Positive Stories
A unique cafe where orders are placed using sign language. It also serves 150 brews of tea
In Jharkhand’s industrial hub of Jamshedpur, La Gravitea Cafe is mainly staffed with cooks and waiters who are hearing and speech impaired. The restaurant has been set up by a former vice president of a steel company who quit his corporate career to start the cafe.
Anand Dutta
Love each other… there’s no other way to live this life: Salim Khan
Writer Salim Khan speaks about thought processes, the fleeting time with his mother, family bonds, love for his home, and more in The Slow Interview with Neelesh Misra.
Subha J Rao
Active tribal community participation facilitates the vaccination process in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar
In a welcome move, the tribal communities in Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka along with the district administration, non profits, researchers and citizen volunteers take the COVID19 vaccination drive forward. Of the 15,648 eligible-for-vaccine tribal inhabitants, 3,158 have been inoculated.
Pankaja Srinivasan
Chanchala Kumari, daughter of a tribal farmer, wrestles her way out of poverty; to represent India at world championship
The 14-year-old wrestler from Jharkhand’s tribal community is set to become the first athlete from the state to represent India at the upcoming sub-junior world wrestling championship in Hungary next month. Read and watch to know about her journey riddled with struggle and hardship.
Anand Dutta
Seeds of change: Using seeds of kusum, karanj and imli, tribal women in Jharkhand turn agri-entrepreneurs
At least 4,000 kisan didis and tribal women in Simdega district are earning livelihoods by collecting, selling and extracting oils from seeds of the forest produce that were otherwise sold at a throwaway price to middlemen.
Shivani Gupta
Pardhi tribe members still roam the forests of Madhya Pradesh — as nature guides, not hunters
Several initiatives by the forest department in Madhya Pradesh have transformed the erstwhile hunting community of Pardhis into protectors of wildlife. The Pardhi youth are now skilled nature guides in the Panna Tiger Reserve.
Arun Singh
The alu-jeera and dal-tadka philosophy of Ranveer Brar’s cooking
In The Slow Interview with Neelesh Misra, Ranveer Brar reinforces how the smells, sounds, sights and, of course, the taste of childhood are a big part of cooking for both home cooks or celebrity chefs like himself. He also believes that lessons learnt in the kitchen are life lessons.
Pankaja Srinivasan
Portable polyhouse puts the smile back on faces of marginal farmers in the hills
The Vivekananda Hill Agricultural Research Institute in Almora, Uttarakhand, has developed a portable polyhouse that can be easily moved from one place to another. It is ideal for small land parcels in higher elevations and includes a water harvesting option too.
Divendra Singh
‘Jivan Vayu’: IIT Ropar comes up with innovation for oxygen supply without electricity
The Indian Institute of Technology Ropar in Punjab has developed a device that ensures high flow of oxygen to patients in need. ‘Jivan Vayu’ is set to be a boon for oxygen supply infrastructure in areas with electricity shortage or frequent cuts. Details here.
Gaon Connection
Sulochana and Ayyub: The lovely bond between a jumbo and her mahout
In The Slow App, watch the unique bond shared between elephant Sulochana and her mahout Ayyub Khan at Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh.