Manipur’s uncommon ‘salt of the earth’ and the threat to its legacy

K. Binoy Singh of Ningel village in the north-eastern state of Manipur has salt in his blood.  Like his forefathers before him, he has poured his blood and sweat into a revered craft of the Meitei people that many believe was taught in a divine apprenticeship.  Gods descended on earth to teach mortals how to… Continue reading Manipur’s uncommon ‘salt of the earth’ and the threat to its legacy

With no vaccine in sight, Kerala pig farmers feel the heat of African swine flu

What Jiji Shaji would give to hear her pigs’ squeal. When she found out about the culling of pigs because of the African swine flu in the Thrissur district three weeks ago, it was a grim reminder of the pigs she had lost. Shaji started rearing pigs in Kaniyaram village in the Wayanad district 14… Continue reading With no vaccine in sight, Kerala pig farmers feel the heat of African swine flu

Village Vibe photo competition – it’s your turn to vote

As the deadline for the second Village Vibe photo competition approached, more and more stunning entries started to swarm in. We knew the task of shortlisting was not going to be easy.  But our jaws dropped as we glanced through the extraordinary pictures that you have sent. While our esteemed judges deliberate over the winners,… Continue reading Village Vibe photo competition – it’s your turn to vote

Cost-effective jalkunds help Manipur’s farmers tide over water woes

M. Ibohal Meitei, a 76-year-old farmer from Nungbrung Ngamukhong village in the Imphal East district of Manipur, is a happy man. He has reason to be. Because his income has increased, thanks to a low-cost water harvesting structure.  Though his farm is around 200 m from the Thoubal river, he found it difficult to carry… Continue reading Cost-effective jalkunds help Manipur’s farmers tide over water woes

Agri-entrepreneurship: Inspiring family story in a cup of lemongrass tea

For any traveller on an Indian road the best invention after the wheel is the tea break. Those keeping an orthodox view about their choice of beverage straight to best take in the tea leaves. Some prefer to add milk and sugar. Others might want the robustness of masala drenched chai, while some swear by the… Continue reading Agri-entrepreneurship: Inspiring family story in a cup of lemongrass tea

Modern Farming: Growing potatoes on Mars? Ask these Ladakhi women farmers

When the bone-chilling wind barrels down the snow-clad mountains into the Ladakh valley, it makes a ferocious howl, sounding even more otherworldly for Dechan Chogdol, but can’t beat her spirit, thanks to modern farming techniques. Despite the wind and noise, she is tending her vegetable plants growing inside rows of polyurethane-wrapped low-lying tunnels.  The icy-cold… Continue reading Modern Farming: Growing potatoes on Mars? Ask these Ladakhi women farmers

How farmers flourish with community-owned solar-powered irrigation system in UP’s Bahraich

Farmers in India currently depend heavily on grid-connected electricity and diesel pumps for crop irrigation. Expensive diesel engines increase farm input costs and contribute to carbon emissions. It was no different for farmers in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. Agriculture is the mainstay of Bahraich district. The average landholding size is low. Some farmers… Continue reading How farmers flourish with community-owned solar-powered irrigation system in UP’s Bahraich

Barpeta Satra: Assam’s spiritual hubs beset with falling celibate monk numbers

Its huge arched gates with onion-shaped domes teleport the faithful and curious visitors alike to a time and space where hope and history rhyme without flash but substance, folding them into a spiritual time travel.  Kirtan Ghar Satra is a 16th-century monastery of the Vaishnavite sect of Hinduism. Popularly known as Barpeta Satra in the… Continue reading Barpeta Satra: Assam’s spiritual hubs beset with falling celibate monk numbers

Youth Hub – Development Unplugged 1.0

There are 3.3 million NGOs registered in India or one NGO for every 400 Indian citizens. In 2020, GuideStar India (GSI) had more than 10,000 verified NGOs and more than 1,600 certified NGOs on its portal. Their work spans a wide spectrum from education, health, advocacy, and media, to innovation, technology and livelihoods. A wide diversity… Continue reading Youth Hub – Development Unplugged 1.0

Marathi women keep alive poet Sant Janabai’s songs of life

On a sultry morning in June, just before the monsoon hit, two friends and I walked up and down a  street that leads to Sant Dnyaneshwar’s temple in Alandi near Pune city.  I had just started working with Navia Natarajan, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, on a new project to portray the life and teachings of… Continue reading Marathi women keep alive poet Sant Janabai’s songs of life

Chhath Puja: How Muslim women contribute in Hindu festivities in Bihar

As the lights of sparklers and sounds of crackers subside across India, feverish preparations are afoot in Bihar for the Chhath puja.    The four-day festival – which is celebrated from 28 to 31 October this year – is one of the most popular festivals for Hindus from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.  Cooking… Continue reading Chhath Puja: How Muslim women contribute in Hindu festivities in Bihar

Fish on The Menu: A tale of reverse migration, malnutrition and tribals of Odisha

For years the sun’s golden rays fell on the almost-empty tribal hamlets of Malkangiri’s rolling hills every morning.  Sunrises were magical as ever, but strangely quiet and lonely. A tidal wave of young folks from impoverished villages of this southernmost Odisha district had gone to cities in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to do crushing menial labour… Continue reading Fish on The Menu: A tale of reverse migration, malnutrition and tribals of Odisha

Village Economy: How Karnataka quilts stitch comfort and history

Wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy of beauty in asymmetry, would best describe the loud and colourful welcome you receive at the quilter village of Jantli Sirur in Karnataka’s Mundargi taluka (sub-distrct).  A bright sunflower crop, music from cone-shaped loudspeakers rigged to poles, groups of men and boys in their best whites and tricolour angavastra bustling about… Continue reading Village Economy: How Karnataka quilts stitch comfort and history

Nagaland: Young girl breaks the norm, drums her way towards her dreams

It is easy to put labels on someone from a rural background, a young girl at that. We still live in a society that marks male and female domains even for recreational pursuits.  But Kajenkala of Unger village in Nagaland is breaking certain stereotypes by following her passion of playing the drums.  And it is… Continue reading Nagaland: Young girl breaks the norm, drums her way towards her dreams

Festivals in India: What’s behind the masks in Leh’s Hemis Festival?

As dawn breaks over the valley and turns gradually into a brighter morning, an elderly lady checks her bag again before leaving the house. A bowl, a small mani stone inscribed with the six-word mantra of the Tibetan Buddhists, a handful of rice and flour, a packet of incense sticks and a small piece of… Continue reading Festivals in India: What’s behind the masks in Leh’s Hemis Festival?

Water sports offer Kashmiri girls new career choices

At 4:30 sharp in the afternoon, Shahida Hussain tells her 13-year-old daughter to get ready for kayaking practice at the Srinagar sports centre run by coach Bilquis Mir.  Mehvish Hussain has her parents’ enthusiastic support as she trains under Mir at the Nehru Park Water Sports Centre on the banks of Srinagar’s famed Dal lake. … Continue reading Water sports offer Kashmiri girls new career choices

Good or bad to call women leaders ‘mahila sarpanch?’

While attending meetings, training sessions and interacting with local government representatives in the Kachchh district of Gujarat, I began to wonder…  where were the women? Of course there has long been the sarpanch pati (village leader husband), where the husband of an elected woman leader is the one who actually carries out her works. It… Continue reading Good or bad to call women leaders ‘mahila sarpanch?’

She brings fruitful farming to Leh’s cold mountains

The lush green landscape and the peasants working in their fields of Chandigarh – where I was studying – always made me think of home.  If Punjab had its vast plains, we had the cold mountains. My village was ensconced in those mountains.  One question always intrigued me – why can’t we produce vegetables and… Continue reading She brings fruitful farming to Leh’s cold mountains

Desi chicken empowers Odisha’s tribal women

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  This colloquial expression of joy finds new meaning in tribal villages nestled in the rolling Western Ghats hills where authorities and residents are joining forces to rid the area of malnutrition, especially among children. They also want to supplement earnings of poor families inhabiting the scenic terrain of southern Odisha’s Malkangiri… Continue reading Desi chicken empowers Odisha’s tribal women

Physically challenged women ensure mother-child health

In my recent field visit to Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district, my colleagues at The Antara Foundation introduced me to three of the most resilient women.  One of them works as an accredited social health activist, popularly known as the village ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and two are anganwadi workers (AWWs) who are primarily in… Continue reading Physically challenged women ensure mother-child health