“We noticed cases of stomach and digestive ailments coming into the Health Clinic so we decided to test the water.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow - I was 59. I'd just retired. And was broken.

Since childhood, I saw my father struggling to make agriculture profitable. I was very sure that I could do better. That with my hard work and skill, I’d earn more. But somehow, it never happened …

“In West Bengal, Mandals are known to be cultivators. So despite earning my trade as an electrician at ITI, I turned to the 30-acre family farm to work hard and build a business.

“When I joined as principal of Zilla Parishad School in Pimpalgaon in 2013, children from the community were mostly going to faraway schools for education. Teachers were even waiting to get their transfer orders and shift to other schools.

“When I joined as principal of Zilla Parishad School in Pimpalgaon in 2013, children from the community were mostly going to faraway schools for education. Teachers were even waiting to get their transfer orders and shift to other schools.

“I used live an ordinary life – catching a few fish from the shores of my village. But one day I came across a relative of mine, who was returning from a big fishing expedition. He was a contractor for a boat owner and told me stories of catching hauls in a single trip worth 1lakh.

“I was one of 7 children and growing up, there were many days where my parents couldn’t provide even one meal for us all. So at the age of 10, my father sent me to Baishnabnagar to work as a child labourer on a dairy farm.

"My heart used to weep seeing my husband struggling to earn a decent income from his crop. And it wasn’t just him. The local moneylenders and middlemen were making farmers’ lives in our village miserable. I wanted to help, but how? I had never even stepped out of the house ever before!

When COVID-19 closed the doors of his classroom in 2020, Giridhar Panghate hadto think outside the box to reach, and teach, his students. What started as a WhatsApp group of 3-4 students, swelled to 6000 students on Zoom, when Giridhar tried his hand at making educational videos and lvie streaming in classes.

Never in her wildest dreams did housewife Renu Thakur imagine where cows would take her in life! From Nauni village in Darlaghat all the way to the offices of the Ministry of Finance, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in the Himachal Pradesh State Government, Renu has been on a wild ride. Renu was one of the 30 founding members of the women only Amrit Dhara Dairy Milk Cooperative, which has grown from strength to strength - swelling to 300 members today.