Because English is a very phunny language

Today, I speak and think in English quite comfortably - but this has not always been the case. A not-so-brief timeline: Kerala (1983 - 2000) Growing up in a Bengali family in Kerala, I often ended up in peer groups where a good amount of the conversations would take place in English. Until I was …

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The fate of Rohingyas in India – being fought out in our courts

From The Hindu Senior advocate Fali Nariman, appearing for the Rohingya community, said “in case of any difficulty we will come here”. But Mr. Mehta put up a stiff resistance to the tenor of the proceedings, asking the court why they should even address the question of deportation at this stage without any reason for …

The shape of India’s non-profits in the 21st century

India’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been in the midst of a brewing crisis for sometime now, which goes well beyond questions over technical competence or efficiency of delivery, to questions over their existence and their legitimacy. It is pertinent to examine the reasons for this crisis, and set out ways in which NGOs can restart …

When I stopped being a Dhoni fan

Update 6 January 2017: By now, the Supreme Court has basically dismantled BCCI and it remains to be seen how things play out. Srinivasan is no longer in the news; no one even seems to have asked him for his views on the latest development. BJP princelings Arun Jaitley and Anurag Thakur wielded extraordinary powers …

Germans rallied behind their cash; we must take note

Personally, I try to go cashless as far as possible. From paying for coffee using my card to net banking to recharge my prepaid phones, and using m-pesa as much as I can, I must be a model 'digital' citizen. It's a different matter that my data (digital footprint) is strewn all over the internet, …

Your ‘field’ is different from mine

When I was working in Orissa, India, I was based in Mohuda, a village 10 km from a small town, Berhampur. The head office of the NGO I was working with was located in Mohuda. For any one visiting from even the state capital, Bhubaneswar, let alone New Delhi or from outside India, Mohuda was 'field' …

The logframe in an ‘iterative & adaptive’ world

Often, the stark reality facing the seekers-of-the-brave-new-PDIA-world is this: But the Donor needs a Logframe!  This would bee case, even in programmes that are committed to adopting the problem-driven-iterative-adaptation (PDIA) approach. Let's assume that high-level commitments from the donor is in place. Even so, where the rubber meets the road, a logframe is an item …