The Purpose of Art in Madhubani, Bihar

Through Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar, the #DoorsofIndia journey took me to a destination I have always wanted to explore—Madhubani. We drove 175 kilometres from Patna before sunrise to make it on time to the Mithila Art Institute in Madhubani town. Mithila art, popularly known as Madhubani painting, is an art form that the women of Madhubani…

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Women Authors Who Inspire

I’m taking a detour this March. I navigate my compass from travel towards literature. Books have shaped my life to a large extent. The power of words and storytelling has seldom escaped me. Of course, such influences are not exclusive for me. As I grew up, my diverse social circle opened windows and conversations to…

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The Kilmora Women of Kumaon, Uttarakhand

Two of my three travels to Uttarakhand, last year, introduced me to some of the most enthusiastically independent women I have met. The first bevy was in Chirag (Central Himalayan Rural Action Group) in Kasiyalekh. Chirag is a social enterprise that works with local communities by diversifying and creating various livelihood opportunities. In Chirag, I…

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The Women of Spiti

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time trying to do very many things simultaneously, feeling exhausted towards the end of it. By nightfall, I was trying to visualise the life of a multitasker and wondered what productivity meant for them. Playing around with my random disconnected thoughts, I found myself somewhere in Spiti. And how…

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Women Adventurers I Know

A few weeks ago when I read this post on Mariellen Ward’s blog, I began to wonder about women explorers and who were they for me. I idolised the very popular Amelia Earhart, probably one of the oldest and the most inspiring women I have read about. A few months ago, I came across Cindy…

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Being a Solo Traveller

Travelling by ourselves doesn’t come naturally to most of us. And now and then I get mails from readers who share their apprehensions on this subject or who are looking for tips while planning one. This post is for those who think that travelling alone is somewhat like a superpower (sadly, it’s not) and for…

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