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"They are a testament to the ingenuity of youth." - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon

On September 19, 2016, United Nations unveiled the names of the 17 youth leaders selected for the inaugural class of UN Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals. Two Indians and an Indian-American are among the youth leaders selected for their leadership and contribution to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. Trisha Shetty, 25, is the founder and CEO of SheSays, a platform she launched last year to educate, rehabilitate and empower women to take direct action against sexual assault in India. Ankit Kawatra, 24, founded Feeding India in 2014 to address the issues of hunger and food waste, particularly by distributing excess food from weddings and parties to the needy. Indian-American Karan Jerath, 19, invented a ground- breaking, sub-sea wellhead capping device that contains oil spills at the source, as a solution to the ecological damage done by oil spills, in the aftermath of the British Petroleum deep-water horizon oil spill - the largest marine oil spill in US history, near his home in Texas.

Here are the inspiring stories of these young leaders who are already transforming their communities through their work.

1. Trisha Shetty

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Violence against women in India is a problem everyone acknowledges but very few actively do something about. Trisha Shetty and her team at SheSays are determined to change this. SheSays is an initiative aimed at creating an environment of zero tolerance towards violence against women in India. It does so by educating people with pertinent information regarding the laws and procedure of the country and building a network of support that recognises all levels of sexual abuse and provides the necessary means to fight it. According to Trisha, when she googled what she could do if she ever faced any kind of sexual abuse, all she could find were news articles about rape cases in India or links to NGOs and their contact information. This inspired her to start SheSays.

"As a victim of sexual abuse, unfortunately with the way our societal fabric is, it's hard to even pick up the phone and reach out for help. Complete lack of information, and perhaps the notion that the process to file a complaint is arduous and uncooperative, works as a huge deterrent for people to speak up and address the issue. Which is why my co-founder Neha and I launched the portal, to provide a holistic approach to address sexual abuse," said Trisha, in an interview to DNA newspaper.

Launched on August 8, 2015, the SheSays website is the first of its kind in India that provides all the relevant information in one place, highlights all levels of sexual abuse and encourages people to work with the system to fight it. It is accessible in six languages –Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, English and German. On the website, there is pertinent information on identifying acts of sexual abuse (as listed by the Indian Penal Code), presented in a simplified format. Also mentioned are the step by step procedural measures to be undertaken when going to a hospital and police station, how to get lawyers assigned to yourself, briefs on court proceedings, as well as how to address sexual harassment at the workplace. SheSays has developed a Sexual Violence Prevention & Education curriculum to be conducted in colleges. This curriculum aims at sensitising the youth on gender based violence, educates them on consent, builds bystander intervention skills, simplifies the law and enumerates how to seek remedies. Currently, when an assault victim goes to a police station, she is taken only to a government hospital. Or, if she herself goes to a private hospital, if its confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, she is generally sent or referred to a government hospital. This is according tho national protocol which says "Examination of a case of rape shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner (RMP) employed in a hospital run by the government or a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other RMP". Keeping in mind this ground reality, SheSays is working with private hospitals in India to encourage them to proactively offer treatment to rape victims. Also, not all police stations and hospitals have counselling services to help victims get over trauma. Private services are too expensive and not everybody can afford them. So SheSays sponsors psychiatric care for survivors. SheSays is also mapping the closest help-agencies (police stations, hospitals, vetted psychiatrists and psychologists) across several Indian cities. This information, accessible via Google Maps, will help women in distress seek aid. It is also tying up with music festivals and bars/restaurants to ensure that establishments take direct responsibility for making public spaces safe for women. Current tie ups include NH7 Weekender (Music Festival), The Barking Deer Brew Pub, 3 Wise Monkeys, Quarter Pillar, and Tilt All Day, among others. Trisha says that support has been unexpectedly positive for SheSays since it inception. Irrespective of gender or institution, everyone understands the need for such a portal. However, she knows that even though a lot of progress and dialogue have taken place, there is still a lot more that needs to be done to educate, rehabilitate and empower women to take direct action against sexual violence in India. Visit the SheSays website or their Facebook page, SheSays India, to know more.

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2. Ankit Kawatra

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Twenty crore Indians sleep hungry every night, 1.3 million Indian children die of hunger, and 42% of Indian children suffer from diseases related to malnutrition. About Rs. 58,000 crore worth of food is being wasted in India. According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), India has a staggering 194.6 million people who are under nourished - the second highest number in the world. Stunned by the amount of food going waste in India, Ankit Kawatra founded Feeding India, with the aim of solving one of India’s biggest problems – hunger. To date, this organization has fed over a million meals through its large youth networks and regular feeding programmes that run in over 28 cities of India. Belonging to an affluent business family, 23-year-old Ankit Kawatra has been to several big fat Indian weddings. It was one such star-studded occasion that turned out to be a moment of harsh truth for Ankit. Explaining what happened, Ankit sais:

“There was a lot of food, from a staggering 37 cuisines for the 10000 guests at the wedding! I wondered what would happen to so much food, so I decided to stay back at this particular wedding and saw that heaps of leftover food were sent straight to the bin. It could have fed 5000 people just that night.”

Although he was appalled by what he saw, he thought it was a one-off incident. When he enquired about what happened to leftover food at events and wedding functions, he was told by various vendors and organisers that the surplus food was always thrown away! Shocked and dismayed, Ankit decided to do something about this. Along with his friends, he founded Feeding India, an organization that collects excess food from parties, events and weddings and feeds the hungry. With Feeding India, Ankit has partnered with several caterers and restaurants. They let him know about any events lined up in the coming weeks. In the middle of a wedding/event, the caterer gives them a call to tell them about the approximate amount of food that is going to be left over. Once this has been confirmed, volunteers who are closest to the venue reach there, collect the food, and distribute it to the needy immediately. Since looking for the hungry on the streets at 1 in the night is not as easy as it sounds, Feeding India has now tied up with NGOs and shelter home likes Rain Basera; the team goes and drops off the meals at these places. It also has a 24×7 helpline that can be used to put the excess food to better use. Ankit and his group also initiated several campaigns such as the magic truck and world food week. Several corporate houses, as a part of their community social service, have partnered with Feeding India. Knowing that food security today would result in a healthier and more productive India tomorrow, Ankit's long term goal is to make people more conscious about food wastage. Visit the Feeding India website or their Facebook page, Feeding India, to know more.

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3. Karan Jerath

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In 2015, an 18-year-old Indian American boy won the prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award (ISEF) for designing a device that shuts down undersea spills. Karan Jerath had designed a sturdy device that could measure the temperature, pressure and density of the mixture of gases and fluids spewing from a broken well on the sea floor before collecting them, thus preventing an ecological catastrophe. The innovative device would also reduce clean up costs. Karan Jerath was born in Mumbai, India, but moved to Malaysia where the family lived for 11 years, before immigrating to the US. Back in 2010, Karan was in Texas when the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico made headlines. A science buff, the 13-year-old boy followed the coverage of the explosion, the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and how it malfunctioned.

"The fact that it happened in my backyard woke me up to the true nature of the environmental damage this was wreaking. I had to do something about it," says Karan.

Encouraged by his high school science teacher at Friendswood in Texas, Karan spent 800 hours (working 9-10 hours a day) designing and experimenting till he finally succeeded. In 2015, Karan presented his wellhead containment device at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Hailed as a veritable visionary, he was awarded one of the Young Scientist awards along with prize money of $50,000. Determined to take his invention to the next level, Karan used the prize money to pay for his tuition at the University of Texas where he is majoring in petroleum engineering. Given his constrained resources, he wants to utilise every opportunity the university department and his professors offer him to develop the model further. This year, he was selected for Forbes' 2016 30 Under 30 List, the youngest in the energy group. The young scientist has some advice for other budding innovators. He says:

"It doesn't really matter how old you are or what your project is. Keep working at it. As long as you allow it to become a reality, the world will sit up and notice it. Just never give up."

You can follow Karan Jerath through his Facebook page.

Also Read: How a 13-Year-Old CEO Is Changing the Lives of School Children Around the World

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Satish Pawar’s family came to Mumbai from Beed district in Maharashtra in the year 1997 with the hope of finding work in the big city and building a better future for themselves. But little did they know that they’d have to spend their lives on the streets for years and generations to come.

Together with his wife and four children, 35-year-old Satish now lives under Teen Haat Signal flyover in Thane.

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The family sells gajras (flower garlands) at the traffic signal for a living. While initially the kids didn’t even think about education or school, things changed for the better this year. “Batu sir came to us one day and we came to know that a school will be opening right here,” says Satish, referring to Batu Sawant, the CEO of Samarth Bharat Vyaspith (SBV).

You may also like: India’s First Signal School, Where Street Kids Study in a Shipment Container Under a Flyover!

It is an NGO that has started India’s first registered Signal School meant for children living and working near traffic signals in Mumbai. It is called Signal Shala.

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“Kalpana, Nikita, Neha and, Suraj – all four of my kids go to school now. We had never imagined that something like this would ever happen in our lives. It has been three months and I have seen many changes in the way my kids understand life. They are excited about going to school each day. We never knew much about the importance of education before this school came up. But we feel good now because the children have started concentrating on their studies and it will be great if they become something in life and improve their standard of living,” says Satish.

While Kalpana and Nikita are 13 and 11 years old, Neha and Suraj are younger.

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“They tell us that they will never beg at the signal anymore. They are ready to sell gajras or do some business, but they have helped us understand that begging is not good,” says the proud father. Talking about why his family had to relocate, he says, “There was no scope of agriculture or farming in the village. We didn’t get work or any source of livelihood. We started living here because we could earn Rs. 100-150 every day and could arrange for something or the other to eat. We don’t have any home here. The authorities keep shooing us away from one place then from another and we have been living on the streets for almost 18 years now. My wife and I make gajras and then we sell them at the signal.”

You may also like: Why This 28-Year-Old Decided to Teach Children Who Used to Beg at a Mumbai Signal

According to Batu, parents of all the children at the school feel that kids should study properly and should try to break away from the kind of life they have been living till now. “They ensure that kids definitely go to schools and spend most of their time there. In fact, some of the parents often suggest that we should start residential facilities at Signal Shala for the kids to stay in a learning environment all day,” he concludes.

This Teacher's Day, The Better India is supporting a bunch of passionate teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of street kids and help them get access to good quality education too. You can do your bit to help India's first registered "Signal School" help 36 kids who have never been to school before, study and learn like all of us. Unable to view the above button? Click here

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By high school students, for high school students – WorkTeen is a platform that helps school students connect with NGOs, social enterprises, and corporate organizations for internships, volunteering and research opportunities.

"The idea behind this website developed with the knowledge that many students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme have to complete 50 hours of community service to finish their course," says Aman Surana, a student of Class 12 in Jaipur who works on the design and management aspects of WorkTeen.

While high school students form the target audience group for WorkTeen, not many companies have dedicated opportunities for them. So the team approaches various NGOs and companies with the view towards creating opportunities for students.

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All a student has to do is visit the website and he/she will be able to browse through options based on location and skill preferences. Interested students then apply through a form and their details are sent to the concerned organizations. The entire service is free for students and organizations. “Some of the opportunities available currently on our website include a marine research programme in Andaman and Nicobar islands; several volunteering opportunities with NGOs in Mumbai and Delhi; openings in Mumbai-based museums, etc.,” says Aman.

Work Teen has a team if 10 members including five core members and three co-founders. Most of the members are students of Class 12. They are operational in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Jaipur and the team members are active in different cities trying to look for opportunities.

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They have over 4,000 users from over 60 schools till date. While the team did not require a lot of funds to begin with, they understand that it might be a need in the future as the scope of WorkTeen grows. “Organizations usually say that high school students don’t have the know-how to work with them but we believe that this is a general misconception. High school students have the many innovative ideas and a desire to learn, which makes them perfect for an opportunity,” says Aman who himself got a chance to work with a smartphone company as a graphic designer, which led to him gaining a lot of experience and exposure. Visit WorkTeen here.

Featured image for representation only. Source: Flickr

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"Behold, the flag of independent India is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives in its honour. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to support this struggle." - Bhikaji Cama

On August 21, 1907, an International Socialist Conference was being held at Stuttgart, a city in Germany. One thousand representatives from across the world had come to attend the conference. It was on this occasion that Bhikaji Rustom Cama unfurled the first version of the Indian national flag—a tricolour of green, saffron, and red stripes. The fiery lady then announced,

“This is the flag of independent India. I appeal to all gentlemen to stand and salute the Flag.”

Surprised by the dramatic incident, all the representatives at the conference stood up and saluted the first flag of independent Hindustan. Madam Cama had wanted to bring the poverty, starvation and oppression under the British Raj, as also India's thirst for freedom to the attention of the international community and she had succeeded. This was no mean achievement. Indian independence was 40 years away, and the world was still unaware of the burning patriotism of the thousands of young Indians who were ready to lay down their lives to free their country from colonial rule. Also, back then, the Britishers were trying their best to punish revolutionaries by bringing in ordinances, bans and imprisoning them for life. Madam Cama's actions and words were treason for the British Raj and had they caught her, she would have been deported to Andaman's dreaded Kala Pani jail.

This is the fascinating story of this indomitable lady who played an important role in the early years of India's freedom struggle.

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Madam Bhikaji Cama[/caption]

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Bhikaji Cama was born on September 24 1861 into a large, affluent Parsi family. Her father, Sorabji Framji Patel, was a famous merchant who was at the the forefront of business, education, and philanthropy in the city of Bombay. Influenced by an environment in which the Indian nationalist movement was taking root, Bhikaji was drawn toward political issues from a very early age. She had a flair for languages and soon became proficient in arguing her country's cause in different circles. In 1885, she married Rustomji Cama, a well-known lawyer, but her involvement with sociopolitical issues led to differences between the couple.While Mr Cama adored British, loved their culture and thought they had done a lot of good to India, Bhikaji was a nationalist at heart and believed that the Britishers had ruthlessly exploited India for their own profit. It was not a happy marriage, and Bhikhaji spent most of her time and energy in philanthropic activities and social work. In 1896, bubonic plague broke out in the Bombay Presidency and Bhikaji immediately volunteered to help the team working to save plague victims. Hundreds were dying in Bombay and Bhikaji too caught the deadly disease. Though she recovered, the disease left her in poor health. She was advised to go to Europe for rest and recuperation and in 1902, Bhikaji left India for London which was to become her home for the rest of life.

During her stay there, she met Dadabhai Naoroji, a strong critic of British economic policy in India, and began working for the Indian National Congress. Cama also came in contact with other Indian nationalists, including Lala Har Dayal, and Shyamji Krishnavarma, and addressed several meetings in London’s Hyde Park.

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From Left: Lala Har Dayal, Dadabhai Naoroji, Shyamji Krishnavarma

During her stay in London, she got a message from the British that her return to India would be prohibited unless she would sign a statement promising not to participate in nationalist activities. She refused to make such a promise and remained in exile in Europe. The same year Cama relocated to Paris, where—together with Singh Rewabhai Rana and Munchershah Burjorji Godrej—she co-founded the Paris Indian Society. Together with other notable members of the movement for Indian sovereignty living in exile, Cama wrote, published and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including Bande Mataram (founded in response to the British ban on the patriotic poem) and later Madan's Talwar (in response to the execution of Madan Lal Dhingra). Banned in India and Britain, Bhikaji managed to send the weekly magazines to Indian revolutionaries. She also helped the revolutionaries in every way possible, whether with money, material or ideas. The British Government were unable to check her, despite their best efforts.

On August 22, 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama became the first person to hoist Indian flag on foreign soil in Stuttgart in Germany. Appealing for human rights, equality and for autonomy from Great Britain, she described the devastating effects of a famine that had struck the Indian subcontinent.

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Madam Cama at Stuttgart[/caption]

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The flag she unfurled was co-designed by Cama and Shyamji Krishna Varma, and would later serve as one of the templates from which the current national flag of India was created. In the flag, the top green stripe had eight blooming lotuses representing pre-independence India's eight provinces. 'Bande Mataram' was written across the central saffron stripe in Hindi. On the bottom red stripe, a half moon was on the right and the rising sun on the left, indicating the Hindu and Muslim faith.

The same flag was later smuggled into India by socialist leader Indulal Yagnik and is now on display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune.

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The flag unfurled at Stuttgart[/caption]

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After Stuttgart, Bhikaji went to United States where she traveled a lot, informing Americans about India's struggle for independence. She also fought for the cause of women and often stressed on the role of women in building a nation. Speaking at National Conference at Cairo, Egypt in 1910, she asked,

"Where is the other half of Egypt? I see only men who represent half the country! Where are the mothers? Where are the sisters? You must not forget that the hands that rock cradles also build persons."

When First World War broke out in 1914, Bhikaji took an anti-British stand. She visited the army camp at Marseilles and asked the Indian forces there,

"Are you going to fight for the people who have chained your motherland?"

Since France and England were allies in this war, she was asked to live outside Paris and to report to the police station once a week. Unshaken, the indomitable lady continued to maintain active contacts with Indian, Irish, and Egyptian revolutionaries as well as with French Socialists and Russian leadership.

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Cama remained in exile in Europe until 1935, when, gravely ill and paralysed by a stroke that she had suffered earlier that year, she petitioned the British government to be allowed to return home. Knowing that she was not in a condition to participate in the freedom struggle, she was granted permission to return to India after 33 long years. In November 1935, 74 year old Bhikaji finally returned to Mumbai, but did not live for long. Having fulfilled her desire of seeing her motherland once again, she breathed her last nine months later on August 13 1936. She had bequeathed most of her personal assets to the Avabai Petit Orphanage for girls. The nation had lost a fearless leader. On 26 January 1962, India's 11th Republic Day, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp in her honour. In 1997, the Indian Coast Guard also commissioned a Priyadarshini-class fast patrol vessel named the ICGS Bhikaji Cama. An unsung name among the stalwarts of Indian Independence Struggle, Madam Bhikaji Cama's conviction, courage and integrity took the message of Indian freedom struggle to the world with a force and clarity it had never had before. As the fiery lady had once declared,

'Do not forget the important role of women play in building a nation.'

Also Read: From a Child Bride to India’s First Practising Woman Doctor: The Untold Story of Rukhmabai

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Like many other places in Vidarbha, 18-year-old Mohan Prabhu Kale’s village, Siradhan in Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, was also affected by drought again this year. He had studied till Class 7 in the village school. But then his education came to a standstill. The three acres of land that Mohan’s father owned yielded nothing at all the third year in a row. And the loans were making their life even more miserable. Mohan’s mother had to walk at least 2 kms everyday to get water. Some days she would not even get any water after walking for miles.

Unable to see the pain of his starving family, Mohan’s father decided to head towards Mumbai to find some work that could get them at least one meal a day. The family sold their land and house to repay the loans and came to Mumbai, empty handed, in 2014.

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Mohan Prabhu Kale[/caption]

“Many years ago, my father had fallen under a train and lost one leg. I was very young then so I don’t remember much about this incident, but I remember him working in our farm with just one leg. My uncles helped him. But here in Mumbai, he could not get any work. He begs on the streets now,” said Mohan in a low voice when asked about his father.

Mohan, his mother, and two older brothers sell flowers and garlands at the Teen Haat Naka Signal in Thane.

“I like it here. We have to sell flowers in the scorching sun or even when it is raining. Sometimes, if we don’t earn enough for a meal, we have to beg too. But we don’t starve here like we did in my village,” says Mohan.

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Four months ago, Mohan’s life changed again. He heard about Signal Shala, a school that operates from a shipping container under the Teen Haat Signal flyover in Thane. Mohan studies in Class 8 now, back in school at the age of 18 after a long gap. He gets up in the morning, sells garlands at the signal for an hour and then rushes to school. After school finishes at 4 pm, it’s peak business hours again so he goes back to the signal and sells flowers and garlands till 9 in the evening. Once he has earned enough for a meal, he goes back home and does his school homework for the next day.

“I don’t know what will become of me. But I will become something if I study… right?” he asks.

You can help keep Mohan's hope alive. Donate to India's first registered 'Signal School' today, and help Mohan and 35 other kids living on Mumbai's streets get a shot at a better life through education. Unable to view the above button? Click here

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Read about Signal Shala here: India's First Signal School, Where Street Kids Study in a Shipment Container Under a Flyover!

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St+art Festival is a collaborative platform for street artists from India and around the world. It works on the idea of 'Art for Everyone' with the primary objective of making art accessible for wider audiences while having a positive impact on society. After having wowed Delhi folks with stunning street art on everything from giant shipping containers to DDA complexes earlier this year, the St+Art India festival will be making Bengaluru its home for a month in October. The festival is being hosted by the Srishti School Of Art, Design And Technology in collaboration with BMRC (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation), Asian Paints and Art in Transit student initiative. It all started in 2015, when five youngsters with a dream to make art more accessible decided to get artwork on the streets. Not too happy with the reach of existing galleries, museums, and exhibitions, Akshat Nauriyal, Arjun Bahl, Giulia Ambrogi, Hanif Kureshi and Thanish Thomas started an initiative that brought artists from all around the world to come together and work for a single cause - helping people connect to art. As co-founder Arjun Bahl says,

"India has a great landscape and we wanted to add colours to it. We also wanted to take art to the masses."

By creating art hubs in unexpected spaces, the organization wants to offer newer experiences to diverse sections of the society, especially those who are usually excluded from the reach of art.

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Through its urban arts festivals, St+art works to change the visual landscape of a city through performances, workshops, screenings and art interventions in public spaces, such as murals and installations. New Delhi welcomed the first edition of St+Art festival in February 2014, when urban villages like Shahpur Jat and Hauz Khas became the focal point of the growing street art scene in the capital.

In 2014, the festival continued with its second edition in Mumbai, converting places like Bandra, Peddar Road, Kandivali and Dharavi into stunning street art sites.

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Thanks to community involvement and government support, these festival also saw the creation of the 150 feet tall Gandhi mural (the tallest in India) at the Police Headquarters in ITO in Delhi, the Dada Saheb Phalke mural (the largest in India) on the MTNL Building in Bandra Reclamation and the longest mural in India on the outer boundary of the Tihar Jail.

In the latest edition of the festival that was held in February 2016, St+art India Foundation brought artists from all schools and styles under one roof to transform Delhi's Lodhi Colony into India's first public art district.

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Other significant city spaces, like the bustling Khan Market, Lado Sarai, Govind Puri Metro Station and the Inland Container Depot at Tughlakabad, were also transformed into hubs of pop culture and creativity.

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The line-up at the festival included prominent street artists like Lady Aiko (Japan), 1010 (Germany), Okuda (Spain), Axel Void (US), Olek (Poland), DALeast (China), Paulo Ito(Brazil), Rukkit (Thailand), Samina (Portugal), Inti (Chile) and Anpu, PCO, Daku, Ranjit Dahiya, Harsh Raman, Yantr, Ruchin and Sam Sam from India.

The festival also addressed pertinent issues like women’s empowerment and the government-initiated Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in an attempt to re-establish street art as a social and participatory activity.

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Many of the city’s civic authoritie, such as DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation), DUISB (Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board) and PWD (Public Works Department), were roped in as project partners. For instance, one of their projects focussed on Rain Baseraa (night shelters for the homeless in Delhi) with the objective of enhancing their visual appeal and also help give more visibility to the people who live in the shelters.

In one of the festival's many unique projects, renowned street artist Olek wrapped little huts in Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan with colourful crocheted yarn.

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The project witnessed the participation of over 60 women volunteers, who under the artist’s lead, prepared the elements of the installation over a period of three weeks. The imaginative artwork underscored the importance of respecting women’s rights, and their often overlooked but invaluable contribution to everyday household activities.

In another interesting project, French artist Chifumi brought to one of the walls his interpretation of the Indian hand gesture padma mudra, mixing it with the Khmer pattern from Cambodia.

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In an attempt to shift the public gaze to unknown or lesser known spaces in the city, St+art also collaborated with the Container Corporation of India to transform the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Tughlakabad into a walk-through space for installations. The installations were created by 25 artists who used nearly 100 shipping containers and over 1,000 litres of paint to make them.

The month long street art show held at ICD (Asia's largest dry port), 'Work in Progress' also became a venue for a range of different activities other than art, such as literary workshops, poetry slams, band performances, b-boy jams and more.

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This October, the St+art urban arts festival will be in Bengaluru. Street artists from all over the world and from India will be descending on Bengaluru to paint the town red with their creative art works. Supported by Asian Paints and hosted by Srishti School of Art Design and Technology, in collaboration with Art in Transit, the month-long festival will also be organizing guided tours, workshops and live music events. So if you want to see some striking street art action this festive season, Bengaluru is where you should be! Where: Across various venues in Bangalore When: From October 1 to 30 Find St+art on Facebook here. Check out St+art website here.

Also Read: India’s First Female Graffiti Artist Is Leaving Her Stamp All over Berlin With Her Striking Street Art

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In January 2014, Monika More, an 18-year-old resident of Mumbai lost both her hands when she slipped into the gap between the platform and the ladies compartment footboard of a local train at Ghatkopar railway station. Two years after recuperating from the near-fatal accident, Monika is working hard to ensure that no commuter has to face something like this again. She has been continuously involved in raising awareness about railway safety measures along with the Railway Police Force.

In her awareness drives, she tries to help commuters understand the perils of boarding a moving train and crossing unmanned railway tracks.

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The first year B Com student is the only rail accident victim in a committee of over 15 members. She attends meetings organised by Central Railway officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) station to discuss how to improve the quality of service and address passenger woes in local trains. She has also made various proposals regarding the appropriate height of railway platforms, the need for increasing the frequency of trains and making sure that the seats reserved for physically disabled people are not used by the people without disabilities. "What happened to me should not happen with anyone. I want to keep pursuing the issue of improving our railway system. People should not get scared of boarding a train thinking they might lose a limb or their life,” Monika told The Indian Express. Monika was rushed to the KEM Hospital after the accident but her arms couldn’t be surgically reattached. She spent six months recovering in the hospital and was gifted with prosthetic arms manufactured by a German company. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai gave her a compensation of Rs. 23 lakh. While the electronic limbs enable her to write, eat with special spoons and even use a laptop, it is very difficult for her to wear them for a long period of time because they weigh over a kilo each. Monika was in the news last year for securing 63% in her higher secondary examinations in spite of all these hurdles. Today, she is steadfast in her resolve to lead a normal life. She wakes up around 7 am after which she goes to SNDT college for her classes. She then returns home for a bit in the afternoons and later heads out to attend tuition classes. But her busy routine has never stopped her from raising awareness about grave issues that affect people using local trains in Mumbai. Her parents are extremely supportive and her mother also accompanies Monika to all the events and meetings. Her father is of the opinion that people are especially receptive to Monika’s inputs because she is a survivor.

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"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

With over four million dogs, the Indian pet care market is pegged at over USD 1.22 billion with an annual growth rate of over 35 per cent. The exponential rise of pet ownership in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bengaluru, has ensured that the Indian pet care industry is the fastest growing pet care industry globally.

As a result, a new breed of Indian entrepreneurs have emerged on the startup scene, striving to solve problems for what they are deeply passionate about - pets!

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From professional healthcare for your pets to finding safe homes for them when you travel, these startups are creating a whole new industry through services that were hitherto confined to the neighbourhood pet shop or are completely new.

Here are 10 Indian startups that cater to both, furry friends and the humans who love them. After all, pets are family!

1. Vivaldis Health and Foods

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Vivaldis Health and Foods Pvt. Ltd. is a healthcare products company born out of the vision of professionals passionate about animal and human healthcare. The startup manufactures and markets novel medicines for chronic pet diseases such as obesity, cancer and arthritis. Since in India, almost 40% of pets suffer from lifestyle diseases, Vivaldis has also designed lifestyle management products for pets, duly supported by formulations for infection and infestation control. Founded in early 2015 by OP Singh, an animal health industry veteran, and Kunal Khanna, a London Business School graduate, Vivaldis operates in 25 cities across India.

2. TimeForPet

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Timeforpet.com was founded by a team of pet lovers with a serious passion for helping pets and pet owners. This startup is a one-stop destination for everything a pet needs, be it food, accessories or medical care. It allows you to post free advertisements through which you can put up your pets for adoption or adopt a pet. The site also provides doctor’s advice, which basically means you can get assistance from a vet in case your pet has a medical emergency. The website also houses a list of reputed veterinary clinics in Bengaluru.

3. PetDom

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Petdom is a pet adoption platform on a mission to find the right, deserving home for all pets in India. With the help of technology, Petdom aims to aggregate and facilitate the adoption of thousands of dogs from animal shelters and NGOs. Even current pet parents who are looking to re-home their loved pet can use Petdom to find suitable families and individuals. They have a verification process and a binding agreement which the pet adopters have to sign. Petdom also helps both the pet and its new family adapt to each other.

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A unique canine consultation service, BarkNBond was started by Pranita Balar, who quit her well-paying job to follow her love for animals and turn it into a profession. Balar, a canine consultant and 'dognition' evaluator, believes that positive training methods are the key to a fulfilling relationship between you and your pet. BarkNBond helps you find all pet-related places - from veterinary clinics to pet friendly cafes - with just a few taps on your phone. The startup also provides 'dogs on demand' to bring some canine cheer to offices. Currently, the app covers the city of Mumbai.

5. Collarfolk

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CollarFolk is for those people who hate to leave their pets behind when going on a vacation and would love for them to come along! This startup was born out of the founder Rukmini Vaish's need to step out of town for a fun break without leaving behind Kiki, her 5-month-old golden retriever. She decided that she wanted to do both, and then went on to set up her startup to help like-minded people. Collarfolk helps people plan pet-friendly vacations with their ever-growing list of pet-friendly hotels, resorts and home stays across India. Other than that, they also help you find the right grooming and boarding services for your dogs. They even help you get a pet friendly taxi for the trip.

You May Like: This Woman Rescued 44 Dogs from the Streets and Is Raising Them in Her House. Here’s Why!

6. BarkLoot

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BarkLoot is the brainchild of Usha Raghav, who started the online portal as a gesture of love for her dog, Atom. The portal brings you, or rather your pet, a box-full of cool things that are both safe and beneficial for the pet’s health. With BarkLoot's monthly subscriptions, pets get to enjoy different products - from toys and treats to grooming products - every month. Pet parents also save big on time and money by letting the start-up curate and deliver the products right at their doorsteps.

7. Waggle

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The doggie version of AirBnB, Waggle is an online community of dog lovers that help traveling pet parents find safe and pet-friendly homes in the places they are visiting. Waggle handpicks each of it's hosts through a vetting process to ensure that they are genuine dog lovers with sufficient knowledge in pet care. The founder duo of Sameera Abraham and Arjun Mathai also host dogs at their own homes frequently.

8. Doggie Dabbas

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Doggie Dabbas aims to change the fact that while humans have plenty of choice to order food, pets have to be content with packaged food at best. It is a one-stop shop which provides the benefits of home-cooked food combined with the convenience of traditional packaged dog food. Healthy, home-cooked and customized meals are vacuum-packed with the latest technology and hand-delivered to the doorstep. Founder and pet chef Rashee Kachroo got a brainwave about getting into the cuisine-for-canines business when she realised that her own three dogs preferred her cooking over branded dog food products.

9.PetPhotographer

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Missed out on taking pictures of your pet chasing his tail, sleeping on the window sill or asking for more food with that irresistible wide-eyed look? PetPhotographer captures those fun moments with your pets, be it indoors or outdoors. Founder and pet photographer, Aakanksha Tavag takes pictures that highlights your pets' personalities in the best ways possible. As the former Google employee likes to say, she loves capturing precious moments with pets through her camera.

10. Dogsee Chew

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Dogsee Chew was founded purely for the love of dogs. Founder Bhupendra Khanal, who headed an analytics firm for 7 years, quit his job to start DogSee Chew. The start up makes organic dog treats from natural ingredients that are directly sourced from the Himalayas. They are then made using an ancient recipe of hardened yak and cow milk. They have also collaborated with Therpup, a dog cafe in Bengaluru where pet lovers can come, relax and play with dogs.

11. The Paws Pack

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The brainchild of Tanya Kanetkar Kane and Neha Panchamiya Jangle, The Paws Pack offers holistic solutions for pet-lovers, from hydrotherapy and hostels to pet transportation and training clubs. They also have a state-of-the-art pet resort where a pet can get its own room to relax in when their pet parent is not in town. The pet-loving duo are also proud to have a RESQ veterinary clinic on their Pune premises that offers permanent discounts to pet owners who have adopted Indian breeds.

Also Read: This Girl Celebrated Her Dog’s 14th Birthday by Treating 70 Street Dogs to the Bash of a Lifetime!

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Every year, 35 organisers and more than 1200 volunteers come together to help Mumbai's most famous Ganesh Mandal, Lalbaughca Raja, function. It is August in Mumbai, and that means the city is caught in downpour. Though it’s not the typical cats-and-dogs kind of rain, the clogged drains have resulted in overflow onto the road, with the occasionally moving traffic splashing muck around further. But all this does not seem to deter the enthusiasm of the endlessly long queue of devotees, all barefoot, waiting with garlands, sweets and offerings, occasionally bursting into chants of “Ganpati bappa morya.” Patiently, they wait their turn to visit the most famous Ganpati Mandal in Mumbai - Lalbaugcha Raja. “Often the queues are four or five kilometres long. It is intense devotion and a deep belief that motivates all these people to come here every year. They know that Bappa answers their prayers, which is why he is also called Navascha (granter of wishes) Ganpati,” says Amol Apte, one of the key volunteers, trying to explain the phenomenon.

“This one began as a small mandal made by the Kolis, the local fishing community, here in the Peru Compound in 1928, a few years after Lokmanya Tilak, a renowned national leader, began the celebration as a means of community engagement during the freedom movement.”

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Over the last 74 years, it has grown immensely popular and so large in scale, that there is now a core committee of 35 members, with over 1,200 volunteers, who work all through the year to ensure that the event goes off without a hitch. “Right from managing the different kind of queues, to facilitating the devotees’ food, water and services, the tasks are assigned and divided between us all. Along with religious feeling, it is a spirit of community and social service which motivates us all to work for Raja,” says Amol, who was born and brought up in the neighbourhoods of Lalbaug and Parel.“Every aspect of the work here is elaborate.” Being in a dense suburb with a dearth of space, a lot of planning is required, whether it is to build multiple makeshift shelters and bridges for the devotees, or to make and install the 12-foot-tall idol.

“For 50 years, Venkatesh Kamble and now, his nephew, Santosh Kamble have been making the idol. The ornamentation that you see are offerings; however, the simplicity is that the idol is the same every year. They have used the same mould for the last 50 years; it has been patented as well. But beyond just organising the event, the committee has a vision for the local community; our chairman Sudhir Salvi has spearheaded their activity to ensure this,” Amol says.

Explaining the philanthropic vision, Amol goes on to add: “We have set up a free library and a couple of computer knowledge institutions to educate and empower youth, and to provide them with vocational training."

"The mandal also runs a dialysis centre for a nominal fee, along with providing medical funds to needy patients in a few government hospitals in the city.”

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Amol Apte, a key volunteer[/caption] Amol observes how the history and development of his locality overlaps with the evolution of the mandal. One example is the use of technology like surveillance cameras and intercom systems to ensure an almost corporate-efficiency in the working of the mandal. “Lalbaug has been an area of the kaamgar (working class), given the large number of mills in the area. Back then, when many migrated from the interiors of Maharashtra and Gujarat to work in the mills, the landlords provided chawls and schools close to the workplace. People did not have to travel beyond 1.5 km for anything, but only 25 percent of the population was educated. Subsequently, when the mills shut down, the crime rate increased. I remember, in my growing years, we faced a lot of discrimination from the upmarket Dadar residents. Even in schools, students from Parel and Byculla areas were not admitted,” says Amol, about the lack of mobility and education which, for decades, hampered the growth in the area.

“Over the last two decades, the thinking has evolved. Education has played a huge role. We also look at the redevelopment of these areas as a hope for better facilities. Unlike our elders, who thought that the builders were here to swindle us, education and political consciousness has armed us with the abilitiy to negotiate for our betterment,” says Amol, who has studied automobile engineering and represents a new wave of entrepreneurship.

“Now, everyone is thinking beyond the ‘job mentality’ and a few are coming forward as entrepreneurs. After working for Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. for a couple of years, I decided to take up real estate. It is far more fulfilling to be my own boss. It also gives me time to follow my political interests; I actively work and support a local party,” he says. So, is it political aspirations that motivate him to work for the mandal? He is quick to deny this: “Working for Lalbaugcha Raja is an honour; it’s social work. The people involved in the work belong to different political banners. However, under the umbrella of Bappa, we are all united."

"You will not find a single political hoarding or flag on the premises. Bappa connects us all! It is a message for all people who are divided by caste, creed and community.”

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He explains that on the 10th day, the procession that is taken out to immerse the idol is one of the longest in the city. “It passes through the old town, through the old Gujarati and Mohammedan districts of CP Tank, Do Tanki and Agripada, and finally reaches Girgaum after 22 hours. The belief in the deity is so strong that without any barriers of religion, people flock to pay their respect during the procession.” Girgaum Chowpatty and the other beaches in the city are filled chock-a-block with tourists, devotees and volunteers during the final days of the puja. The sea of humanity watches as idols from all over the city are immersed in the sea in one of the biggest spectacles Mumbai has to offer. Lalbaugcha Raja is supposed to be the last idol in the city to be immersed, marking the end of the 10-day-long festivity. Ganesha or Ganpati, the Hindu god of wisdom and luck, bids adieu to his devotees, promising to visit them with the same grandeur the next year. Written by Nisha Nair-Gupta To read similar stories and explore places through people, extend your support to The People Place Project here

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According to WHO’s Global TB report 2015, India has the highest TB burden in the world. For people like Narendra, who develop extremely drug resistant TB, it is vital that new and promising drugs like bedaquiline and delamanid be made easily accessible and affordable. Four years ago, Narendra (name changed for anonymity), a worker in a garment factory in Mumbai, noticed that his health was deteriorating. Suffering from frequent fevers, bouts of cough and weakness, Narendra was unable to continue his job. It was not long before he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB).

“I wasn’t able to go anywhere and constantly suffered pain in my legs and feet…I used to feel dizzy while walking,” Narendra remembers. He started a six-month medication course, but it didn’t work for him. “My reports came out back positive, again and again,” he says.

The drugs prescribed to him were not effective. Narendra had developed extremely drug-resistant TB (XXDR-TB), a form of TB that is resistant to the currently available first and second-line TB drugs.

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According to WHO’s Global TB report of 2015, India has the highest TB burden in the world. With 2.2 million cases of the global total of 9.6 million cases, India accounts for one-fourth of the total TB incidence worldwide. India is also among the countries worst affected by drug-resistant forms of TB. Extremely drug-resistant TB is resistant to the most potent TB drugs, and is a nightmare for patients as the treatment brings with it debilitating side effects without the certainty of being cured. Narendra’s experience was no different.

“During the course of the treatment, I frequently had pain in my legs, itching in my hands, and numbness in my feet; it felt as though they are frozen,” he says. “I was always in pain and found it difficult to control my temper.”

After decades of neglect, many patients like Narendra found a ray of hope in the form of new TB drugs – Bedaquiline and Delamanid – that are the only ones that can fight the deadliest strains of tuberculosis. However, Delaminid is currently only available in India through a special process, where an application for importing the drug needs to be made on an individual basis. This is a long, and time-demanding procedure that can result in substantial delays in starting the patient's treatment. Bedaquiline is available under a pilot scheme run by the Indian national TB programme, but only a handful of patients so far have been put on treatment in India.

The international medical humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been treating patients with drug-resistant TB in Mumbai since 2006.

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The organization facilitates accurate and precise diagnosis so that patients are put on treatment adapted to their resistance profile, including bedaquiline and delaminid if needed. MSF also offers psychosocial support that focuses on finding practical solutions to everyday barriers that patients may face in taking their treatment.

“There is a real and urgent need to increase people’s access to these more effective treatments, by making them affordable and available all over India,” says Cristina Falconi, Country Director, MSF India. “These new drugs have the potential to be game changers in the treatment of drug-resistant TB. Our experience from using them is that they are very promising and potentially life-saving for patients with the most extreme drug resistance patterns. At the same time, practitioners must administer them in a correct and responsible manner so that resistance does not develop also to these drugs.”

Today, Narendra is one of the lucky few to have access to the new drugs. In December 2015, MSF started treating him with the new medicines. “Compared to my earlier medication, I feel much, much better now. I feel good at home again and finally, I can work now!” he says, full of hope.

Watch this short video of Narendra's fight with TB:

[embedvideo id="ETtfvpqA59c" website="youtube"] To find out more about MSF’s work on tuberculosis in India, click here

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Bal Asha Trust is a not-for-profit organisation that was founded in October 1985 in Mumbai. For the past 31 years, it has rehabilitated more than 1,500 destitute/abandoned children from various parts of Maharashtra.

A year ago, they opened a Child Development Centre (CDC) for children with developmental disabilities from across the state.

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Three people who run the organisation from their own property established the Trust. The director of Bal Asha spoke with TBI. Sunil Arora, who oversees daily affairs at Bal Asha, first heard of the Trust when his mother fostered some children that Bal Asha had housed in its adoption centre. He says, “I started visiting Bal Asha when I was 12 and they approved of us as a foster family.” Subsequently, Sunil started volunteering at the organisation to spend some time with the children and do minor administrative work in the office. “I realised I like being responsible for the welfare of so many children and making them happy, so instead of making a career in the finance industry, I started working with Bal Asha,” he added.

So what makes Bal Asha different from the many child care and adoption centres in Mumbai?

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Sunil says, “What struck me when I was working here even as a teenager was the amount of individual attention paid to each child. We look after destitute children with diseases and chalk out a treatment plan for them. There are medical, educational and rehabilitation programmes for all children. These children with medical issues and disabilities are put up for adoption and potential adoptive parents are encouraged to take them home so that they get integrated into a family support system.” A year ago, the Child Development Centre, which is one of Bal Asha’s most popular initiatives, was a community clinic for people living nearby. While the areas around it were being redeveloped, the organisation realised that they needed to address a pressing issue related to children after renovating the community clinic. The director says, “We realised that most children who are abandoned on the streets are deserted because of their medical problems. So, we did a little research, first around South Mumbai to find facilities for children with disabilities. These facilities were being provided in private and government hospitals. If your child is not speaking despite being over two years old, you can bring him/her to one of the private hospitals and you’ll realize that they charge anything between Rs. 8,000-10,000 for a single assessment. And in government hospitals, the waiting lists are so long that if you make an appointment right now, you’ll get to meet the doctor three months later. Also, if the child is disabled and needs special therapy, the hospital will be able to provide it only once in three months or so.”

According to the US-based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, developmental disabilities are conditions due to ”impairment in physical, learning, language, or behaviour areas.” The disability manifests in the child before the age of 18 in most cases, which is why the Bal Asha Trust gives special emphasis to early intervention.

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At the Bal Asha Trust, children with developmental disabilities are exposed to three types of therapies: speech therapy, physiotherapy and neuro-therapy. Sunil says, “It was the lack of rehabilitation facilities in affordable hospitals that moved us to construct CDC. We visited and spoke to NGOs in Mumbai that work with children who have special needs, and we realised that even though they are doing some pioneering work in their fields, they are overburdened. That’s when it struck us that we need to contribute our time and resources to this particular segment. So, we approached the best neuro-paediatrician in Mumbai, Dr. Anahita Hegde, who set up a team and plan for us by July 9, 2015. This team is made up of a development professional, a paediatrician, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, and an occupational therapist, who does exercises related to muscle toning.”

In the past year, the program has been immensely successful and they’ve managed to address 2,500 cases of children with disabilities.

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So, are the services offered at CDC free of cost for all? Sunil says, “We see parents and patients from all walks of life. Before we make a treatment plan, we assess their financial situation and then charge a nominal fee. But, we don’t charge anything for parents who really can’t afford the treatment.” Apart from CDC, Bal Asha also runs a children’s home and an educational sponsorship program. The children’s home was established for those under the age of 12 and it has the capability of housing around 70 children every year. This home is registered under the Juvenile Justice Act (2006) and also serves as an adoption centre. Bal Asha works with the Child Welfare Committee, which recommends children under two categories -- abandoned and surrendered. Apart from screening the children regularly for health complications, they also sponsor the medical treatment of kids who are ill.

A bunch of paediatricians, social workers, psychologists, and speech therapists makes up the administrative team.

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To curb the high dropout rates among underprivileged children in Mumbai, Bal Asha provides education sponsorship to children who are born to single mothers and to sex workers. This sponsorship covers fees, textbooks, stationery, uniforms, bags, shoes, and other study materials. Though the children’s home and education sponsorship scheme are noble initiatives, it is the Child Development Centre that is in dire need of funds because of the huge influx of children with developmental disabilities. A single case takes around 45 minutes of counselling and the CDC staff is also beginning to feel the burden of the ambitious project.

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Meet Gangadharan Menon – a teacher, travel writer, photographer, and granddad. He played an important role in saving one of India’s beautiful evergreen forests about 32 years ago by making a documentary film. “We...started on a journey that I treasure as the most memorable days of the 52 years of my existence – something that I will not trade for anything in this world, or even the next! Carrying huge loads of bare necessities, we set out with an inexplicable fear in our hearts,” wrote Gangadharan Menon in his book Evergreen Leaves.

Gangadharan, who has been a resident of Mumbai since 1962, worked in the field of advertising for 27 years, after which he quit and is now teaching at an arts college, other than working as a travel photographer and writer.

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In this chapter of his book, named ‘Silent Valley isn’t silent anymore’, Gangadharan, now 60, talks about his journey to Silent Valley – a journey that ended with him playing a huge role in saving an evergreen forest that was declared to be a national park because of his laudable efforts. Silent Valley, now a national park, is located in Nilgiri Hills in Palakkad district of Kerala. It is home to a variety of animal and bird species like the lion-tailed macaque, Ceylon frog-mouth, leopards, black stork, and more. In the year 1978, the government of Kerala decided to build a hydroelectric dam in the valley to generate power. This would have entailed blocking the Kunthi River, which flows through the forest, and a major portion of the valley would have been submerged. However, after several protests from environmentalists around the country, the matter moved to the central government and finally to the Supreme Court. This stalled the dam construction for years.

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In 1980, Gangadharan, who was then a 22-year-old MA student and was also working as a theatre actor, met a filmmaker named K K Chandran. The latter used to make films on environmental issues and he told Gangadharan about Silent Valley. “He told me that the dam was a threat to the place and that he was planning to make a documentary film on it. He also asked me to go to Kerala with him for a recce and write the script for the film. Excited, I took a year-long break for this project.” Together, with a team of five people who contributed Rs. 15,000 each because they did not have any producer till then, Chandran and Gangadharan went to explore Silent Valley.

They conducted extensive research on what was happening in the region, and that part of the journey in itself was amazing.

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Clik here to view. The film unit in Silent Valley, 1979.

The film unit in Silent Valley, 1979.[/caption] Armed with a 16mm camera and bags filled with the bare necessities required for survival in the Valley, the team marched forward. They had to carry food supplies, water, medicines, etc., because the last tribal village on the way to Silent Valley is Mukkali and it was 24 km away from the dam site. No vehicles were allowed after Mukkali and the only way to reach the site was to walk through the dense, pathless forest.

Chandran and Gangadharan had found out that there was only one guide who would be able to take them into and out of the forest – a 62-year-old man named Thekkinkattil Hamsa (or Hamsakka), who lived nearby and knew the forest like the back of his hand.

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Clik here to view. Silent Valley, 1979

Silent Valley, 1979[/caption]

“When we reached the dam site at noon, we witnessed something akin to manslaughter. A tree that had withstood the onslaught of time for two centuries was brought down in two minutes to make way for the dam. As we captured the heart-rending cry of that tree, we had captured the spirit of our documentary,” wrote Gangadharan.

They saw that the base of the dam had already been constructed. The team, which included a cameraman, an assistant, and a porter, set out to shoot the film. The shoot lasted 17 days.

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Clik here to view. The endangered Ceylon Frogmouth

The endangered Ceylon Frogmouth[/caption] “Evergreen forests are really dense. We realised that the forest had daylight only between 11 am and 3 pm. So that was the only time we could shoot every day. This is why we extended estimated time. But we had provisions for 10 days only. I remember being an adventurous youngster and when no one was willing to walk back to the village for supplies, I volunteered. It was while returning that I saw a wild tusker and experienced terror for the first time,” laughs Gangadharan, reliving those days. Together, the team learned about escaping wild animals, gathering wood to light fires every night, and walking on massive carpets of leeches.

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After returning to Mumbai, it took a long time for Chandran and Gangadharan to edit the film because of a lack of funds.

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Cobra Plant[/caption] Chandran also had some disagreements with the producers at Film Division, Mumbai – the only organization at the time that produced and distributed documentary films.

“Chandran left and everything came to a standstill after that. But we had invested 7-8 months in the film. I could not let everything go to waste after giving it almost a year of my life,” says Gangadharan.

New to the field of filmmaking, he learned on the job and completed the first cut himself. Then he met Dilnavaz Variava, the Chairperson of the Save Silent Valley Committee, which was formed at about the same time. She watched the film and helped him with a sum of Rs. 10,000 to complete it.

The 18-minute long documentary was finally ready – only to receive a rejection certificate from the censor board on the grounds that the film was ‘one-sided’.

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Gangadharan again reached out to Dilnavaz. She, in turn, spoke with Mr. S P Godrej, the chairman of Godrej Group. He took some time and arranged for a meeting with the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, with the hope that she would understand the environmental consequences of the dam project. “A screening was organised for Mrs. Gandhi and, to my surprise, she watched the entire movie. And she was actually moved. She told us that she would ensure the area is declared a national park,” says Gangadharan.

That is exactly what happened in 1984 and Silent Valley is completely protected now.

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Clik here to view. Silent Valley, 2006

Silent Valley, 2006[/caption] “That is the only worthwhile thing I have done in my life. If I am asked: ‘What was your purpose of coming to this earth?’ I can say it was to save this forest. I went there again after 26 years with my wife and children and saw that the base of the dam is still there. The site now has a watchtower from where you can see the entire forest. They are restricting visitors and only 25 people are allowed in a day.” Ask him about the importance of conservation and he quotes a Chinese proverb: ‘“Only when the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last wild animal killed, that man will realise that he can’t eat money.’ We want to monetise mother earth and sell everything that nature has provided. But this saying shows exactly why we need to conserve.”

You may also like: How People across India Are Using the Internet to Plant Trees and Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

Contact Gangadharan by writing to him at wildganges@gmail.com. You can purchase his book here.

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Rajen Nair is a freelance photojournalist living in Mumbai. He has a partial hearing disability. Rajen has conducted photography workshops for about 700 children, including cancer patients and children with disabilities. There is excitement in the air in the paediatric ward of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. A group of children, all suffering from cancer, are huddled up and waiting for their teacher, friend, confidante, and guide – Rajen Nair. It is that day of the week when Rajen comes in to teach them photography; something that they look forward to, something that lights up their day and that gives them immense hope. “I see a different kind of light in their eyes and joy on their faces during my workshops. It is encouraging just to look at them learning,” says Rajen, a freelance photojournalist from Mumbai who is partially deaf and is known for his free photography workshops for children suffering from cancer or living with disabilities.

It was during the late 90s that Rajen first realised he could hear better with his right ear as compared to the left, when using the telephone.

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On visiting a doctor he received the shocking news that he had atherosclerosis – a condition that leads to hardening of the arteries in the ear and causes hearing loss. The doctor suggested immediate surgery and informed him that any delay could lead to permanent damage. But, unfortunately, even the surgery didn't help him in the long run. Rajen lost the ability to hear in his left ear. A year after that, he was diagnosed with tinnitus, a condition that leads to buzzing or ringing in the ear. “Tinnitus patients suffer from depression and have suicidal tendencies too. I went through all that for a long time. But then, one morning, I decided that instead of spending years worrying about my condition, which I had to deal with anyway, I would use my time more productively,” says Rajen.

You may also like: A Mobile App That Teaches the Basics About Cancer Care for Children. And Gives Hope.

During this time, he also had to quit his job after he made a mistake in quoting an amount for an important business deal for his company, due to his hearing problem.

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Later, he decided to try his hand at writing, a hobby he had developed over the years. Rajen took a course in journalism and photography and started working as a freelancer for a leading Indian newspaper. “I was the senior-most student in my photography class and could not initially understand a word of what I was being taught. I was doing photography only to add to my writing career. I never thought of it as something that I wanted to make an independent career in. But slowly, I started getting more recognition for my photography skills than for my writing,” he says. This was just the beginning of a long and beautiful journey. On looking back at the reasons why he turned out to be a better photographer even though the subject was so new for him, Rajen thinks it was because of his hearing disability.

“I am more dependent on my eyes whenever I am outside and that could be a reason why photography was easy for me. This was when I thought of teaching this skill to children living with hearing disabilities,” he says.

In the early 2000s, Rajen started to visit a school for deaf children in Goregaon. He conducted photography classes for kids there every weekend.

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The classes were free of charge and went on for three years. They included theory classes on photography equipment, going outdoors for shoots, organising exhibitions, etc. Word about his work spread across India and abroad, and a well-wisher from Australia even flew down to gift him nine cameras for his classes (he still uses them in all his workshops). After three years, it started becoming difficult for Rajen to continue teaching the classes using his own money. “But the kids wanted to continue,” he says. “I told them that there were no funds and it was not possible. But I had developed a special bond with them by then and my relationship with my students always went beyond my classes. They were an important part of my life. So we decided to meet once every month for outdoor shoots and those classes continue to this day,” says Rajen. Five students from his group are on the verge of starting their own careers in photography today. Despite coming from underprivileged backgrounds, they saved money to buy DSLR cameras and are practising to become wedding photographers.

In 2013, Rajen tied up with the Tata Memorial Hospital through an NGO and started taking classes for children suffering from cancer.

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These classes were a part of HOPE -- an annual cultural programme organised by the hospital – with the underlying message that cancer is curable. Following this, some other NGOs approached him. Now, Rajen conducts regular photography workshops on invitations from NGOs.

“I feel that creativity is important during the bad phases of life. It helps people cope. Moreover, this skill gives my students a medium and tool to express themselves, and also something that they can take forward and build a career in,” he says.

All his workshops are free for students; the NGOs pay for his transportation and stay.

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His aim is to bring kids with disabilities into the mainstream and he has worked with over 500 children till now, including those with visual impairments, Down syndrome, autism, etc., in places like Faridabad, Goa, Bengaluru, and more. During his three-day workshops, the first day is dedicated to learning all about the equipment and the theory of photography; this is followed by two days of outdoor shoots.

You may also like: This Doctor Invented a Rs. 50 Device To Give Throat Cancer Patients Their Voice Again

All the pictures taken by children during the shoots are used by the NGOs to organise exhibitions for fund-raising.

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“Once, in collaboration with an NGO, I conducted a three-day workshop in Dharavi. The kids wanted to continue after those three days. When I told them that we wouldn’t have the required place, they offered their own homes to learn. And we continued the classes for about six months in a shanty in the slum,” recounts Rajen.

Although Rajan is not working currently, he continues to take regular classes at the hospital. Losing his students to cancer is a hard reality that Rajen has learned to face.

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From among the group of five regular students in his group, he has already lost two to the disease. “We have a WhatsApp group named ‘warrior photography’ because all these students are warriors. They are much stronger than adults like us. I lost Gulshan and Harsh, two teenagers full of life, hopes and dreams. While this shook me initially, my other students helped me cope,” he says.

Rajen has a Facebook page called Spreading Light through Photography, for his students and other photography enthusiasts.

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“My message to kids with disabilities is: ‘Today you are pampered by NGOs, schools, colleges, and parents. But tomorrow, these people might not be with you. So don’t become a liability. You have to learn something that will help you’. The same goes for children suffering from cancer. I feel that creativity can help them fight the agony, pain and mental trauma they have to go through. I tell them that that if they don’t fight bravely, the medicines will not work,” he concludes.

You may also like: This Double Arm Amputee Drives So Well With His Legs, He Could Not Be Denied a Driving Licence!

You can contact Rajen by writing to him at rajennair29@gmail.com.

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Akshay Agrawal, an 18-year-old student, used to study in a school in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. The school had classes only till Class 10. So after his board exams, he had to start the procedure of seeking admission in a different school. “It was a bit of a hassle when I wanted to change schools because there was no information available on the quality of different schools online. And on asking people, they would all say different things about different schools. There wasn’t any way for me or my parents to make an informed decision. The only options were had were to ask neighbours or read a paragraph or two online about why a particular school is good or bad,” he says.

Through his personal experience, Akshay realised that at any given point in time there are many students changing schools or taking admission in a school for the first time, but they don’t always have a reliable source of information to take help from.

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This was when he came across an idea – that was starting a Zomato for schools. “I basically wanted to create one common platform with reviews for all schools; all at one place. So people won’t have to go to different places for reviews, opinions, etc.,” he says. In early 2015, Akshay launched ClassFever – a website to rank schools. What started as a basic rating and aggregation website, slowly turned into an open source, review-driven, big data school ranking platform. “Instead of users having to submit their subjective views, we decided to take a more analytical approach and incorporate more statistics,” says Akshay. With a core team of four members, he conducted a study and came up with a list of factors based on which they could rank schools.

ClassFever rates schools based on 32 factors divided into six groups – academics, economics, co-curricular activities, value for money, luxury, and parent and student recommendations.

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It is an open source platform on which users can rate schools according to the different parameters and ClassFever then uses an algorithm to carry out numerous calculations and come up with a final score. Today, the website has about 3,500 schools registered with it. While the team started from Maharashtra, they are now moving to Madhya Pradesh and Haryana and plan to expand country-wide in the future.

Akshay has a team of 25 people in five cities now, and he has bootstrapped the entire project with a help of a loan from his father.

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“We enable schools to know where they stand and enable students and parents to discover schools easily. The unique thing about ClassFever is that we try to update the ranks every week and all the data is open source for everyone to see. The data also helps schools see how they can improve and the areas that need work. We also publish the data we use to obtain the rankings,” says Akshay. After finishing his school years from Bombay and Delhi, the teenager has now moved to California to complete graduation from a design college. While his team is taking care of ground operations back home, Akshay plans to continue with ClassFever in the future as well and get all schools in the country on board. Know more about ClassFever here.

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The one thing Himanshu Singh learned from reading the widely popular Harry Potter series is that no one deserves to spend their lives in a closet. And that’s why the Mumbaikar wrote a Facebook post that would have made J.K. Rowling proud. He came out as a homosexual.

Himanshu notes in his post that after a lot of soul searching, he decided to come out to the world in order provide courage to Indians who are also a part of the LGBTQ community and yet, are living “in the shadows”.

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Source: Facebook

He says that while his sexuality does not define him, it is also an integral part of who he is. He notes, “My sexuality is not a phase, it never was. It is not a disease, it is not a mental disability, it is not a choice, and definitely not a disgrace. I was born this way. I realized it when I was 14. It is so saddening to say that I had to strive for normalcy to be in societal norms all these years. It smothered me for quite a long time. Why do people advice to tell it to only those who matter? Why it has to be hushed and shushed?” The note, which has gone viral, has already been shared on the social media platform over 300 times and has garnered over 2,000 likes.

The post also has many supportive comments for Himanshu from people across India who have near unanimously, left behind messages commending him for his courage his honesty.

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Source: Facebook

Most importantly, Himanshu urges all Indians to educate themselves on these issues and points out that acceptance of homosexuality could save the lives of millions of Indians who are still deeply closeted and terrified of being rejected by the society. After all, as he rightly says – we are born this way.

Read his full post here:

Posted by Himanshu Singh on Friday, October 7, 2016

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Nineteen year old Prem Thakur has no background in engineering. But that didn't stop him from pursuing his dream of building his own buggy car. Prem Thakur zooms across Navi Mumbai’s suburban streets in a swanky looking buggy car. As he pulls into the petrol pump, all the attendants pull out their mobile phones to take pictures of the car. Prem, the 19-year-old creator of the car, beams like a proud father. “I have built this buggy from scratch, using an old sedan’s engine,” he tells Amol Lalzare, the correspondent from Video Volunteers who first reported this story. With limited monetary resources and no background knowledge of engineering, Prem, a commerce student, learnt how to make the buggy car with the help of tutorials from YouTube. Taking lessons from the Youtube Do-It-Yourself (DIY) videos, Prem has put together the entire car from scratch.

“In four months time, I wielded the car from the chassis up and painted it all by myself,” he proudly tells us. The buggy even has a few fancy features, including cool side-blinkers and a music system with USB port.

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Clik here to view. The car draws many admirers wherever it goes

The car draws many admirers wherever it goes[/caption] Prem’s story is unique because of his family’s support in his ambition. A resident of Kharghar, a suburb in the planned township of Navi Mumbai, Prem comes from a humble background. Even though his father, a rickshaw driver, earns a meagre daily income of Rs. 500-600 ($ 7 – $9), his father was determined to ensure Prem's education. “My father got me a computer when I was 12. Since then, I have used the internet to learn all sorts of things, including how to make a buggy car,” says Prem. A car enthusiast since childhood, when Prem expressed his desire to make a car by himself, his parents could have easily cited monetary difficulties. But instead, the family and his grandmother came together and helped him realise his dream. Putting the buggy together cost the Thakurs almost Rs. 2.5 lakh ($ 3800 approximately).

“Had it not been for my family and the internet, I couldn’t possibly have built this car,” Prem says.

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Clik here to view. Prem Thakur

Prem Thakur[/caption] While the family has spent a significant amount of their household earnings, on Prem’s dream, the machine's roar and speed prove that their investment in his dreams is not futile.

Prem wants to test his car on a race track one day and someday become an automobile engineer.

[embedvideo id="xBZvUxatOMs" website="youtube"] Do you think you can help him fulfil his dream? Do let us know by writing in at info@videovolunteers.org Take action for a more just global media by joining the Video Volunteers movement. For more information, follow the organisation on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter

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Some heroes don’t need a cape to save the day. A Mumbai cab driver has been hailed as a good Samaritan by thousands after he recounted a story about the time when he saved a woman from a bunch of drunk men who were harassing her in the middle of the night. His story was shared on the popular Facebook page called Humans of Bombay. The cab driver, who has been working for over 35 years, said that a few years ago he noticed a woman walking down a dingy lane in Mumbai at 12.30 am. She was looking very anxious and it was then that he saw a few drunk men right behind her. They were whistling at her and following her. When they began to chase after the girl, he took it upon himself to drive them away.

He said, “They (the harassers) then began to actively chase her and I was still across the street -- so as a reflex I decided to start honking continuously. The noise created enough alarm, because they were startled and immediately ran away in the other direction. I crossed over, and told that girl that I would drop her home -- she was so terrified, she had gone completely pale. We drove in silence for those 2-3 minutes...her house was just around the corner, but when she stepped outside, she caught both my hands, started weeping and thanked me over and over again.”

It is a story that the cab driver says he will never forget. The post, that was published on October 19 and has already been shared over 1,800 times on Facebook.

People are commending him not only because he showed kindness in someone's hour of need but they are also noting that this tale has restored their own faith in humanity.

"I've been driving this cab since 35 years now. I'm old, but I still have to support myself. Over the years there have... Posted by Humans of Bombay on Monday, October 17, 2016

Read the full post here:

"I've been driving this cab since 35 years now. I'm old, but I still have to support myself. Over the years there have been so many experiences -- I've seen the best and worst of this city. Sometimes, people like you will talk to me, atleast make me feel human and then there are others who come and scream at me because they're in a hurry and there's too much traffic. A few years ago, at around 12:30 am one night, I noticed a young girl, not over 25 walking from the bus stop, possibly towards her home. It was one of those dingy lanes where there aren't a lot of people. I noticed her, because she looked very anxious and when I looked behind her I saw these 2-3 drunk fellows whistling, and calling her names. They then began to actively chase her and I was still across the street -- so as a reflex I decided to start honking continuously. The noise created enough alarm, because they were startled and immediately ran away in the other direction. I crossed over, and told that girl that I would drop her home -- she was so terrified, she had gone completely pale. We drove in silence for those 2-3 minutes....her house was just around the corner, but when she stepped outside, she caught both my hands, started weeping and thanked me over and over again. Even though I said it's okay and that I would have done it for anyone, she insisted that I wait outside while she went in to get something. She came out with a tin of rasgullas and told me to take them home to my family -- I thanked her and left. I barely knew her for 10 minutes, but I don't think I'll ever forget that night."

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Plastic drums, paint cans, buckets, glass bottles and throw away junk – what do you get when you bring all this together? “Music!” say the rag picking children of Mumbai’s Dharavi slum. Every day, Mumbai sees - yet ignores - thousands of rag-pickers who go about collecting trash from beaches, railway platforms, and other public places. This huge mountain of trash is then brought to the slums, the unofficial recycling hubs of the city. The rag-pickers are doing Mumbai a huge service by collecting and segregating the city's waste. Vinod Shetty, a labour lawyer in Mumbai, started noticing how these rag pickers worked – they are the most unrepresented labour force of the city, their working conditions are harsh and dangerous, and there are no labour laws to protect them. Moved by what he observed, Vinod decided to work for the betterment of the rag-picker community, which is at least 1 lakh strong. He founded Acorn Foundation in 2005 towards this vision. Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, is home to a majority of these rag-pickers. Noticeably, a large number of them are children. Vinod wanted to bring some educational and recreational element into the lives of these children who, otherwise, lead very tough lives. That’s how 'Dharavi Rocks' was born, a cheerful and heartening initiative that makes music out of the very junk the children collect.

The typical blue drums that Mumbaikars use to store water, paint cans, sticks, glass bottles, metal caps, and what not – the children transform this junk into musical instruments.

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“The band brought together children who came in right from the streets. We have children who were drug addicts, who stole things, who ran away from their homes, etc. But deep within, they are simple fun-loving kids. We wanted Dharavi Rocks to become an educational platform for these children,” says Vinod. In a tiny room in the Dharavi slums, some of these children started practising. The spirited junk percussion sounds attracted more children who joined in. Soon, Dharavi Rocks became a band of 20-25 children in the age group of 8 to 18.

The children would finish their daily rounds of garbage collection, or work at construction sites, and come running to the shanty room to make music that is fun and upbeat.

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They started learning together. They made their own musical instruments. Some of their innovations, like soft drink cans filled with rice grains, are very popular. As they drummed and clinked on the things they collected through the day, they also started stealing the hearts of Mumbaikars. Abhijit Jejurikar, a young musician, was thrilled with Vinod’s efforts and joined the gang to train the children. Soon, the band of bacha log started performing on stage (50 plus events to date). Musicians from across the country and from abroad took time out to mentor the children. You may also like: Meet the Ludhiana Advocate Who Runs a School for Ragpickers in a One-Room Slum Hutment Sheetal Rathore, a 15-year-old drummer with the band, says, “Dharavi Rocks has helped me build my self-confidence. Going on stage was a great experience. We met so many stars like Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif – they were all so encouraging and nice to us. We learnt our music from all the musicians who did workshops with us. Teachers like Suneeta Rao and Abhijit sir taught us discipline and patience. We owe all this to Vinod sir and Acorn Foundation who believed in us poor kids from Dharavi and gave us a new life and fame. I am now confident of securing admission in college and continuing my higher studies in economics.” Vinod was insistent that the band would have a ‘floating team’. “As the children get older they take up jobs and leave the band, making way for the younger children. In this way we have been able to keep the children grounded in their fame and have been able to nurture the talent of more and more children.

"Through the band, the children have also become ambassadors who create awareness about recycling, reusing and better waste management in the city," says Vinod.

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Clik here to view. Vinod Shetty with the children of Dharavi Rocks band

Vinod Shetty with the children of Dharavi Rocks band[/caption] Apart from the recreation the band provides the children, this musical platform is also where they overcome inhibitions, learn leadership skills, and learn to work as a team. ACORN takes interest in supporting the children in academics and sports. Indeed, there is a tremendous amount of positivity that emanates from the notes of the junk that is drummed and strummed under this unique and heart-warming initiative. You can contact Dharavi Rocks at dharaviproject@gmail.com.

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Breastfeeding is natural, and more importantly, it provides vital nutrition and nourishment for a newborn. But what many people forget is that it is also extremely difficult and that breastfeeding mothers need all the support they can get.

From a lack of education and support to absence of well-equipped nursing rooms and constant judgement from everyone (including their cats) – breastfeeding moms face quite a few hurdles!

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Picture for representation only. Source: Flickr

For Nivedita Emmanuel (name changed) who works at Cochin Info Park, having a son who is a year and eight months old, guilt is still a constant companion because she could breastfeed her baby only for a few months. “On the third day after birth, my baby was given formula. I had a difficult time getting the baby to feed directly and I didn't know any better. I wish there was someone who could have explained to me how important it was to give the baby breast milk. Even the caregivers and health professionals at the hospital were not able to give me the right advice. It was something that I could easily fix, but I wasn’t given the right knowledge or support at the time.” Feeding in public is frowned upon! Why then is there no provision to feed the baby in a hygienic, private location in public spaces? Considering the influence that new mothers have, one would think that malls and businesses would ensure that there are well equipped changing and nursing rooms. Megha Badoutiya, mom to a six-year-old and a one-year-old, has lived in Visakhapatnam and Cochin. She says that not much has changed over the last five years.

“Most of the public places are not nursing mother-friendly, and it can become quite a hassle for moms. My friends and I still prefer to go feed in the car, because it is private and more comfortable than the options available to us. While some malls have a feeding room, it is more often than not, a part of the bathroom and I know my child doesn't enjoy being fed with a cover on. I have even fed in a tiny changing room. I just find it easier to keep the car keys handy.”

Most often than not, even hospitals do not have a clean and private place to breastfeed. Pune based mom Pallavi Patel agrees. “While some malls have a room, I find it appalling that no such space exists in big restaurants and eateries. Even government offices such as passport offices or banks – both places where there are possibilities of a long wait – have no place for a breastfeeding mother.”

For Mumbai-resident Sonali Darshan, the concern is the lack of facilities at workplaces, and how moms returning to the workforce will most likely have to give up breastfeeding.

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Picture for representation only. Source: Flickr

“I feel that the work culture in many Mumbai offices is not supportive of the working mom; offices are not very spacious and it's difficult to arrange a room for mothers to pump milk. And there is no way they can go home in intervals to see their baby, it's impossible in the traffic.” Bengaluru-resident and mommy Pooja Abraham (name changed) feels that although there have been improvements, particularly in the work sphere, it is not enough. “There are offices now which provide private spaces for nursing mothers to pump; our office opened one last year. However, many women are not very comfortable explaining their pumping absences to their male managers.” “Another area that a nursing mom faces pressure is the cut-off age. I fed my child beyond one year, and received flak for it. I think moms should not be judged for how long they feed their child for.” It is upsetting that there is a need to “normalize" breastfeeding. Every woman deserves the right to feed her baby as and when she pleases. Without a cover or with, in the mall or restaurant, without being asked to go to the restroom to feed, without being told that bubba is too old, without being intimidated and scared into replacing breast milk with formula.

Possibly change is coming. The Bengaluru airport is one such example.

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Both within the arrivals, and departure terminals, there is a clean and private baby room, equipped with a changing area, and cots, for more than one baby, and even dispensers for baby soap and cream. Hopefully we’ll see these rooms at every public space! You can also contribute to help create 2000 breastfeeding counsellors in India. The project run by Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India will provide a four day course to train counsellors who can help mothers to make appropriate infant feeding choices and avoid harmful practices as well as solve their breastfeeding problems.

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But till then, even you can make a difference. Read about breastfeeding and spread awareness. The only way to change things is through education and awareness. Tell your friends and family, male or female, about how incredibly amazing breast milk is and how it can promote the well-being of not just the child but the mother too. Dispel the myths and misinformation surrounding breastfeeding. Speak out and educate; and more importantly, stop judging. Help build a generation which not only understands why breastfeeding is important, but also values it and encourages it. You know what they say – it takes a village to raise a child.

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About the author: Dilraz Kunnummal is mom to an energetic 8month old boy, journalist, and blogger. She shares her experiences in the journey of motherhood on MommyDil.com

Conservation architect Vikas Vedprakash Dilawari is the brains behind the restoration of several Mumbai gems, including the Bhau Daji Lad museum, Flora Fountain, Esplanade House, Alpaiwala Museum and the Lal Chimney Compound. It’s 2:30 pm on a Monday and it seems to be a very busy afternoon at the office of Vikas Dilawaris Architects, located in Jawahar Nagar, Goregaon West; the company is owned by Vikas Vedprakash Dilawari, a 48-year-old Conservation Architect. The office is filled with young employees, some are busy working on their computers, others are taking prints and still others are rushing into the cabin inside for a discussion with their boss. After a while, putting all his work aside, he begins speaking:

"During the 1950s to the 1960s, my father came to Mumbai from Kashmir, to set up his own business. Even back in those days, Mumbai was considered The City of Gold, The Land of Opportunities and The Dreamers' Paradise! He established his business here in Goregaon, which was a pleasant neighbourhood, since he owned a house here. Hence, my brother and I were born here in Mumbai."

Bracketed on either side of the railway line by the Western Express Highway and Linking Road, Goregaon was primarily a middle-class residential neighbourhood. Until the late 1970s, the suburb was sparsely populated. This began to change when residential localities began to spring up.

"One of our favorite games during childhood days was to play with dragonflies and butterflies. Back in those days, there were no compound walls for houses, so my neighbourhood friends and me used to often spill out on the road to play. There were so many talavs, trees and birds. Mumbai gave me a beautiful childhood! But slowly slowly the birds started disappearing and houses started building compounds walls for safety reasons. Then came the box windows, the grills, the CCTVs... the list goes on and on now. And also, the concept of ‘neighbourhood friends’ does not exist anymore,” he says with disappointment.

During his school days in Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, Vikas Dilawari was very fascinated with history. But it was only when he started his B. A. in Architecture at the L S Raheja School in 1985 that he really discovered the architectural heritage of the city.

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“Up until then, I hadn’t seen many of the heritage buildings,” he says. “I had always loved history, so my interest in historical buildings was natural I suppose.” Architecture school introduced him to many of our city’s beautiful structures, but it also showed him how little they were appreciated.

“We had an academic exercise where we were supposed to redesign Crawford Market. I tried to conserve it, but didn’t get good marks – people who demolished it got the best marks, so it motivated me to study further and do my thesis on it, just to prove that I was not wrong in conserving it. Hence, I landed up doing conservation, and there’s been no looking back since. Back then, conservation involved a lot of activism because it was not in fashion,” says Dilawari.

After he decided that he wanted to specialise in conservation architecture, he enrolled for an M. A. in the subject at the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.

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In 1990, he was among the first batch of Indian students with this specialisation. “When I got my degree, no one knew what it was because the concept of conservation architecture was introduced in India in 1985— so they thought I was doing ‘conversation architecture’,” he says with a laugh. Back then, heritage buildings didn’t offer as much work or pay as other types of architecture. “Working as a conservation architect has definitely involved sacrifices,” says Dilawari. “You can’t make big money, although it is getting more comfortable now. Back then, getting to do small work on the exterior of the building was considered to be a great thing and interior work was out the question. Conservation is not like [contemporary] architecture or interior design: there are no quick projects. During my initial days we used to volunteer with various NGOs to conserve the buildings that the government wanted to demolish,” he adds.

Between 1986 and 1991, Dilawari began his career with the first heritage conservation project in the country, the Gaiety Theatre project in Shimla, under Ved Segan, the architect of Prithvi Theatre.

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Gaiety Theatre, Shimla[/caption]

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Since then, Dilawari has actively helped build an infrastructure for conservation architecture, which was near non-existent when he started working. Perhaps the most important work has been putting together a skilled labour force: “Since conservation demands a lot of handcrafted work, there was huge requirement for good craftsmen. The difficulty in finding craftsmen who are professionals in working with traditional materials and delivering good quality of work is major challenge that we face even today.” Inspite of all the challenges, in 2001, his restoration of the Rajabai Clock Tower, built between 1869 and 1878, received a UNESCO Asia Pacific Special Mention Award.

Years later, in 2005, his work on the 140-year-old Bhau Daji Lad museum in Byculla received the Award for Excellence - the only building in the city to have received this honour.

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His portfolio of work also includes an impressive array of other iconic Mumbai structures including: Flora Fountain, Esplanade House, Alpaiwala Museum (the only Parsi museum in the world), JN Petit Library, Army Navy Building, Standard Chartered Bank Office, Lal Chimney compound, Marzaban Colony in Mumbai Central, Royal Bombay Yacht Club Residential Chambers in Apollo Bunder and many more.

His work has been recognized by UNESCO 10 times, making him one of India’s top conservation architects.

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Flora Fountain[/caption]

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"The field of conservation architecture needs patience and also in-depth knowledge about the history of the building one is working with. It’s all about getting the building to look the way it was originally built," he says. Many a times, getting back the authentic look of a building led to Vikas Dilawari travelling across the globe. For example, to find the right hue for the Bhau Daji Lad museum was a particularly time-consuming process. Dilawari visited Victorian heritage buildings in the UK to make sure that the colours he found matched the ones under the layers of paint, operating much like a detective searching buildings for clues.

The process of sensitizing people about the value of heritage is the most important one and Dilawari is exploring all avenues to raise the next generation of conservation architects to whom he can pass the baton.

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Lal Chimney Compound[/caption]

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He also conducts heritage walks as a means of raising awareness. After all, it was through heritage walks organized by his college that he fell in love with historic buildings. “I take children from my daughters’ school for these walks,” he says. “After all, we need to really think about the legacy that we are going to leave behind. Is it only redevelopment or we going to preserve our architectural heritage? My wife says that my future is in ruins but I tell her that ruins are what makes an archeologist happy,” he laughs. To read similar stories and explore places through people, extend your support to The People Place Project here

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Here are the inspiring stories of these young leaders who are already transforming their communities through their work.

1. Trisha Shetty

2. Ankit Kawatra

3. Karan Jerath

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Together with his wife and four children, 35-year-old Satish now lives under Teen Haat Signal flyover in Thane.

It is an NGO that has started India’s first registered Signal School meant for children living and working near traffic signals in Mumbai. It is called Signal Shala.

While Kalpana and Nikita are 13 and 11 years old, Neha and Suraj are younger.

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While high school students form the target audience group for WorkTeen, not many companies have dedicated opportunities for them. So the team approaches various NGOs and companies with the view towards creating opportunities for students.

Work Teen has a team if 10 members including five core members and three co-founders. Most of the members are students of Class 12. They are operational in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Jaipur and the team members are active in different cities trying to look for opportunities.

Featured image for representation only. Source: Flickr

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This is the fascinating story of this indomitable lady who played an important role in the early years of India's freedom struggle.

From Left: Lala Har Dayal, Dadabhai Naoroji, Shyamji Krishnavarma

On August 22, 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama became the first person to hoist Indian flag on foreign soil in Stuttgart in Germany. Appealing for human rights, equality and for autonomy from Great Britain, she described the devastating effects of a famine that had struck the Indian subcontinent.

The same flag was later smuggled into India by socialist leader Indulal Yagnik and is now on display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune.

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Unable to see the pain of his starving family, Mohan’s father decided to head towards Mumbai to find some work that could get them at least one meal a day. The family sold their land and house to repay the loans and came to Mumbai, empty handed, in 2014.

“I like it here. We have to sell flowers in the scorching sun or even when it is raining. Sometimes, if we don’t earn enough for a meal, we have to beg too. But we don’t starve here like we did in my village,” says Mohan.

“I don’t know what will become of me. But I will become something if I study… right?” he asks.

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By creating art hubs in unexpected spaces, the organization wants to offer newer experiences to diverse sections of the society, especially those who are usually excluded from the reach of art.

In 2014, the festival continued with its second edition in Mumbai, converting places like Bandra, Peddar Road, Kandivali and Dharavi into stunning street art sites.

In the latest edition of the festival that was held in February 2016, St+art India Foundation brought artists from all schools and styles under one roof to transform Delhi's Lodhi Colony into India's first public art district.

The festival also addressed pertinent issues like women’s empowerment and the government-initiated Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in an attempt to re-establish street art as a social and participatory activity.

In one of the festival's many unique projects, renowned street artist Olek wrapped little huts in Delhi's Sarai Kale Khan with colourful crocheted yarn.

In another interesting project, French artist Chifumi brought to one of the walls his interpretation of the Indian hand gesture padma mudra, mixing it with the Khmer pattern from Cambodia.

The month long street art show held at ICD (Asia's largest dry port), 'Work in Progress' also became a venue for a range of different activities other than art, such as literary workshops, poetry slams, band performances, b-boy jams and more.

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In her awareness drives, she tries to help commuters understand the perils of boarding a moving train and crossing unmanned railway tracks.

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As a result, a new breed of Indian entrepreneurs have emerged on the startup scene, striving to solve problems for what they are deeply passionate about - pets!

Here are 10 Indian startups that cater to both, furry friends and the humans who love them. After all, pets are family!

1. Vivaldis Health and Foods

2. TimeForPet

3. PetDom

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5. Collarfolk

6. BarkLoot

7. Waggle

8. Doggie Dabbas

9.PetPhotographer

10. Dogsee Chew

11. The Paws Pack

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“This one began as a small mandal made by the Kolis, the local fishing community, here in the Peru Compound in 1928, a few years after Lokmanya Tilak, a renowned national leader, began the celebration as a means of community engagement during the freedom movement.”

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"The mandal also runs a dialysis centre for a nominal fee, along with providing medical funds to needy patients in a few government hospitals in the city.”

"You will not find a single political hoarding or flag on the premises. Bappa connects us all! It is a message for all people who are divided by caste, creed and community.”

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The drugs prescribed to him were not effective. Narendra had developed extremely drug-resistant TB (XXDR-TB), a form of TB that is resistant to the currently available first and second-line TB drugs.

The international medical humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been treating patients with drug-resistant TB in Mumbai since 2006.

Image for representation only. Source: Pixabay

Watch this short video of Narendra's fight with TB:

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A year ago, they opened a Child Development Centre (CDC) for children with developmental disabilities from across the state.

So what makes Bal Asha different from the many child care and adoption centres in Mumbai?

In the past year, the program has been immensely successful and they’ve managed to address 2,500 cases of children with disabilities.

A bunch of paediatricians, social workers, psychologists, and speech therapists makes up the administrative team.

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Gangadharan, who has been a resident of Mumbai since 1962, worked in the field of advertising for 27 years, after which he quit and is now teaching at an arts college, other than working as a travel photographer and writer.

They conducted extensive research on what was happening in the region, and that part of the journey in itself was amazing.

Chandran and Gangadharan had found out that there was only one guide who would be able to take them into and out of the forest – a 62-year-old man named Thekkinkattil Hamsa (or Hamsakka), who lived nearby and knew the forest like the back of his hand.

They saw that the base of the dam had already been constructed. The team, which included a cameraman, an assistant, and a porter, set out to shoot the film. The shoot lasted 17 days.

After returning to Mumbai, it took a long time for Chandran and Gangadharan to edit the film because of a lack of funds.

The 18-minute long documentary was finally ready – only to receive a rejection certificate from the censor board on the grounds that the film was ‘one-sided’.

That is exactly what happened in 1984 and Silent Valley is completely protected now.

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It was during the late 90s that Rajen first realised he could hear better with his right ear as compared to the left, when using the telephone.

During this time, he also had to quit his job after he made a mistake in quoting an amount for an important business deal for his company, due to his hearing problem.

In the early 2000s, Rajen started to visit a school for deaf children in Goregaon. He conducted photography classes for kids there every weekend.

In 2013, Rajen tied up with the Tata Memorial Hospital through an NGO and started taking classes for children suffering from cancer.

All his workshops are free for students; the NGOs pay for his transportation and stay.

All the pictures taken by children during the shoots are used by the NGOs to organise exhibitions for fund-raising.

Although Rajan is not working currently, he continues to take regular classes at the hospital. Losing his students to cancer is a hard reality that Rajen has learned to face.

Rajen has a Facebook page called Spreading Light through Photography, for his students and other photography enthusiasts.

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Through his personal experience, Akshay realised that at any given point in time there are many students changing schools or taking admission in a school for the first time, but they don’t always have a reliable source of information to take help from.

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