, I observed multiple ways in which women play a role in their unique way of living. Cattle herding The major role of the women of the house is the milking of buffaloes, especially if it is a...

Encouraging The Next Generation Of Girls and Women of Vadasar, Bhuj

Encouraging The Next Generation Of Girls and Women of Vadasar, Bhuj

The following is a conversation with Preeti ben, Sarpanch of Vadasar Gram Panchayat, Bhuj. It is transcribed from Gujarati to English. To keep it as authentic as possible, I have written it in the first person. Vadasar is a small village located in an extremely...