Rajasthan

The only time you might have heard of Kheechan before is when you appreciated the remarkable efforts of ONE man, Ratanlal Maloo, in bringing over 15,000 Demoiselle Cranes to his little hamlet in Rajasthan from their homes in Mongolia and Eurasia, year after year! Today, Gangadharan Menon takes you on a little trip down the lanes of history and shows you the beautiful havelis that form part of Kheechan's landscape.

Started five years back, Educate Girls aims to get as many girls as possible into school so they can benefit from a good education, improve their lives and become an asset to their communities. And what started with just 500 schools has now spread to 4425 schools! Safeena Husain, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, tells us about it.

This is a story of fighting huge odds stacked against you. This is a story of sheer grit and perseverance. This is a story of putting Science and Technology to good use. This is a story of overcoming obstacles like corruption and red tape without compromising on your ethics. This is a story of transforming 95 acres of the 'worst land in Rajasthan' into a green campus of an educational institute. Read on.

Govind Singh Rathore was 14 years old when he realised that in his patriarchal society widows have no status, respect or any rights! Together with his family and friends, he took steps to raise the status of Dalit women in the caste-prejudiced state of Rajasthan, and so Sambhali Trust was born in 2007. This is what they do.

The Bagariyas of Rajasthan are one of the poorest and least literate tribes in India. While they are barely eking out an existence, their children don't go to school, they have no electricity, or in fact, any facilities that make life easier. Most developmental schemes seem to have bypassed them. But we see here, how a little money and a lot of initiative, can have a large impact on people's lives.

The Sahariya tribe of Baran district in Rajasthan is classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribe. For years, they were forced to work as bonded agricultural labourers by the landed gentry of the region. The past decade has seen them fighting for their rights, and now with the help of some local NGOs, governmental support and their own unified efforts, they are slowly reaping the benefits of their struggle to be treated as free and equal citizens of this nation.

Today, join us as we explore a mysterious ruins, and try to unravel the baffling secret that led people living for five centuries in 82 villages to just pack up and leave overnight! Enter the world of the unknown at Kuldhara in Rajasthan. Shrouded in enigma and surrounded by myths, this is a place that lights up the darkest recesses of our imagination!