At MANAVLOK, the organization I am a part of as an India Fellow, the entire...
India’s Garment Industry Versus Social Enterprises
Have you heard of terminologies like fast fashion, labour exploitation, fare...
From The Desk Of A Fellow In Limbo, With Love
The Role Collectivization Plays In Helping Migrants Overcome Difficult Situations
The following incident is about a 29-year-old migrant called Naresh*. He hails...
A Sleep And A Coffee That Changed Perspective
The Uber vehicle accelerated forward. Some of ...
Viel, No Viel: Why Hate?
A Malayalee growing up in Gujarat has certain perks. Locals do not understand...
Is India Losing It’s Alternative Voice?
There are almost 30 lakh non-profit organizations registered in India, although only around 1.3 lakh of these non-profits organizations have registered under NGO Darpan, which is one NGO for every 4000 people.
The Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing – And The Main Thing Is A Child’s Education
Education was not something I have ever critically thought about throughout my...
What’s On Your Mind? [A Poem]
They show me the bulging veins,On your forehead and across your abdomen,Striking like lightning bolts against a dark sky.They tell me it shows,The pain you are taking in.Yet not a word. Sweat and blood running down,But not a drop of tear.Swallowing the pain,You sit on...
A Closer Look Of Majholi, Panna : My First Rural Immersion
Rural immersions make for an important part of the fellowship journey. I remember during induction, we were divided into teams of five and were asked to go to villages in and around Udaipur, everyday for three days. On Day 1 the instructions provided to us were, "Do...
Batik From The Lanes Of Ujjain [A Photo Story]
The word 'Batik' which translates to wax writing is a form of wax resist dyeing of fabric. Even though the exact point of origin of Batik is still undiscovered, the history can be traced back to two thousand years ago in countries like India, Indonesia and Japan...
What Is Empowerment To You?
This question came as a jolt to me. I had never even thought about it. Asked by Sushma Iyengar, in our masterclass on Empowerment at India Fellow. My co-fellows and I started presenting our views. A dynamic version of definitions started to emerge with each of our...
“हमारे माँ-बाप हमें गेहूं काटने भेजते हैं, हम स्कूल कैसे जाएं?”
राजस्थान में उदयपुर ज़िले के कोटडा विभाग में आदिवासी समुदाय है। इस विभाग में महिला, किसान, मज़दूर, जंगल, ज़मीन और शिक्षा के मुद्दों को लेकर काफी समस्याएं है। जब मैं गाँव के विद्यालय पहुंचा इनमें से ही मैं 16 अप्रैल, शनिवार को कोटडा से 5 किमी की दूरी पर नाडाफला, गाँव...
How India’s Forgotten Eco-Mark Scheme Can Help Raise Environmental Awareness
Over time, I have had the opportunity to speak with a lot of people from varied backgrounds and different mindset's regarding the environment. While some of them deeply resonate with me when I say we are spoiling the environment, some of them say that there is always...
Leveraging Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Development Sector
A Public Private Partnership (PPP) is essentially a contractual relationship between a public sector authority and one or more private parties. In the development sector, the concept shifts the role of the government bodies from delivering services directly, to...
A Love Letter To Panna
What is home to you? Is it a city or a person? Is it memories or the feeling of belonging? Is it a song that you can't quite get bored of? Is it where you feel liberated? Home can mean different things to different people. For me, it is a conglomerate of all these...
Lessons To Prevent the Next Migrant Crisis : #TheKeralaModel
Much has been said, researched, opined post the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns about the impact of Covid on millions of lives; pushing an estimated 230 million people into poverty in India. Migrant workers, being one of the most vulnerable and diverse populations,...
Swachhta Will Be A Dream If We Don’t Flush Out The Inequality In India’s Public Toilets
You’ve been running errands for the last two hours in your city’s local market area, and now feel the need to pee. Home is a 45-minute metro ride away, and you can’t wait for that long. But you see the signboards for a public toilet within walking distance. What do...
Where Does Jaggery Come From? [A Photo Story]
For 40 years of his life, Lal Singh ji has been cultivating sugarcane in the months of January-February-March. The average procurement of jaggery through ganne ka rass (sugarcane juice) has been 300-400 kilograms per season. The yield has never dropped below a 100...
The Different Shades Of Entrepreneurship
Facilitating one of the Entrepreneurship Development Trainings What do we picture in our minds when we think of an entrepreneur? A huge company? A shop? I think of a venture, big or small, employing people to creating something meaningful. I was an entrepreneur...
My Definition Of Empowerment : The Inspiring Story Of Meenakshi Tai
A couple of months back, we had such an online session* on Empowerment by Sushma Iyengar, founder of Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Gujarat. I was excited about it, one because it was by such an inspiring leader and two, because of the topic. The term, empowerment, is...
आदिवासी संस्थान ने खेती द्वारा किसानों को दिखलाया नया आजीविका मार्ग
राजस्थान मे उदयपुर जिले के कोटडा तहसील मे कोटड़ा आदिवासी संस्थान अलग-अलग मुद्दों पर काम करती है जिसमे हम यहां किसानों के साथ भी काम करते है। आदिवासी समुदाय जंगल में सालों से रहते आये है। उनके दादा, परदादा के ज़माने से ही पहाड़ों के इलाको में यह आदिवासी खेती करते रहे है।...