-A Photo Essay Tarini Manchanda Living in the shadow of multiple histories, fictions, political trajectories and stories, are the people who continue to live in and depend on the Sundarbans. An aerial view of the region would appear grey, gnarly, wooded and green, but a descent into the terrain allows the viewer to understand theContinueContinue reading “A walk along the banks of the rivers of the Sundarbans, in images.”
Category Archives: Stories
Life in Exemption: The Sundarbans, a Place To Remember
Tarini Manchanda Rarely does a journey across multiple Indian states involve only one mode of transport. Typically, if you are neither very wealthy nor extremely hard up, you will be shuffled from train to car, jostled from bus to auto, and when going into the rural parts- often picked up and plonked on to vehiclesContinueContinue reading “Life in Exemption: The Sundarbans, a Place To Remember”
Farmers’ Voice: PART 4
Our ancestors followed these sustainable methods, but with the Green Revolution, chemical farming became widespread. Eventually, people realized its negative impact on health and the environment, leading to a revival of traditional farming, what we now call organic farming.
Farmers’ Voice : PART 3
Location: Bankura Seed Festival 2025 The fresh aroma of cultivated crops, seeds, and raw straw filled the air at the seed festival in Bankura. Farmers from across India, including Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Assam, gathered to showcase their indigenous seed varieties. Alongside seeds, various communities presented their unique local food traditions. The festival alsoContinueContinue reading “Farmers’ Voice : PART 3”
Farmers’ Voices from the Sundarbans: PART- 2
By Pijush Dutta, field assistance Romesh Mondal Location, Krishi Mela, Panitor, North 24 Parganas The following piece is part 2 of a set of farmer voices, where we try explore the kind of choices farmers are making, specifically to strengthen our perspectives on chemical free farming. The farmers interviewed in this piece were all participatingContinueContinue reading “Farmers’ Voices from the Sundarbans: PART- 2”
Farmer’s Voices from Sundarbans PART 1
By Pijush Dutta, field assistance Romesh Mondal Location: Village Gobindokathi, Hingalganj block, North 24 Parganas The following piece is a set of farmer voices from Sunderbans, where we try explore the kind of choices farmers are making, specifically to strengthen our perspectives on chemical free farming. Kakali Munda, a resident of South Gobindakathi village, belongsContinueContinue reading “Farmer’s Voices from Sundarbans PART 1”
A Tale of Struggle, Resilience, and Hope: Notes from the Seed Festival at Sundarbans
Ankita Bose The mild chill descended on the morning of 16th February, 2024, when I, along with a few members of the Jaladarsha Collective, started out for the ‘Roots and Rights: Indigenous Seed Festival’, to be held at Gobindokathi & Patghora Netaji Maidan at Jogeshganj in Hingalganj block of Sunderbans in the North 24ContinueContinue reading “A Tale of Struggle, Resilience, and Hope: Notes from the Seed Festival at Sundarbans”
‘চক্ষু-চড়কগাছ’!
‘চক্ষু-চড়কগাছ’! ~ শাশ্বত লাহিড়ী বাংলার একটি অতিপ্রাচীন প্রবাদ।কোনো ঘটনায় বিস্মিত মানুষের চোখ-কপালে ওঠানো ভঙ্গী বোঝাতে বাংলায় যা যুগযুগান্ত ধরে চলে আসছে। আজ চৈত্র-সংক্রান্তি, চড়কপূজা। লোকমুখে ‘শিবের-গাজন’ বলে পরিচিত। এই পূজার সাথে তথাকথিত ব্রাহ্মণ্যবাদের চেয়েও বাংলার লোকাচার জড়িত থাকায় এতে সরাসরিভাবে সব স্তরের মানুষের অংশগ্রহণ অনেক বেশি চোখে পড়ে। পুরাণ অনুসারে, শিবের উপাসক ‘বাণ রাজা’ আজকেরContinueContinue reading “‘চক্ষু-চড়কগাছ’!”
The Aroma Exercise
The Surprises in the Aroma ExerciseSayantoni Dutta We got a short time between the first and second wave of COVID lockdowns to physically visit communities and interact with the women’s groups being formed by our young leaders Sarifa and Roshenara in the village. The idea of bringing these groups together was to create supportive communities,ContinueContinue reading “The Aroma Exercise”
Jaladarsha 