When I look back at the last few months of my Swar Fellowship, I realise that the most powerful part of this journey hasn’t been the activities or the reports, it has been the quiet, slow, human process of building trust. As fellows, we enter communities with a project plan, a purpose, and a list […]
Tag: life
During my fieldwork as a Swar Fellow, there were many moments when the theories I had read suddenly came alive in front of me. But nothing struck me as strongly as the idea Simone de Beauvoir wrote in The Second Sex: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” I had studied this earlier, […]
There is a word in Bangla “স্থিতপ্রজ্ঞা” which means a person who stays calm, balanced or steady no matter what the situation is – good or bad. If I had to describe the woman of the mountains in one word, then it would essentially be this word. Living in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand has […]
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A Cup of Tea, A Pocketful of Curses
I was on my way back from Chennai after attending a family wedding. My route was long: Chennai → Vijayawada → Sukma. At Vijayawada, I had a connecting sleeper bus at 10:30 pm. By the time I reached, it was just 6 in the evening. Now, I have this small habit whenever I travel: if […]
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When Fear Met Kindness
After spending the whole day at my work site, I started my journey back to my rented room on my scooter. It was around 8 p.m, and the ride usually takes about 45 minutes. I travel on the Nagapattinam highway- a road that feels lonely at night. There are no busy streets, no continuous shops, […]
Carrying someone’s bag is not something most people enjoy. But a boy secretly in love with a girl, hoping to win her heart, might willingly offer to carry her bag. Or consider yourself: stern, a brave man maybe, but still compelled to tread carefully around your wife’s stern glances—yes, even you might become quite skilled […]
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A Granddaughter’s Goodbye
The Surprise Visit Diwali came with a gift I didn’t plan the chance to go home. It was supposed to be a surprise, a burst of light in what had been a difficult year. My grandfather, nearly 90, had been ill for twelve long months. But when I saw him, something magical happened. Despite everything, […]
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MOO-ving Away from the Herd
It started with a simple observation.I visited multiple schools during field visits for my project, and in every school I went to, I saw the same pattern repeat: students copying and asking each other for answers for a survey even after being told that there were no right or wrong answers. My first thought was, […]
“Which project location will I get?”This question echoed in my mind when I joined the JSW Foundation Fellowship in September 2023. My journey began in Pune, on the auspicious day of Ganapathi Festival—a vibrant, culturally welcome to a path that would transform me deeply. That day, strangers became co-fellows, and soon co-fellows became lifelong friends. […]
(continued from Part 1- Beginnings, Bonding, Becoming.) As the festive spirit of Christmas and New Year quietly settled over communities, we returned to our field locations with a new kind of strength. The second training had deepened our bonds, reaffirmed our purpose. But reality soon reminded us — not everyone would continue. Some fellows, overwhelmed […]
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