Experience
Seven-year tenure at PARI, enhancing narrative journalism, and amplifying rural voices through meticulous editing and ethical reporting.
Community
Fostering empathetic storytelling in students, I lead educational initiatives that bridge urban-rural understanding and inspire social consciousness.
Accomplishments
Elevated PARI’s social media influence significantly, authored impactful books, and spearheaded campaigns that catalyzed support and change.
I’m a Senior Editor at the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), where I have worked for seven years. The scope of my job, however, is wider than screening stories with a keen eye and a red digital pen. I am a reporter trained to observe the seemingly obvious, mundane, and ‘ugly’, and then communicate this with the respect people and events deserve.
🐦 My writing covers a broad spectrum of topics, from the awe-inspiring wildlife conservation victories in the Eastern Himalayan forests to the heart-wrenching exploitation of some communities in rural South India. To me, it’s important that my work covers the remarkable and devastating aspects of society.
🐦 My writing covers a broad spectrum of topics, from the awe-inspiring wildlife conservation victories in the Eastern Himalayan forests to the heart-wrenching exploitation of some communities in rural South India. To me, it’s important that my work covers the remarkable and devastating aspects of society.
🎞️ While the interviewing is always eye-opening, I thoroughly enjoy figuring out how to tell their stories better, quicker, and more powerfully. I can do this through a 2000-word piece packed with rigorous research, a cross-section of quotes and context, or via short reels, punchy threads, and even captivating graphics. After I took over as Head of PARI’s social media, its Instagram handle gained over a hundred and ten thousand followers and a steady stream of donations to afflicted interviewees.
🖋️ Beyond PARI’s social media presence, I’ve also co-led PARI Education, an initiative where I teach students in urban schools and colleges about the rural realities that straddle hardship and tenacity. Throughout my career, I’ve held the view that journalism is insufficient if reporters and similar professionals aren’t thinking of consistent, proactive, and varied ways for information to reach people across ages. Inadvertently, students also pick up skills, like writing, editing, and reporting practices, required for ethical and empathetic journalism.
🖋️ Beyond PARI’s social media presence, I’ve also co-led PARI Education, an initiative where I teach students in urban schools and colleges about the rural realities that straddle hardship and tenacity. Throughout my career, I’ve held the view that journalism is insufficient if reporters and similar professionals aren’t thinking of consistent, proactive, and varied ways for information to reach people across ages. Inadvertently, students also pick up skills, like writing, editing, and reporting practices, required for ethical and empathetic journalism.
📚 Through my experiences in classrooms, I realised another way to bridge the information and empathy gap is via fiction. The two books I wrote are semi-fictionalised accounts of people and events I reported on as a journalist. My first book, The House of Uncommons, tells the story of a young boy named Krishnan and his friends, and what it’s like to live with one of the world’s most feared viruses. The other book, Ammini Against the Storm, is about a young girl who witnesses how climate change batters some lives more than others.
In my ten years of working in busy newsrooms (Reuters, CNN IBN), in the middle of forests, or pouring over a manuscript, I’ve learned a valuable skill: how to tell a compelling story across media. The kind that can create tangible change.
In my ten years of working in busy newsrooms (Reuters, CNN IBN), in the middle of forests, or pouring over a manuscript, I’ve learned a valuable skill: how to tell a compelling story across media. The kind that can create tangible change.
I began my media journey at 14, hosting a show on Radio Indigo. This sparked my love for engaging with guests and curating musical content. After school in Bengaluru, I pursued a B.A. in political science and economics at St. Stephens in Delhi. A year at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai gave me a glimpse into TV newsrooms, confirming my passion for journalism. Though I didn’t get into TV news, I remain deeply interested in the vibrant world of media and storytelling.