Author: Jigyasa Mishra
Kumhartuli artisans in full swing ahead of Durgo Pujo
West Bengal's artisans flock to Kumhartuli village for crafting Durga idols during Durgo Pujo. Some switch careers for six months while others specialise in making jewellery, attire and wigs.
Forbidden love in rural Punjab
Their love is strong, but life is a struggle for this lesbian couple from rural Punjab. Without a law that recognises same-sex marriage, like many they struggle to rent homes and often hide their identity.
“Society should accept us as humans, not treat us as aliens”
Ashfa, a transwoman living in Varanasi, lives life to the fullest with her friends, despite the lack of employment opportunities for transgenders, mostly limited to commercial sex work which leads to humiliation and exploitation.
Distant dream of sex reassignment surgery
With government hospitals lacking mandated hormonal therapy and counselling facilities for transgenders and private hospitals super expensive, sex reassignment surgery is beyond the reach of transgenders.
“My daughter was cold and still”
Shintu, who lives on the outskirts of Varanasi, was underweight and anaemic when she got pregnant during the pandemic. Because her husband lost his job, she did not eat well and gave birth to a premature baby – but lost her five months later. Read Shintu's story in her own words.
Weak and vulnerable pandemic babies
The pandemic cut off health care, and sometimes even food, from many marginalised Indians, with pregnant woman often taking the brunt of the burden. Now their children are paying the price.
Lockdown drives embroidery artisans to alternate jobs
With sales dwindling to a low during the lockdown, artisans who undertake skilled embroidery, have been forced to shutter workshops and switch to other means of livelihood
Online classes spell end of education for rural girls
With boys getting preference to use the single multimedia phone at home, girls from poor rural households have discontinued studies, resigning themselves to an early marriage
Mishing women practice social distancing by solo weaving
Women of Mishing tribe, who weave traditional clothes in groups at a community center, now weave alone at home, practicing social distancing to check the spread of coronavirus
Madhubani painters want better deal for their work
Despite global recognition, women painters of the Madhubani folk art form in Jitwarpur village have failed to escape the clutches of middlemen, who corner most of the profits. State initiatives could help stop the exploitation
Toymakers of Chitrakoot struggle with declining demand
Cultural changes and urbanization have led to a shrinking market for Chitrakoot’s wooden toys and a decline in the number of traditional toymakers, yet a few carry on, hoping for the best about the craft’s future
Tie and dye add color to women’s lives in Nosariya
Learning the traditional art of coloring fabrics is enabling many women in rural Bikaner to add an additional source of household income in an area where patriarchy makes it difficult for them to step out of their villages