IN VIDEOS
Cultivating an ecological consciousness
Shunya, a permaculture farm that started over a decade ago, in Himachal’s Bir village embodies the vision of regenerative farming. Transitioning through many hands, it is now being cared for by farmer Jeewika Bhat and her initiative ‘Seeds and Deeds’, which aims to take it a step further.
The Andamans on a shoestring
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of the most pristine, ecologically fragile islands in the world.. Here’s how to explore the Islands in an ecologically responsible way, that too on a budget.
A Himalayan baithak of folk music & qawwali
The ‘baithak’, or an intimate setting in which musical performances took place, is slowly fading. The Amarrass Society for Performing Arts, in partnership with Village Square, is reviving this tradition by hosting a baithak of folk music and qawwali in the beautiful hills of Uttarakhand.
I am not the guardian of Uttarakhand’s folk traditions
Sarvjeet Tamta, a self-taught qawwali singer and harmonium virtuoso from Almora, delves into his love for the folk music of his state, his journey with his band Himali Mou and their alter ego Rehmat-e-Nusrat, playing to packed houses across the globe today and his dalit background.
The discipline behind tree-pose record breaker’s success
Mayank Bhatt’s unwavering determination, the challenges he faced during his practice, and the disciplined life at his gurukul have been instrumental in supporting him in achieving a record-breaking feat.
The river Spiti: a glacial waterbody of the upper Himalayas
Village Square journeys along the river Spiti, in Himachal’s Lahaul and Spiti district, and discovers that though most settlements in the region have sprung up around it, the river itself serves little practical purpose to inhabitants.
The many strings of a kamancha
The kamacha, aka kanmaicha, is a musical instrument with roots in Central Asia and many variants, like the kamancheh of Iran. In India its variation, the Kamancha, is played only by the Manganyar community of Rajasthan. And today with only one instrument maker left in India, the Amarrass Society for Performing Arts is doing its bit to revive the instrument.
Coming up, a food forest in Himachal’s Kangra
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
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
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.
When a healthy panchayat means a healthy village
In the Angara block of the Ranchi district of Jharkhand, the success of the ‘Healthy Panchayat’ initiative by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Transform Rural India (TRI) is evident, particularly for vulnerable women.
These architects are building an archive of MP’s tribal traditions
Meet architects Achyut Siddu and Apoorva Mishra who are encouraging members of the Pardhan Gond, Baiga and Bhil tribes of Madhya Pradesh to document their traditions through their initiative, Loksutr.
Once thriving sailboats disappear from Bengal’s waters
The tradition of sailboating, once synonymous with Bengal’s rivers, is vanishing rapidly with modernisation.
Chitkul, India’s last village
Village Square takes a trip on the old Hisdustan-Tibet road to visit the scenic village of Chitkul. Here’s more on the place.
And now, AI sensors for buffaloes in Haryana
Indian scientists from the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) test AI sensors on buffaloes to prevent heat stress and other diseases.
The woman behind the Durga idol
Mousumi Sardar redefines the art of idol-making, creating a niche for female talent in the male dominated tradition.
Howrah’s fight for its wilderness
A passionate group of environmentalists come together to save the biodiversity of Howrah district in West Bengal.
Punjab farmer transforms trash into treasure
Gurmeet Singh from Burj Rathi village transforms discarded waste, especially old rubber slippers, into intricate works of art and toys, showing how garbage can be reimagined as a resource.
An aspirational district’s quest to fix STEM education for girls
Gumla, an aspirational district in Jharkhand, is reimagining STEM education at the school-level through a host of initiatives supported by existing resources and trying new, innovative methods, such as sending girl students to ISRO on an experiential trip.
Meet the 24-year-old who wants to preserve Mising culture through music
Rediscovering the rich roots of the Mising culture during a fellowship, Sikur Padma Pao promotes and preserves the indigenous peoples’ natural and cultural heritage through the music that he and his band, The Dynamics, create.