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, […]
Tag: love
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 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, […]
“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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What Happens Next?
Not a Plan. Just a Pause. I don’t have a five-year plan.I don’t have a big announcement.What I have is silence. A pause. A moment that feels like standing at the edge of a long road – dusty, uneven, but somehow beautiful. This fellowship wasn’t just a job. It wasn’t just “fieldwork.” It was a […]
I came into this fellowship full of dreams, wide-eyed, hopeful, and determined to make a difference. I believed that when your intentions are pure, the world opens up for you. That if you really want to work, you can work, and everything else will find a way. But life didn’t go that way. These two […]
Is ending something an art? Is that why we fail at it constantly? Take a few minutes to picture all the scenarios of having had to end things, in your mind. Can you honestly say you’ve done a good job of all of them? And it’s not like we don’t encounter the need or the […]
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Coming to terms
I was sure I would not do a ‘normal’ job. What is normal I can’t say for sure but have a general idea of how it works. Everyday, 9-5 you sit at a desk and put all your time and some of your effort to make sure that the manager meets their targets and the […]
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