Parindey

Eradicating the taboo around menstruation

Innovator: Sulochana Pendekar Vocation: Women’s health activist Location: Siolim, Goa Once a month, almost half the population of the world goes through a week-long problem in which blood is discharged from their bodies. This phase is called period or menstruation. In fact, ‘problem’ is not the right word to use for menstruation, it is a natural process and an integral part of every woman’s physique. When we term it a “problem”, we try to cover it up or suppress it. And that’s when the real problem starts. This is the reason we don’t openly discuss or talk about menstruation. And when we don’t talk about it, misconceptions and misunderstanding are…

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Air, water and land

Innovator: Jill Ferguson Vocation: Adventure sports enthusiast & environmentalist Location: Mandrem, Goa Throughout the history of mankind, the sea has always had an influence over it, directly or indirectly, but it has. For the mankind, it’s the source of water and precious mineral; it’s also the highway for international trade and the reason we have different seasons. According to a study, 70 per cent of the oxygen found on Earth comes from the sea. Not only that, the sea is also the source for 10 per cent of the entire world’s protein, which is required for a balanced diet. With the changing times, the sea has now even become a…

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Saving otters to save the rivers

Innovator: Malhar Indulkar Occupation: Otter conservationist Location: Chiplun, Maharashtra I have always said that students should take a year-long break after Class XII. From childhood to youth, we are continuously running without even asking ourselves how we want to live our life. Whatever everyone else is doing or saying, we follow them as if they’re our personal dreams and wishes. We live our lives following this route until we reach a stage where we regret and think, “What if…?” The time immediately after Class XII is the time which helps us view the road ahead of us. Before somebody else decides for us what road we should take or how…

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Carrying a dream for India’s children

Innovator: Hasmukh Bhai Occupation: Educationist Location: Mandangad, Maharashtra When I met my latest ‘parinda’ and understood his work, I became nostalgic about my childhood and youth. It was the phase I was the happiest in life. It was the time when we wanted to go out with our parents to a park and not a mall. It was the time I would spend hours outside, playing with my friends. We would climb the hills outside the city, take a stroll in the nearby forests and take a dip in the rivers and ponds. However, our life could not always be like this. Soon, the wind in the air changed and…

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Beekeeping for a healthy ecosystem

Innovator: Amit Godse Occupation: Beekeeper Location: Pune, Maharashtra Many a times, we are faced with such incidents that give rise to the feeling of uncertainty in our lives. Well, human life is anyway full of uncertainties. Such incidents or situations often change the course of our life but they also leave behind a lot of learning and experience for us. It is, therefore, important to take careful notes of these incidents or situations and then reflect upon oneself. But this can only happen if one leads his/her life in such a way that they truly experience every moment, going beyond the conventional “right” and “wrong”. Who knows what experience may…

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Returning to where we belong

Innovator: Deepika Chordiya Occupation: Alternate living facilitator Location: Welhe Today, India is struggling with its problem of population density. On one hand, rural population is migrating to urban cities at a scary pace; on the other, slums in cities are getting worse with the increasing population. Apart from children and senior citizens, you’ll hardly see anybody else in villages. The slums and their filth have become an almost integral part of all cities today, so much so that it’s hard to imagine the life of these cities depend on the slum localities in more than one ways. However, has anyone paused for a minute and thought about the people who…

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Rivers, veins of the nation

Innovator: Rajesh Pandit Occupation: Environmentalist Location: Nashik India is lucky that it is home to seven major rivers and their thousands of tributaries that perform their role in the same manners as the numerous veins in a human body that assist in blood circulation. Spread across India’s geographical area of 329 million hectares, the rivers in India are an integral part of the country’s natural richness. Carrying the weight of India’s cultural, economic, geographic, religious and spiritual development, these rivers have been flowing uninterrupted on earth for thousands of years. These rivers are not just the source of water but are an important part of our ecosystem that protects the…

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Turning all eyes on our farmers

Innovator:Madhukar Dhas Occupation:Water conservationist Location:Yavatmal, Maharashtra If Yavatmal district in Maharashtra is known for anything in India, it is for farmer suicides. This region has a forest cover of 2,24,000 hectares with sufficient amount of rainfall, then what is the reason that so many farmers kill themselves every day here? Our next ‘parinda’ tells me about some of the reasons that have forced farmers to take such a drastic step. He says, a lot of farmers are trapped in the clutches of moneylenders. The interest on such loans is extremely high. Despite the rainfall, there isn’t enough water for irrigation because there is no water left underground as a result…

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Conserving and sharing traditional knowledge

Innovator: Sunil Deshpande Occupation: Educator Location: Amravati district, Maharashtra All forest dwellers around the world have learnt to live with nature, with all its heterogenous and complex situations. They live in those areas which are rich in biodiversity. In India alone, 68 lakh families are associated with at least 227 tribes. Most of them live in or around their local forests, and have been involved for centuries in the protection and conservation of these forests. Thus, naturally, tribals have extensive knowledge about the biodiversity around them. Tribals have a close bond with natural resources. This relationship is spiritual, cultural, practical and supportive. Till the time the villages were under the…

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Art for farmers’ rights

Innovator: Shweta Bhattad Occupation: Artiste Location: Nagpur Art is a medium through which we can share our experiences with the world in a creative manner. It is a medium through which an artiste can show the world something that they would have otherwise not been able to see. Art is a medium through which a suppressed thought is given a shape. Art is a form of magic, a dream — for change, for a new world. Our history of thousands of years stands as witness to how art and artistes have played an integral role in bringing about a change at every stage in the world. An artiste is a…

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