Photo essay: When millets go mainstream to bring a revolution

Tribal women in Odisha’s Keonjhar district grow finger millet (ragi), one of their traditional staple crops and part of their diet and food culture. Ragi is loaded with calcium, protein, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, dietary fibre and zinc. Millets are grown in arid areas as they don’t need a lot of water, which is why millet-based… Continue reading Photo essay: When millets go mainstream to bring a revolution

One man’s bamboo quest breaks records

When does a fan become a connoisseur? When a modest cluster of his favourite grass becomes a record-breaking collection, perhaps? When he goes from planting one or two varieties of the world’s tallest grass (yes, bamboo is a grass) to harvesting 96 in less than five years, surely. 29-year-old Prashant Atmaram Date from the Lakhalgaon… Continue reading One man’s bamboo quest breaks records

Journey towards making Kollam India’s first constitution-literate district

Selective focus on flag, Indian constitution or Bharatiya Savidhana preamble old scattered text paper placed on Indian flag - Concept of Freedom, Nationality and patriotism

Village Square: How did the constitution literacy project begin? What led KILA to undertake this immensely challenging task? Sudesan V: Let me start with thanking Village Square for giving me this opportunity to interact with you. KILA is an institution for training the local body institutions in Kerala. So for the last 25 years, KILA… Continue reading Journey towards making Kollam India’s first constitution-literate district

Last Rajasthan border village suffers separation pangs

In Rajasthan’s last village on the India-Pakistan border, many of the elderly residents have a last wish: meeting their Pakistani relatives they haven’t seen in years. Man-made borders, which are now heavily patrolled by security forces and marked by high fences, have stood in the way of family reunions. Sadly, relatives separated by the international… Continue reading Last Rajasthan border village suffers separation pangs

How Kollam became India’s first constitution-literate district

“I own both – a hammer and the constitution,” proudly says Ms K Vasandhi, a MGNREGA worker in Thenmela village of Kollam district in Kerala. While catching a break from constructing ridges across the forest slopes, she enthusiastically reads parts of the constitution book provided to her by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA).… Continue reading How Kollam became India’s first constitution-literate district

She wanted to become a forest officer since childhood. Now she is an IFS officer

Posted as a forest officer in the Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, Stylo Mandavi talks about how her childhood experiences steered her towards her profession. This is her story in her own words. The sweet smell of mahua takes me back to my childhood days.  It filled my senses whenever I visited my grandmother in Bhanupratappur… Continue reading She wanted to become a forest officer since childhood. Now she is an IFS officer

Girl child – a nation’s asset, but her life’s at stake

Meeting with the women of a village organisation in Jharkhand was distressing. They had blank expressions on their faces when they talked about their girl children.  It turned out that the children had been taken for domestic work to Delhi, Goa and other big cities. The pay was minimal, though there were some enticements like… Continue reading Girl child – a nation’s asset, but her life’s at stake

Asia’s ‘biggest’ underground library in Rajasthan has no readers

A flock of noisy crows flying over a neem tree in the courtyard of the Bhadariya Library made up for a raucous afternoon. But the library in the middle of and, more significantly, underneath the Thar desert in western Rajasthan was eerily silent. Though commonly considered the biggest underground library in Asia, the library in… Continue reading Asia’s ‘biggest’ underground library in Rajasthan has no readers

Conch seashell bangle makers losing their grip in Bengal

Conch seashell bangles, called shankha, hold a special place in the culture of Bengal where it is a marker of married Hindu women, often worn with other bangles made of pola or coral. A set of shankha and pola is worn on both hands with an iron bangle between the two on the left hand.… Continue reading Conch seashell bangle makers losing their grip in Bengal

Black goats of Kerala’s native tribal hill people on brink of extinction

The hardy and sprightly Attappadi black goat has been the GOAT – the greatest of all things.  Ask anyone from the Irular tribe living in the rolling, lush green hills of Attappadi taluk in Kerala’s Palakkad district.  Locally called the karutha aadu (black goat), it is a small-sized native goat with a distinctive jet black… Continue reading Black goats of Kerala’s native tribal hill people on brink of extinction

Bharat Youth Dialogues – Be the Change!

Today’s youth truly believe in the power of change – and the power of one single person being the driver of that change too. From the youngest Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and eco-activist Greta Thunberg to Earthshot Prize Finalist Vinisha Umashankar, the young are engaging global leaders on issues that matter to them. They… Continue reading Bharat Youth Dialogues – Be the Change!

Sports for Transformation Fellowship by Dani Foundation

Change is a kick away! “Sports have the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.” Nelson Mandela For youth looking for an opportunity to make a positive impact in the society, and to develop their leadership skills… Continue reading Sports for Transformation Fellowship by Dani Foundation

Lanterns of Bishnupur fading into darkness

In this age of flashy light-emitting diodes, a range of handcrafted tin-and-glass oil lanterns at Bamapodo Gayen’s shop in West Bengal’s temple town of Bishnupur throw light on an era before Thomas Edison dreamed up the incandescent bulb.  Ornate lanterns of varied sizes line the shelves, some hang under the awning above the shop’s door… Continue reading Lanterns of Bishnupur fading into darkness

Overproduction leads to distress sale of cauliflower in Bengal

If you’re looking for a “phool kopi” of disaster that vegetable farmers in West Bengal are facing, look no farther than their surplus cauliflower crop.  Grown in the mild winter on the Indian plains, this popular veggie stars in several delectable dishes. But phool kopi, as cauliflower is known in West Bengal, is leaving a… Continue reading Overproduction leads to distress sale of cauliflower in Bengal

How technology delivers more female calves, boosts dairy business in Guntur

As science and modern equipment are used more and more in agriculture, bullocks are no longer considered important.  In the traditional system of insemination 50% of the calves born are male. This makes dairy farming unviable.  The birth of a male calf is not only a burden for the dairy farmer since he has to… Continue reading How technology delivers more female calves, boosts dairy business in Guntur

Shrinking Wular Lake shrivels water chestnut harvests in Kashmir

Posha Akhtar of Zurman, a sleepy village between the Wular Lake and the Himalayan mountains, leaves home way before the first rays of the sun. She is headed for the lake to harvest water chestnuts – a favourite snack in the Kashmir Valley, eaten raw or boiled.  On reaching the lake, she tosses the wooden… Continue reading Shrinking Wular Lake shrivels water chestnut harvests in Kashmir

Kashmir’s willow wickerwork gets a modern facelift

Ghulam Ahmad sharpens the tips of willow wicker reeds with a knife and then carefully picks one after another as he weaves those tensile sticks onto a wood frame.  His fingers move like a bobbin on a loom. Soon a wicker basket takes shape – before you can make the sandwiches for a picnic. The… Continue reading Kashmir’s willow wickerwork gets a modern facelift

A café in Dantewada resuscitates life in a conflict zone

Away from the dense forests where Maoist guerrillas and security forces often engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse turf battle, a young dreadlocked rapper types in commands on his laptop to compose the music for lines he had just jotted down on a notepad.  The 24-year-old member of the band Zone D18, who calls himself DBENZ,… Continue reading A café in Dantewada resuscitates life in a conflict zone

Jharkhand’s tribal girl becomes a farmer, smashes patriarchy with a tractor

Manju Oraon, a young woman farmer of Dahutoli in Gumla district of Jharkhand, recounts how she became farmer fighting against patriarchy and villagers’ superstitions – in her own words.  I was born in a tribal family in Dahutoli village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, some 90 km from Ranchi, the state capital.  My father was a… Continue reading Jharkhand’s tribal girl becomes a farmer, smashes patriarchy with a tractor

As an Indian Naga, I pray for unity: guitar sensation Imnainla Jamir

Village Square: Congratulations on becoming a national sensation. Can you tell us how you became a musician? Jamir: Thank you. I’m from Mokokchung, a beautiful town in Nagaland and that’s where my journey started. My hometown has always been vibrant and musical – full of wonderful and talented musicians. As a kid, I recall going… Continue reading As an Indian Naga, I pray for unity: guitar sensation Imnainla Jamir