A Student from One of the Best Colleges in the Country

— By Ritika Last year I got admitted to one of the best colleges in our country, ranked according to all kinds of government and private agencies. The college believes only in meritocracy. To get admission, all you need are high percentages and approximately 20 thousand as admission fees and just a little luck to

Tiny Drops Build an Ocean

All the anecdotes, stories, accounts here are narrated in retrospect; thus it’s foolish to assume that these accounts are the exact versions of what happened, because now when I recollect these incidents, I cannot help but juxtapose them against all the new perspectives, social awakening and continuous unlearning and relearning that I’ve done.  An important

Mapping the Journey of Being a Teacher

After a brief hiatus of one and half years; a phase that I now recollect as a sabbatical from the world of higher academia, I finally enrolled myself in a B.Ed course in one of the most reputed colleges in Kolkata. Owing to the pressure from the larger societal norms of doing something ‘productive’, catering

Two Stories

Author Note: Both the stories here are based on experiences I’ve had within higher educational spaces. However, the dominant caste biases that I present in the stories inform conversations on teaching and assessment practices in schools as well. Discriminatory notions of merit and entitlement shape a large part of schooling discourse, which frequently get bolstered

Tracing the Trajectory of Growing up as the Other

I wonder how early in life we begin the process of defining ourselves. Is it the same with all children, or are some of us burdened with it before and more than others? I remember I was aware of the baggage I carried when I was as young as 6 or 7 years old. The