Unsung Heroes
A Kargil War veteran who built a ‘Wikipedia of the Martyrs’ to immortalise their stories
In conversation with war veteran Wing Commander M A Afraz, one of the heroes of the Kargil War of 1999 who after his service built an online memorial for the Martyred heroes of the nation called ‘Honourpoint’. Tell us a bit about you and your family? What was your childhood like? I worked in the …
Once a homeless himself, this man is now empowering thousands of kids on Calcutta streets
Arup Sengupta spent his childhood hungry and hopeless on the streets of Kolkata. He was rejected by society for contracting TB. Until Mother Teresa gave him a new life. Eliminate sufferings of life or have the strength to face them and live to fullest, what would one yearn for when struck with smiting from misfortunes of …
Tested HIV+ at 15, this woman is changing the lives of thousands of HIV+ women in rural Rajasthan
I had read and researched the background of the news subject I had to interview. Married off at the age of 12, tested positive for HIV at 15, got riddled with AIDS, lost a child who was barely 14 years old, and saw the death of her husband shortly after. If even one of the …
A PIL by a Senior Citizen that saved 132 girls orphaned by 2013 Uttarakhand Floods
One of the worst deluges in the history of Uttarakhand occurred in the month of June 2013, at the peak of the pilgrim season, in the valley surrounding the holy shrine of Lord Kedarnath. During the pilgrim season, the local hill-men work along the pilgrim route in small hotels, or are engaged in petty seasonal …
[MY STORY] I met a teacher on my work trip to a remote Himalayan Village and it changed my understanding of grit and determination
Tired and exhausted as my ‘Green’ mates and I approached the village of Megma touching the feet of Himalayas, it was completely deserted. If you can imagine the famous Gotham, the birthplace of the Dark Knight – Batman, it was identical to its misty, dark atmosphere. So where were all the inhabitants? Due to the …
How a group of volunteers are setting up examples of rural tourism and organic farms in Uttarakhand to inspire thousands of villagers to come back home
The hills are alive and maybe it is the efforts of the Green People that is keeping them alive. The mountains of Uttarakhand that are now bustling with fresh energy and a flurry of activities, are in stark contrast to how dismal the situation was just a few years ago. More than 2300 remote villages …
Sarbjeet Singh “Vella Bobby” – The selfless man from Shimla
Sarbjeet Singh lives a happy, normal life in the calm hills of Shimla. And if we just stuck on to appearances, we would probably stash away Sarbjeet as just another face in the crowd. But, Sarbjeet is not your regular next door Joe. It all began in 2007 when Sarbjeet Singh started operating a free-of-cost …
A Pune-based couple’s attempt to revive and rejuvenate the perception of Hindustani classical music for the masses
Picture a group of children in your next door urban setup. These children are extremely hardworking and are already conscious about their career and further education. They see scientists like Einstein to entrepreneurs like Bill Gates as their inspiration and rightly so, want to be successful like them. Somehow their dreams circle around the path …