-
Nov 7, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Kumar Gaurav |Worngachan Shatsang |Shreekant Sahoo
Diwali is over, and the lights have been turned down in most parts of the country. For those of you who want the celebrations to never end, fret not. We have you covered with these exciting festivals that distinguish November as a month of ongoing gaiety. The best part is that these rural festivals can take you into the heartland of the country, and give you a glimpse of traditions that urban dwellers scarcely get to experience.
-
Nov 6, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Kumar Gaurav |Worngachan Shatsang |Shreekant Sahoo
Ankit Dhyani, a 33-year-old priest residing at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in the sacred town of Devprayag, goes beyond his religious responsibilities at the revered Badrinath temple. But it is his commitment to restoring Uttarakhand’s fragile Himalayan landscape that binds him to the earth. His life is a harmonious blend of spirituality and environmental stewardship.
-
Nov 6, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Worngachan Shatsang |Shreekant Sahoo |Kumar Gaurav
Among the thousands of Indians who experienced a turning point in life during the Covid-19 lockdown is Keenan K Marak. The founder of 7 United – a brand selling hand-crafted canned carbonated rice beer — took up winemaking as a creative outlet while he was stuck at home in Tura, Meghalaya. Several failed exercises later, the “fun experiment” finally led to a full-fledged business that has started making a buzz in the state.
-
Nov 5, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Shreekant Sahoo |Kumar Gaurav |Unnati Sharma
In the game of cricket, as in life, you can plan your shots, but no one knows the unpredictable spins fate can throw. For Sukhram Majhi, a native of Umuri village in Odisha’s Koraput district, this has been a lifelong lesson. From humble beginnings to the bright lights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the wicketkeeper of the Indian blind cricket team has travelled a remarkable path.
-
Oct 21, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Unnati Sharma |Suhail Bhat |Atiqur Rahman |Shreekant Sahoo
A sluggish afternoon unfolded in Hisar, Haryana, with nearly 100 women gathered on a Google Meet call to discuss a hot-button topic: the legal age for girls to marry. The current law sets the minimum age at 18, but these young women are advocating for it to be raised to 21 — a move with deep implications in Haryana, where early marriage is still a common practice, and its consequences all too familiar.
-
Oct 21, 2024 | villagesquare.in | Unnati Sharma |Suhail Bhat |Atiqur Rahman |Shreekant Sahoo
A sluggish afternoon unfolded in Hisar, Haryana, with nearly 100 women gathered on a Google Meet call to discuss a hot-button topic: the legal age for girls to marry. The current law sets the minimum age at 18, but these young women are advocating for it to be raised to 21 — a move with deep implications in Haryana, where early marriage is still a common practice, and its consequences all too familiar.
-
Oct 19, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Atiqur Rahman |Shreekant Sahoo |ANKIT RAWAT
Chitkul is a tiny village located on the banks of the Baspa river in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. It is also the last village in Sangla on the ancient Hindustan-Tibet trade route. It is located at an altitude of 3,450 metres and the only way to reach this place is by private vehicles or on public transport. The village has a small population, boasts of a primary school and a higher secondary school, a primary health care clinic and a veterinary clinic.
-
Oct 19, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Shreekant Sahoo |ANKIT RAWAT |Atiqur Rahman
Describing Hari Pangi as a modern-day polymath may seem like talking through the hat, but his credentials justify a bit of hyperbole. Pangi, who is in his early fifties, is a traditional healer, environmentalist and creator of mechanical tools to enhance the quality of life for the tribal communities of the region. A native of Tentuliguda village in Odisha’s Koraput district, he is known locally as Hari Vaidya.
-
Sep 12, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Devashish Biswal |Sudip Maiti |Aatreyee Dhar |Shreekant Sahoo
Late afternoon, the shadows from the trees are long and the wind is cool. The men and women have put away the tools of their trade, and head to the village square. This is Bastar in Chhattisgarh — a land of simple tribespeople and years of Maoist insurgency that has kept the region’s growth vertices supine. The event is about to begin. Pilmani Baghel, a 29-year-old master trainer, draws faces of both a man and a woman on a chart.
-
Sep 11, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Aatreyee Dhar |Shreekant Sahoo |Devashish Biswal |Atray Karmahe
The monsoon is being blamed for causing a bit of a ruckus in Mirem, a quiet village of the Adi tribe on the banks of the Remi river in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. As clouds gather over the foothills of the eastern Himalayas and rain begins to fall, the community’s most precious possession becomes its most vulnerable.
