Locating key debates in Early Childhood Care and Education: insights from Indian scholarship
As part of our ongoing research to generate contextually relevant understandings of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in India, we interviewed 11 specialists with extensive research experience in the country [1]. Broadly, their expertise is situated in childhood studies, early years education and development, psychology, sociology, special educational needs, and language and literacy. Our […]
Rethinking learning assessments: insights from a study on the status of education in tribal districts in Maharashtra
In recent years, national and international assessments have received a lot of attention, largely due to concerns over the quality of education systems and their outcomes. Tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have been publicised in the hope of pushing countries […]
Just Another Tea-Break Rant
Being in love with tea is the most committed relationship I have ever been in. I have been accused of romanticizing tea by the whole world and I am not shy to admit that I am indeed, guilty as charged. Each cup of tea brings a sense of tranquillity that awakens all my senses together. […]
A Tribute to Sandhya Rao
…Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise… Maya Angelou. I heard about your death the afternoon before I was to leave for Bihar. I couldn’t believe it. I kept reading the message on my cell phone over and over again, thinking it has […]
Fitting into my own shoes: Reflections from the Field
Reflexivity is customary in social anthropology and resultant epistemology. George Herbert Mead defines reflexivity as “turning back of the experience of the individual upon (her – or himself)”. Reflexivity is always retrospective, and hence this blog post is about what I was looking for in the field, what I found and how I perceived it […]
Brexit: Mad Dogs and Englishmen
The recent referendum in the UK reminds me of this classic Noël Coward song, cheerfully sung also by Danny Kaye ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ [1]. Mad dogs and Englishmen [2] Go out in the midday sun… It’s such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see That though the English are effete They’re quite impervious […]
Life Imitates Art – Cinema and Violence against Women
Life imitates art far more than art imitates life – Oscar Wilde In the normal course, it is art that imitates life. The art forms – literature, painting and cinema – for the most part depended upon and depicted reality. It was art holding up the mirror to life in the description of pastoral England […]
Let us save our dear Mother India!
More than two decades ago, when I made a phone call home using a public booth near Ganga dhaba close to my hostel in JNU, my father casually informed me that the police verification for my passport was over! First I did not understand what he was referring to, as I had not yet applied […]