The Other India

The turning point - Part 2 At that time, Chandni did not even knew how to hold a pencil. But she tried hard and received her education, after enrolling into an open school program. When began her education , she was 10 and now she is pursuing her higher Secondary Education . This was the turning point for the young girl who went onto make Education of Street children the Mission of her life.   While serving for Badhte Kadam, she met her first challenge where she found a couple of children imprisoned after being accused of stealing. “I remembered the horror of the day I was in prison and went to the police station to get the children released. It was one of my proud moments and it was then when my life took a turn for the better.” She added. As Chandni’s motive was to serve for the underprivileged children she was determined she wanted to continue working for Badhte Kadam, as a result new education centers were opened, and more and more connected to these centers. Considering her ...

There is a saying “ It takes only one voice at the right pitch, to start an avalanche ”. Hers is a story about a girl from the slums who herself held a pencil at the age of 10 and now she is reshaping the life of many children who dare to dream and desire to fulfil them. This story must be told to everyone and this is a voice that must resonate ,so that children in the streets are taken care and are equipped to lead their lives better. It’s also Story of a past filled with suffering, a Present full of hope and endurance, and a Future that promises to be brighter than ever before. I am talking about Chandni Khan who was born in the slums of Noida, a place where several kids are born and die in oblivion. But she refused to lay back and make her peace with her grim destiny as she climbed out of the darkness and now she is extending her hands to pull others out of the same misery too. This girl started working from a very young age. “From the age of five, I used to travel along with my fa...

I was 16 when I joined an NGO that gave education to underprivileged students. My very first day was in Dharavi - Mumbai. As my taxi went through the road deeper and inside the lanes of Dharavi, I could feel the Mumbai which is shown in movies and which is written in books is gone far away. The place I was in was full of life. It looked like the scene where ants are working together in places everywhere. Every house had ladders and life built upon life, families lived upon families. I was directed to a room where I was supposed to teach the kids. I passed door after door. Doors that were open wide. Houses had women working on sewing machines, creaking table fans, swings made of saree for just born kids, piles of vessels filled with water and small photographs on the walls with garland on them. In the rooms of 10*10 square feet, people created homes. The room I entered had no roof. Walls were broken. It had a black board and a chair. One hour went by, nobody showed up. Just when I was...

The Past, Present and Future :  Slums in the Indian context is a place that came as a part of colonial invention, that sprouted from the leftovers of the dirt and stench at the backdrop of its flamboyant towns and cities. The advent of industrial revolution brought about a paradigm shift in the world by eventually reducing the grip of agricultural activities in the socio-economic realm. The destruction of the rural industries and agriculture by virtue of the innumerable British policies, and persuaded by the false prospects of better employment and livelihood in the industrial establishments of colonial India, forced the rural poor, burdened by famine and deprived of livelihood , to migrate in large numbers to towns and cities . This migration that remained consistent and increasing since its inception led to the formation of slums, that accommodate large number of population in the small discrete pockets spread at indiscrete parts of cities and towns where people subsist on mini...

A Journey through the Ghettos of India:   “The world doesn’t look like what you think it looks like”. Politics, Bollywood, Cricket.. All are still buzzwords that create rhythm to the Indian population. But there is much more to explore, An India that is way far from the glitter and glamour, a country that has untold stories to tell, a nation that saw its people emerging from rags and going to riches. Here in ‘The Other India' , we have such stories to narrate, tales of places and people who fought against all odds of squalor and aspired for a better life. So join with us in the journey to discover tales of each and every shantytowns of the country.  -Lakshmi