Blogs By Our Fellows

Bengaluru means different things to different people. For me, it’s February mornings in the early 2000s—fog clinging to the window panes, roses blooming in my grandmother’s backyard, old scooters humming past sleepy lanes. The city felt soft, slow, and sure of itself. Today, I still wake up in Bengaluru, but it no longer feels the […]

I grew up in Jammu, a small city nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. Like many others, I left for bigger cities in search of better opportunities. But after years of studying and working across India’s metros, I felt a strong pull to return. That urge brought me back to Jammu, where I began […]

Ajmeri Gate- Gateway to Jaipur’s Heritage. Photo credit: Author The beautiful city of Jaipur has always been a major pin on my life’s map. Even though I grew up in Delhi, Jaipur was where my favourite cousins lived, and where I spent nearly every summer, winter, and Diwali break for 17 years. I vividly remember […]

Since childhood, I’ve been drawn to exploration, not just of places but of the stories and cultures within them. Inspired by Satyajit Ray’s Tarinicharan Banerjee, who chased meaning across 60 cities and 38 jobs, I’ve embraced curiosity as my compass. As I travelled across India, however, a troubling pattern emerged—women everywhere lived with a quiet, […]

As I moved into the city of Mumbai, I started exploring the neighbourhood of my new workplace. I was delighted by the pleasant weather, as it was the second week of October, just as the monsoon had begun to retreat. Slowly, as the humidity in the air subsided and the weather transitioned towards a drier […]

I grew up in the city of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (formerly known as Allahabad), popularly known for hosting the Kumbh Festival and the confluence of three major and sacred rivers of India – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. I learned to swim in Yamuna from the age of four with my cousins and uncles. This is […]