Category: Fellowship

Clueless about what’s on my plate for next year, I joined the fellowship, fiercely walking into the unknown and actually desperate to work for the betterment of society. I had never imagined that I would be coming to a rural setup in Maharashtra and that would require me to explore entrepreneurship as a fellow. Secretly […]

It’s a prominent festival of Uttarakhand that marks the arrival of spring, the season when flowers bloom, and new leaves begin to grow. The name itself carries a beautiful meaning. Phool means flowers, and Dei means doorway or gate. The festival is celebrated around the 15th March every year, which is considered the beginning of […]

By a SWAR Fellow who is still figuring it out (and is okay with that) Picture this: a guy who couldn’t clear UPSC prelims, sitting in a field he had never heard of, working on a project he didn’t know existed, in a village whose name he couldn’t pronounce eight months ago , and somehow, […]

It is garmi chutti in Sukma. Our office is inside a residential area, the kind where families stay, where life spills onto the streets in the evenings. I used to notice them regularly: kids playing, laughing, throwing balls. Whenever someone would walk by, you would hear “Hey, didi aa rahi hai, ball mat pheko!” and the […]

Last June, I went to Manikonta village in Sukma with my colleague for work. It was a regular field visit, but that day turned into something very memorable. When we reached the village, a festival was happening. People had gathered, and there was a different energy in the air. It felt lively and meaningful at […]

The first awareness session that I facilitated on anemia and healthy dietary practices was a very special experience for me. Since the beginning of my fellowship, I have been working closely with adolescents, and my project primarily focuses on them. Over time, I have built a friendly and comfortable bond with the students, which made […]

In Anantapur, agriculture is not just an occupation , it is a way of life. Yet, for many farmers, it is also a struggle for survival. During my SWAR Fellowship, I worked closely with horticulture farmers growing crops like sapota, banana, and groundnut. What I witnessed was a powerful contradiction: farmers were producing quality crops, […]

I grew up in a small place where my world was limited. Home to school was just a 500-meter walk, and college was 6 km away. That was my routine. Once a year, we would visit Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh or my grandma’s place near the state border. Travel was not a big part of […]

Murga Bazar or cockfighting is one of the main entertainments in Bastar. It is not just a way to pass the time, but a proper gambling den. This gambling has captivated many people in Dantewada, just like Joga. Breaking free from the lure of that addiction, the way Joga is implementing the Kalpataru model on […]