In.Dhi

Dr Vikram Dravid has a rare dual expertise in both Western Medicine and Ayurveda.   After his initial training in Medicine at Manipal, he spent time as a novice monk in South India, followed by four years studying Ayurveda and training under Ayurvedic clinicians in Pune, India.   Dr Vikram is also trained in the Kerala approach to Panchakarma - the specialised bio cleansing procedures that form an integral part of Ayurvedic treatment.   His work involves the integration of the entire human being, from spiritual awareness of the Self, through the mind, and into the body.    Dr Vikram may be contacted for consultations and medical guidance at http://vikramdravid.com

Anne Kelly is a serious student of Theosophy and has her own YouTube channel dedicated to spreading the Theosophical message. She has built up a subscription of almost 5000 followers under the YouTube channel entitled ‘Living Theosophy’. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI2AhBx8U4vSFAr39Tnh2UA

Rajarshi Nandy is professionally a technical writer based in Mumbai, but spends most of his time in pilgrimage and spiritual exploration. He was part of our series, The Extra of the Ordinary at UinDhi .. Rajarshi runs Adhyatmika portal. His tweets can be followed at @TheRajarshi

Parama Ghosh is the founder of her 6 year old namesake. She is a textile artist based out of Calcutta and by degree is a lawyer. She left a decade long career in law, where she was part of a few of India’s most noted law firms to pursue her passion in art. In February 2015, she started the brand Parama which is now a sensation all over the globe.   Parama also has a loving definition of her brand - she calls it Stories on Fabric. Through threads, needles and weaves, the brand aims to share and tell everyday stories from Calcutta. And now if you ask why Calcutta? That’s because Calcutta, the city is her biggest muse. She has been translating picture postcards of the city on fabric, starting from yellow taxis, Howrah bridge, college street, dialogues from Ray’s movies, forgotten lyrics and old songs, poems, love letters and the list is endless are all part of her work.   Parama works with Kantha, Batik, Jamdani and other traditional art, textile and weaves of Bengal and rest of India. They have their own set of weavers in Murshidabad and Phulia. Today, as we speak, Parama has 70 women working in their Kantha unit in Shantiniketan and about 35 in the stitching unit in Calcutta.   The love for the mundane and the simpler things in life is what makes Parama unique.   More details can be found at https://paramacalcutta.com  Parama's Instagram handle is https://www.instagram.com/parama_g/

Needle and thread were perhaps in her blood, which she inherited from her mother. In her college days she used to earn what we called ‘pocket money’ by selling items of needlework. Later as she started to work full time, it remained as a hobby and sometimes she arranged exhibitions. After her marriage broke, she was faced with the challenge of raising her son as a single mother and earning living as well. Instead of looking for a salaried job she opened a small business of embroidered apparel, with her mother’s support, and courage, that only comes from desperation.

Her tiny little shop was opened without taking any loan. Starting very small, and proceeding one step at a time over almost two decades, her brand Vrindar eventually went from a tiny rented shop to a larger one, and finally to the present store that she owns. Over the years she has trained more than fifteen hundred women, mostly under-privileged. She never charges her students for their lessons; she only asks them to bring their own materials. Many of them still work with her, and some are even working independently. Presently around seventy of them work for Vrindar, earning their living. As Vrindar started to grow, she and her mother gradually developed some patterns and stitches that their clients call the signature motifs of Vrindar. They also appreciate the colour combinations that is unique of this brand. 

She has always had a kind of wanderlust in her and wanted to explore the indigenous designs and crafts of our state, which took her to the interiors of Bankura and Purulia. There she has conducted workshops with tribal women, encouraging them to work with their indigenous motifs. While interacting with tribal communities, her green thumb got a new impetus. All along, she has tried to make Vrindar an eco-friendly enterprise. Their fabrics and materials are predominantly natural, mostly cotton and silk. Carry bags are made in-house, using old newspaper and cloth. For many years she had been planting trees and plants in her neighborhood, cleaning plastic waste in an organized way. But in the rural areas, for the first time, she could involve herself with organic farming, rainwater harvesting, well digging, planting of fruit trees on a much larger scale. This led to the idea of Prana. 

For quite some time, she was feeling an urge to take her tree planting efforts from my neighborhood to the other parts of her city, Kolkata and beyond. As she shared her ideas with some of her friends, she received very positive reactions from them, and hence a small group was formed. The group is called Prana, which means life in Sanskrit. The aim was to start small, planting around five hundred trees in Kolkata and suburban areas in one year. They ended the year with more than 800, and the number has grown steadily since. Her son, who is a young entrepreneur himself, is also helping her with this project. Prana not only plants trees, but also tries to ensure their survival. Urmi has come a long way from the day she took a difficult decision to not try for a salaried employment, but still has a long way to go. It has been a journey worth every moment, that has not only given her strength, but has also helped others to be independent. 

You may visit Vrindar at 129 kakulia road, Dhakuria by appointments given the pandemic and more details on Urmi's work can be found at Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vrindarurmi... and on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/vrindarurmi

Our guest was the very charismatic and an insightful individual, Utsav Mukherjee who is also a film practitioner and screenwriter. He has worked across various mediums; films, television & web. He holds a masters degree in Film Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and has made several films, documentaries and has directed TV shows in and around Kolkata. He was also an invited guest at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (2019) where he attended the industry workshops besides other events & film screenings.

Some of the films that he has co-written and directed are (in no particular order), Half Serious https://www.hoichoi.tv/films/title/half-serious, Bheetu (Coward) https://www.hoichoi.tv/bn/films/title/bheetu, Karkat Rogue https://www.zee5.com/zee5or.../details/karkat-rogue/0-6-2264, Shorshe Ilish https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/shorshe-ilish/0-0-97484, Meghnad Badh Rahashya, Bhobhishoyter Bhoot, Borun Babur Bondhu and Kausha Jokhon.

Utsav has also directed the following TV shows: Rojgere Ginni, Home Shanti Home, Tomay Notun Kore Pabo Bole, Byanjonborno, ABP Ananda Anchor Hunt. And the following documentaries: Under Exposed, Into the TImeless and Aparajita.

Besides these, Utsav also works as a filmmaking supervisor at the School of Media, Jadavpur University where he mentors students and supervises their filmmaking learning.

"In this transient world full of predicaments, as a filmmaker, I have always striven to create images that speak about the human condition"

His work and thoughts can be found on his page; https://www.facebook.com/utsavmkj/

A session close to our heart was the one where we sat down to chat to Mrinalini Kher and the team of Yuva Parivartan.   

Mrinalini Kher who took over the Kherwadi Social Welfare Association’s operational activities back in 1998 together with Kishore Kher, and started the Yuva Parivartan Movement.   This movement was started to guide the unmotivated school dropouts and to help them in becoming economically independent by imparting livelihood skills to them. In the year 2003 the movement was formally launched by the then President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The main objective of Yuva Parivartan was to mobilize youth and provide livelihood training to enable more number of youth to become financially independent and lead a productive life. We are also joined by Shital and Laxmi who have been part of this movement and will hear more from them on the impact these course in their lives.   

Yuva Parivartan means transformation of youth. The movement brings the unmotivated school dropouts from the underprivileged background and gives them a direction to lead economically independent lives through vocational training.   Mrinalini Kher was born into a family with integrity and a passion to work for others. Her husband always encouraged and supported her to take up challenges. A passionate social worker by choice, Mrinalini has been working tirelessly in the Social Welfare Sector for over 20 years and is one of the most dedicated resources of the Yuva Parivartan Team. She is a firm believer in the Empowerment of Women, who she believes are responsible for strengthening families, particularly in the economically backward societies of the country.  For the last 25 years she has served as Honorary Secretary & Trustee of Kherwadi Social Welfare Association (KSWA). Today Yuva Parivartan is one of the largest NGOs in the field of Livelihoods with a National Presence in 16 States. She currently leads various activities of YP in the Livelihoods space. Her work includes implementing the Yuva Parivartan Institute for Entrepreneurship Development that conducts Skilling Programs for the Government and the Corporate Sectors.  

Mrinalini was closely associated with the Spastic Society. She has done Honorary Work with the Seva Sadan Society Gamdevi Orphanage, and is also Honorary Secretary & Trustee of the Inner Wheel Club of Bombay Trustee of Blue Star Foundation. More on their work can be found at https://www.yuvaparivartan.org