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Oct 25, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Ranu Singh |Aatreyee Dhar |Sudip Maiti
For centuries, the secret behind the shiny black finish on the metal artefacts from Bidri has been a special clay. The clay was traditionally sourced by craftspersons from the premises of the Bidar Fort, a 15th century monument in Karnataka. However, after the historical fort became a protected building, the clay became inaccessible to the artisans, resulting in the decline of the craft. The situation may change soon.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Aatreyee Dhar |Sudip Maiti |Shreya Pareek |Unnati Sharma
In a leafy public park in Meghalaya’s Tura town, a new sporting experience is pulling in the crowds. On any given afternoon, the park’s tranquil setting is transformed into a hive of strategic battles, all unfolding on 64 squares of black and white. Chess, the royal game of kings and knights, has found an unlikely home in this part of India — traditionally known for its love of football, cricket, traditional archery and martial arts.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Sudip Maiti |Shreya Pareek |Unnati Sharma |Suhail Bhat
The vibrant riverine landscape of Bengal, once alive with the sight of traditional sailboats, now tells a different story as these iconic vessels slowly fade from the scene. Formerly the lifeblood of entire Bengali communities spanned over undivided Bengal, and a symbol of the region’s maritime heritage, traditional sailboats are increasingly rare due to modernisation.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Biswabijayini Mohanty |Kartik Chandra Prusty |Sudip Maiti
In the heart of Odisha, nestled among the hills and forests of Talachampei gram panchayat in Kendujhar district, lies the small village of Kantakoli. It’s home to around 80 families of the Juanga community that the government has classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG). This settlement has long been a testament to the resilience of its people.
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Oct 4, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Sudip Maiti |Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir
The month of October is associated with festivities all over the country, with occasions like Navratri, Durga Puja and Dussehra marked on the calendar. However India being a land that takes its festivities seriously, there are a host of other festivals that bring the countryside alive at this time of year. From harvest festivals to fairs and processions, these rural festivals showcase the rich heritage of village communities in India.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Sudip Maiti |Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir
When Howrah Jela Jautha Paribesh Mancha began its mission in 2017, it started with just a few dedicated environmentalists in the Howrah district, nestled beside the Ganges River and just outside Kolkata. Despite being a non-forest area, Howrah boasts remarkable biodiversity, thanks to its river-laden landscape, which includes the Ganges to the south and the Damodar River in the north. Once a part of the lower Gangetic delta, Howrah’s wetlands are home to a rich array of wildlife.
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Sep 13, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Devashish Biswal |Sudip Maiti |Aatreyee Dhar
In rural India, where access to clean and sustainable water storage is a perennial challenge, a groundbreaking innovation is underway. Imagine a water tank that not only stores life-sustaining water but is also designed using natural fibres like coconut, banana and flax – materials that are easily available and environmentally sustainable. Now this isn’t a far-fetched dream, but a reality, thanks to an innovative approach developed by Jalvardhini, an NGO, and RuTAG IIT-Bombay.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Devashish Biswal |Sudip Maiti
India, with its deep-rooted traditions, religious principles, and laws, has long upheld the belief that caring for ageing parents is a child’s responsibility. However, in a country known for revering its elders, a hidden crisis has surfaced: a growing number of older people are being left to fend for themselves as their children move to distant lands for work. Take, for instance, Chandanki village in Mehsana district of Gujarat.
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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.
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Jul 30, 2024 | 
villagesquare.in | Aditi Sahoo |Worngachan Shatsang |Sudip Maiti
It isn’t every day that you come across a woman in her fifties who decides to learn how to dive to explore corals and be inspired to paint them. This is the story of Uma, the protagonist of Priya Thuvassery’s Coral Woman, a movie that focuses on climate change. The film will be screened at the inaugural edition of the Chitrashaala short film festival being organised by Village Square in partnership with Transform Rural India (TRI) and the Film Critics Guild, on August 3.
