Everyday Heroes Of Rural Maharashtra

In Kolhapur's Shirol taluka, a power loom worker ensures those in need gain hassle-free access to public healthcare

Arun Manjare makes navigating the labyrinthine rural public healthcare system easier for many in Shirol taluka

Narayan Gaikwad's quiet crusade: A Maharashtrian farmer is ceaselessly raising awareness about CAA, NRC

Ever since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed by the Indian Parliament in December 2019, 73-year-old Narayan Gaikwad, a resident of Jambhali village in the Shirol taluka of Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, has been on the move. He travels through villages in the region, spending up to four hours a day talking to farmers and agricultural labourers about the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In Maharashtra's Kurundvad village, the women of the Sonamata Mahila Bhajni Mandal oppose oppression through music

From patriarchy to casteism and gender inequality, the women of the Sonamata Mahila Bhajni Mandal have been unafraid of tackling societal issues through their songs, for the past 46 years of the group’s existence.

In rural Maharashtra, an athlete who overcame polio and discrimination, now mentors the next generation

At the age of three, Bavadekar started suffering from polio in both the legs. Today, he is an athlete, wrestler, body-builder, swimmer, coach, farmer, and a cashier in the bank.

Casteism or filth, Suganda Kamble of Maharastra's Bahadurwadi village, tackles both with humour

For the Dalits of Bahadurwadi, a village in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, Suganda Kamble has come to represent hope. Kamble has, for the past five decades, been sweeping the village, collecting garbage, cleaning the gutters and public toilets, and looking after Bahadurwadi’s sanitation. While doing this work, Kamble has also consistently challenged the caste system, with his trademark dark humour.

In Maharashtra's Kalambi village, a charpoy weaver strives to save his art form amidst caste discrimination

Khavle has rare skills of weaving handmade charpoys. This art form saw a downfall and eventually reached the verge of extinction in Maharashtra’s Sangli district a decade ago.

In Maharashtra's Golavali village, a farmer-artist is inspiring her community to turn scrap into art

Sharmila Kinjalkar is a farmer, agricultural labourer and a self-taught craftswoman in rural Maharashtra who is turning items of trash into things like lanterns, garlands and dormats

In rural Maharashtra, a teacher who overcame physical disability, now helps her students realise their dreams

38-year-old Asha has inspired thousands of students across several villages of Pune district in Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra's Shirgaon village, a 'farmer poet' defies stereotypes, seeks freedom through her words

Suvarna Maskar's first poem was published within a few months in 2008 in a Marathi daily Pudhari.

In Karnataka's Boragaon village, the last kalaiwala reflects on his lifelong engagement with the now dying art form

Kalai is a traditional art form in which the brass and copper vessels were tin coated before they could be used for cooking.