28/04/18

"I come from Sivan district, Bihar but have lived in Delhi for the last 17 years. My livelihood comes from selling flutes at the famous India Gate. I stay alone while my family is in Bihar due to the high costs of living. But I am happy" says Aslam with a smile. 

30/04/18

21 year old from Bijanbari, Darjeeling working at Radisson Blu, Hyderabad. "I like to sleep during me leave because I am tired and like to occasionally watches romantic movies. My dream is to become a renowned professional bar tender in life" #CocktailandDreams 

28/04/18

Originally from Sitamarhi, Abhiraj says, "I am working in a bank in Amroha district, Hasanpur. This is a long weekend which is why I'm here at Red  Fort to show Avijit. my 2 year old son and my wife" When asked about his son's future "He will be what he wants to be"

30/04/18

Abhishek, 24 from Mirik, Darjeeling has spent a year at Radisson Blu, Hyderabad and prior to that in Novotel for 2 years. He studied for 3 years in hotel management, completing a diploma from Mirik Hotel Management institute. His dream is to be a general manager in 15 years. "The best part of my job is to meet new people and guests from all over the world" he says with a slight grin

28/04/18

Zeenat has been selling handicrafts for three years at the Nizamuddin Monument, a heritage site in New Delhi.  She is from Insha-e-Noor, a NGO which is part of the Aga Khan Development Network. They practice the craft forms of aari embroidery, hand embroidery, tailoring and crochet in Insha. “I am happy to be part of it as they not only provide skills but provide us a needed source of livelihood and empowerment”

30/04/18

Chura, 24 from Gulmi, Nepal is an Asian cuisine Chef at Radisson Blu, Hyderabad. He prides himself in making amazing noodles, manchurian and manchow soup and was lucky to try during my official mission. He moved on from being a helper in Secunderabad in 5 years now to a chef. "I love cooking and fully dedicated to it. I can now send money home to my family who live in a remote village". He is always eager to learn new cuisines and his dream is be one of best Asian chefs ture.

28/04/18

Delhi is not just the capital of India but city of dreams for many - like Rahul (white t-shirt) and his friends. They work in different professions such as sales for domestic products, handicrafts etc. "Life is tough but at least I have a job. I love Delhi especially Red Fort because it talks about our history and we are proud of it" #YouthsofIndia

17/05/18

Pravash, a graduate of St. Xavier’s Hotel Management College is the star bar tender of the swankiest place in Chhattisgarh - the Courtyard Marriott. He has been working here for one and a half years and enjoys making all kinds of cocktails. His favorite to make (not to drink he stresses) is Highland Park, a whisky infused cocktail with angostura bitters and ice. He made me one and it was top notch - a real delight in Raipur. “I would like to become a F&B Director in 10 years. But before that, I am getting married soon. I look forward to an exciting future”.

17/05/18

“I always had a passion for flying and always felt comfortable up in the air. That is why I joined IndiGo five years ago. My hobbies are traveling a lot and seeing new places, listening to love songs and reading books. But need to prioritize my life first and make choices -  I am getting married in a year and will leave this profession. As I don’t like to stay idle, I plan to open a boutique or a make-up studio”.

18/05/18

Anju is 22 years old and is six and a half months pregnant. She is a regular at the Village Health Sanitation and  Nutrition Day (organised on a monthly basis) and had come for her second Antenatal Care (ANC) visit. She was full of life in spite of the tragedy she faced a year ago - lost her baby due to miscarriage. She did not give up hope and is now waiting for her “gift”. She has completed her XII grade and is currently not pursuing her Bachelor's degree. After the birth, she plans to continue her studies and become a teacher one day. And she proudly says “whether it is a boy or girl, I would like my child to be a police officer in life”. Anju is indeed inspirational for women of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh - need more like her to disrupt the equilibrium.

18/05/18

Puran is 21 and a happy mother of Bhawesh, a two-year-old. She married Parekh, the man of her dreams three years ago and it was a love marriage, She is now expecting her second child soon. Her husband is content with two children but her in-laws want another son if the coming newborn is a “girl child”. Why - because her sis-in-law do not have a child. Sad but true. Who thinks about the pain of the young mother when culture and society come to the fore?

18/05/18

Baharul Islam is a 10 year-0ld and studies in Class V . He lives in a family of nine members (7 siblings). The family is very poor and comes from a remote village of Sonitpur district, Assam. He had to work in a brick kiln and could not go to school. He loved singing and his talent was discovered by a local music teacher – and he nurtured his talent (and still does) and supported his passion. Now, he is back in school and a popular junior artist in his area and in Assam. He wants to be a famous singer in the future where a number of local media channels have featured him. "I hope and pray I can make it - to pursue my passion and support my family at the same time" 

15/09/18

Yakuza is aunique personality and passionate about "recycling". So he decided to build a cycle from bamboo and travel the world in his indigenous invention. He started with the body of an old cycle that was thrown as junk and was helped by an architect, Richard Belho in the final product. He has traveled with the bamboo cycle in 25 countries, a feta he started in 2011 and completed in Feb 2017. 

"There is lots of bamboo in my home state, Nagaland so my dream to make my state a production economy from a consumer one. I feel Bamboo is a start" he said with a smile.  

- https://rootsandleisure.com/man-from-nagaland-travelling-the-world-in-bamboo-bike/

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Met Elias in 2016 during my Gisovu weekend trip. He was 15 then and studying in Senior 4. On my evening stroll to capture evening shots which is always amazing here, I met him taking wood to the house to cook food. I decided to have a  quick chat with him - "I want to be a teacher to teach my favourite subject, English. I am passionate about it because Communication is key in this world so English is a strong part of it . I am trying to attend an English school after senior 6 in the capital, Kigali or Kibuye. Learning it is also good for my future getting a job, getting respect after I become an English teacher" said Elias with confidence #FutureEnglishTeacher

Meet the Momo (dumplings) man of Gisovu, Rwanda. I never expected hot, delicious momos in remote Gisovu and that was what "Appy" provided us. It was in 2016, where I met Epimark who was working in Gisovu Tea Estate as a cook. He is happily married with Grace and a 3-year-old, Mukeshana Damien. "I want my children to study well from a young age. If you want your children to do well, you have to make them study early. I will try and let him study and be whatever he wants - engineer, doctor, teacher if I can afford it. I have started to collect money already for his education but it is a tough life. I hope that my dream of giving my son a good education comes true" said Appy with hope in his eyes. He started first working in the kitchen garden for the manager for 1 and a half years and then now six years as a cook. He said he learnt how to cook momos from the Nepali community who visited and the assistant manager, Justin. He loves cooking and hopes that can lead to a good future for his family.

"Simple living, High thinking" is Sarman Singh's principle in life. Met him during my Shatabdi rail journey from Delhi-Dehradun in October 2018. Originally from the state of Uttar Pradesh, he had been with IRCTC (Indian Railways catering and tourism corporation limited) for 17 years. He spends 26 days in the train and 4 days at home. He has 4 daughters and 1 son. He told me proudly all daughters are studying and one even wants to be a Railways officer. "The best part of my job is I get to meet and learn from new and interesting people all the time. And believe it or not - my favourite food is tawa chapati and matter paneer. I like it simple having seen too much variety over the years".

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#LinguisticMaya

Magarni Maya came to Nagaland from Nepal in the late 1960s with her (late) husband who worked for the 1st Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army.  She is a linguist with fluency in 4 languages - Nepali, Nagamese, Assamese and Bengali. “Home is this for me now having raised two generations” said Maya. She keeps herself busy selling organic vegetables and "chillies" from her own small farm and spending time with her grand children. I purchased the red-hot “Bhut Jholokia"/Ghost chili pepper cultivated in the Northeast Indian states, one of the hottest peppers in the world. "Take caution while eating this" said Maya with a grin. (June 2018)

Sujata is breaking stereotypes and steering a new chapter for commercial drivers in New Delhi, the Indian capital here female taxi drivers are not very common. It came of course with a  lot of challenges,  but she is now set and the bread earner of the family. All this was a distant dream a few years ago but some good samaritans from her hometown of Agra helped me to secure a driving license. I was privileged to catch a morning ride to the office by Sujata, my 1st woman Uber ride. She said after the ride “Please give me 6 stars rating” and I complemented. #womanpower #empowerment (26 May 2019)

01/06/18

Febar Pda, 23 from Meghalaya is the seventh child from a family of 8 siblings. He is a local guide and helps family in their agriculture and farming - growing black pepper, bay leaf, lemon and betel nut and broom. He likes to grow black pepper as it is the easiest. Does not want to have a family (likes children but scared of looking after them all the time) later he hopes to become a peon in of the offices in Shillong. #SmallDreams #BeingContented

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28/12/18

“Guru is great. I am grateful to receive accommodation and services here. But the best part is my job – to be of service and look after the new Gurdwara which is opening soon. A Gurdwara is the place where Sikhs come together for congregational worship and a literal meaning is the residence of the Guru. What more can I ask for” says a proud Prem Singh from Rupnagar, Punjab.

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30/05/18

“I joined this Masters in C4D course because Social and Behaviour Change Communication/SBCC can help to empower the communities and equip them to live a healthy life” says Felix Junior Akaho, 1st International student from Tema, Ghana taking up the course by Tezpur University. This course is provided technical support by UNICEF India and is also the first Indian university in India offering a full-fledged Master course in Communication for Development

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