VILLAGE VIBE

Ogla, the blushing buckwheat blossom

Ogla, the blushing buckwheat blossom

Atiqur Rahman

Buckwheat, aka ogla, is mostly known for its grain-like seeds used in cooking. But take a look at its flower! When ogla fields blossom in one of the few places it grows in India, the whole Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh blushes pink.

And, it’s a rap about Naga culture 

And, it’s a rap about Naga culture 

Pallavi Srivastava

With about 2.20 lakh followers and millions of views on YouTube, Moko Koza has well arrived on the Indian hip-hop scene. The Kohima-based rapper tells us how he is promoting Naga culture through his music.

Ogla, the blushing buckwheat blossom

Atiqur Rahman

Buckwheat, aka ogla, is mostly known for its grain-like seeds used in cooking. But take a look at its flower! When ogla fields blossom in one of the few places it grows in India, the whole Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh blushes pink.

Dreams of Forest Fringe Bodo kids

Village Square

On the fringe of the Nameri National Park and Reserve Forest, an initiative is helping develop the education and dreams of Bodo tribal children. A self-sustaining model of school management, the initiative by Assam Investment Advisory Society (AIAS) with the Upendra Nath Brahma ME School provides high quality and holistic education to its children. On Children' s day photographer Vicky Roy shares the story of these children in their native Bodo Language.

Nature at the heart of Bihar’s vibrant Chhath Puja

Village Square

As many across the country participate in the sacred rituals of Chhath Puja today, Village Square presents the visual story of the festival.

Gue, and its 500-year-old secret

Atiqur Rahman

A Himachali village bordering Tibet attracts people from all over the world for a mummy that was embalmed here many centuries ago. Here are the chief attractions of this place, known as Gue.

Chamba’s Minjar: A celebration of tradition, harvest, and culture 

Suhail Bhat

Have you been to the Minjar fair in Himachal’s Chamba district that has become a draw for tourists from across India? This photo essay captures the many moods of the festivities.

Where Buddha meets the stars in a fossil village

Atiqur Rahman

The village of Langza in Spiti Valley is becoming popular not just for its sights, but for the fossils of marine animals and plants. Village Square does a recce of the Himalayan hamlet.

IN VIDEOS

Coming up, a food forest in Himachal’s Kangra

Smriti Mukerji

Picture a food forest-cum-botanical garden where you can buy seeds of native plants as well as taste the produce. This is what Attune, an upcoming project in Himachal’s Kangra, seeks to offer.

And, it’s a rap about Naga culture 

Pallavi Srivastava

With about 2.20 lakh followers and millions of views on YouTube, Moko Koza has well arrived on the Indian hip-hop scene. The Kohima-based rapper tells us how he is promoting Naga culture through his music.

Nari Adhikari Kendras a boon for women’s rights

Village Square

The women’s support organisations, or Nari Adhikari Kendras, are doing stupendous work at the grassroots level in Madhya Pradesh’s Petlawad, in district Jhabua. Village Square does a recce.

RURAL NEWS

Fearless stuntmen of Kannauj carry family legacy of daring feats

Kumar Gaurav

Satyam and his father Raghuvir Bharti from Uttar Pradesh perform daring stunts such as inserting needles and pouring molten wax on their skin, walking on sharp glass, and balancing on fire — death-defying acts rooted in their family legacy.

Bihar’s Jeevika programme helps rural women rise from despair to dignity

Unnati Sharma

In rural Bihar, the Jeevika programme, led by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society and supported by the World Bank, is empowering women from marginalised communities by providing financial support and livelihood opportunities.

Meet Sukhpal Kaur, the bee queen of Punjab

Kiranjit Kaur Jhunir

Faced with her husband’s debilitating accident, Sukhpal Kaur transformed their small honey business from 50 to 550 hive boxes, creating a sustainable livelihood for her family and becoming a leading figure in beekeeping.

India’s unsung heroes – women navigating their way through a changing country. Her accomplishments, her struggles, her livelihood, her home, her hopes. Her life.

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How this 15-year-old Odisha girl ‘sprinted’ to a weightlifting record

Devashish Biswal

Preetismita Bhoi made headlines at this year’s IWF World Youth Championships. She tells us how she moved from sprinting to weightlifting due to her coach’s perseverance, and the inspiration she derived from her idol Mirabai Chanu.

How a struggling widow became a micro-entrepreneur

Mamali Sahoo

Widowed young, Basanti Nahaka of Odisha was financially struggling till she joined a producer group. With support from her group, she extracts and sells mustard oil in her village and other places, which improves her finances.

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Events

Chitrashaala – Village Square’s short film fest trains the lens on rural India

Village Square

Watch powerful films like Giddh (The Scavanger) and Last Days of Summer, interact with film personalities Muzaffar Ali, Adil Hussain, Faisal Malik and others, and learn more about rural India at Chitrashaala, Village Square’s short film festival.

Programmes

Capacity Building Programme All Programes >

Development Communications Training

Village Square

Village Square announces a certified training program for students interested in the communications domain. This internship program will give you an opportunity to get trained from leading industry experts and enhance all your skillsets i.e, required to be a good communication specialist. Starting from 30th November, 2023

Fellowship All Programes >

Village Square announces its fellowship

Sanjana Kaushik

Village Square Fellowship 2023 is for youth to tell the powerful stories of rural India. The 9 months fellowship will include a monthly stipend of Rs 35,000 along with training from leading sector-experts.

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