Taking the Migrants Home (1)

Indian Railways announced operation of more Shramik special trains for evacuating stranded migrant workers, labourers, pilgrims, and students from various parts of the country from May 4. The decision came after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines for the movement of these groups of people on May 1, 2020... a decision that gave some glimmer of hope to the thousands of stranded migrant labourers across the country after the lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020.

Migrants' Walk (1)

When on 25 March 2020, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced immediate lockdown in the country to stem the spread of Covid 19, without a forewarning, it left millions of migrant workers unemployed and no way of sustaining themselves. While thousands undertook walking on foot, many rushed to the inter-state bus terminals before they too were shut down.

Cycling Shades of Chennai

Simi Mariya Thomas, Research Scholar, MIDS, selected a photograph from the exhibition, Ambedkar Nagar- Near Kakkan Bridge, Chennai, to write her story for the session on Reading/Writing/Re-writing/Telling/Re-telling using prompts, 20 December 2019.

Superwomen of Chennai always surprise and excite me. They design their life in a manner in which they are fully involved into some sort of activities around the clock.

Tracking the Town: Railway Narratives

Pipariya, as pointed by a number of early settlers of the town, shares its’ initial history with a section of railway line that was laid out during the colonial rule to connect the cities of Bombay (present-day Mumbai) and Calcutta (present-day Kolkata).

Family and women: Leiden and Mali

The family is a social institution. It is beautiful to see a mother and her children together because it reflects the natural love and the affectability that exists between her and her offsprings. In Leiden, the parental concept is very visible in the streets because it is found that the parents and their children are at the edge of a bicycle (the parents and their children: case where all drive together; the case where the mother also pilot alone). Education is one of the priorities of the population of this city of the Netherlands.

What Is the Original Color of Rembrandt Bridge in Leiden?

Rembrandt Bridge (Rembrandtbrug) was built in 1983 as a replica of a 17th-century bridge that was in the same place. The bridge was rebuilt in color white. However, according to archive research from Heritage and Environment of Leiden (Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken), the original bridge design in 1768 was in English red with black. The research did not please some of the local residents. Friends of Rembrandt Bridge (Vrienden van de Rembrandtbrug) made petitions against the change of color and stuck the "Liever wit dan dit (Better white that this)" over the trial color.

Aux Portes de Saint-Louis: La Gare Routière

La gare routière de Saint-Louis est un lieu oú transitent des centaines de voitures, ainsi que des miliers de personnes. A part les chauffeurs et les passagers, il y'a des employés et des vendeurs qui viennent y travailler tous les jours. Sur notre photo nous voyons, devant le poste de contrôle, six personnes entrain de partager un repas, autour d'un bol. Il y'a parmi eux des coxeurs (hommes qui organisent et tiennent la liste des véhicules et qui sont chargés de rabattre les clients vers un taxi ou un autocar), des agents de la mairie, et des chauffeurs.

Mapping the Neighbourhoods

A Google map representation of the town of Pipariya situated in Madhya Pradesh, India. The map is marked with 25 local neighbourhoods (names in Hindi script Devnagri) that were an often-recurring reference point in the oral narratives recorded with the residents of the town. Highlighting the politics of everyday spaces, the map can be considered a visual marker of a settlement where some places are more or less relevant than others.

Pipariya Railway Station: Narratives

Pipariya Railway Station in district Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India was primarily established as the railhead for the Military Cantonment town of Pachmarhi. The present excerpt narrates the politics of everyday spaces at the station in the initial days. The excerpt has been translated from Hindi (Text: Pipariya, 2000 by Narayandas Maurya). The picture is only for representation purposes.

Humanities across Borders

A Humanist Model of Collaborative Higher Education

Transport & Infrastructure