Friday, December 29, 2006

Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank!

Until three years ago, Aruna Gaikwad used to earn a meagre 20 rupees (44 cents) a day as a farm worker. Today, the 34-year-old has set up a successful vegetable vending business and makes 400 rupees ($9) daily.
She is one of the thousands of women in the drought-prone Mann Desh region of Satara district in the western Indian state of Maharashtra whose lives have been transformed by the 10-year-old Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (MDMSB), a unique cooperative bank run by and for women.


Read more here.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

The Pessimist!

Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana - The hero of the movie, to prove his love, is shown to do farming, the hard, Indian way. Even if it was just reel, the hard labour of farmers hits me now when I am able to get bags and bags of grains with almost no strain!

Lost and (sometimes) Found - How all people find some purpose and meaning to their existence!!

Our Soldiers - And we are cribbing about pot-holed roads and feeling uncomfortable in a/c cabins (with paid holidays) about salary hike!