Similar Stories

Courtesans contributed to music and literary scene of an era when most women were in purdah. 'The Other Song' is a film that examines how we stigmatised these performers resulting in annihilation of their profession which could not meet the new moral standards of independent India.  Their whole existence was termed immoral both by the British colonialists and also ironically by the nationalists who themselves were English educated and probably inspired by Colonial ideas.We talk to the film maker Saba Dewan on what she went through while projecting such a difficult subject on screen 

Constant giggles, playful pulling of plaits and teasing is common in girls' schools. Though the Baba Aya Singh Riarki College in Gurdaspur is different in many ways, it is filled with similar scenes. This school is an exceptional experiment in education for rural girls of Gurdaspur and Amritsar. It dates back to 1934 when a social worker called Baba Aya Singh established a small ‘putri pathshala’ (girls’ school). He also set up the SKD High School in 1939. Since then it has pioneered women education and empowerment in the state.

Man has always been on quest of building new things. Even when there were no big machines and qualified engineers, the world had expert builders who shaped the earth into various forms to meet needs of the society. Kuhls of Himachal Pradesh are one such example of engineering brilliance. Kuhl is name given to a channel which carries glacial melt through gravity from nearby streams to the fields thus making irrigation possible even on steep hills. Kangra valley has the most extensive network of kuhls dating as far back as 17th century.

I walked down the weather-beaten road of Jhanda Chowk in the direction that, I was told, would lead me to the office of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) in Khandwa town of Madhya Pradesh. Trudging along under the 47 degree sun, I couldn’t help but muse over the glorious images of intrepid activism, sweeping support and pandemic influence that the name NBA invokes. Undeniably, I entered the office expecting to walk into a maelstrom of hustle bustle, the least you’d expect at the epicenter of a movement that shook the nation. 

Forests have been serving as food basket of several communities across India. Tribals have been traditionally sourcing their diet from forests. The cultivated lands, on the other hand, face starvation deaths in times of drought or flood as there’s no natural resource to fall back upon. But we rarely recognise forest as an able ally in the fight against hunger and food insecurity. In fact, the mainstream media looks at consumption of uncultivated foods mostly as a sign of backwardness and poverty. Year after year, stories of deaths of tribals after consuming mango kernel soup are reported.

Nokha town in Bikaner district of Rajasthan has an air of urgency. Large number of jeeps vying for road space with big trucks and lorries while trains, both long distance and local, hurtle past the barrier at regular interval. From the largest agriculture-based market established by erstwhile king of Bikaner, Maharaja Gangasingh, Nokha has transformed itself to a place known for a fledgling cement industry and small scale units manufacturing blankets and electrical items among other products.

When Kesi Bai became the Sarpanch of Chitamba panchayat in Bhilwara district, fortunately the going was not as tough as it is presumed to be for women in Rajasthan. She had support of her people, even if not total, and she made an efficient use of it. The first decision that Kesi Bai took was to revive the pasture land of her village Sanjadi Ka Badiya to ensure that everybody gets enough fodder and fuelwood from local sources. Reviving the pasture that had been degraded over years because of wood cutting and drought involved discussion and meetings