Global IndianstoryRaju Bhupati: Pioneering millet revolution with affordable nutrition

Raju Bhupati: Pioneering millet revolution with affordable nutrition

Compiled by: Charu Thakur

(June 15, 2024) “Can you imagine enjoying nutritious snacks for just ₹5? In a country where health and nutrition often seem like distant aspirations for millions, Troo Good emerged on the scene in 2018 with a revolutionary vision,” states the website of a millet snack company that’s on a mission to “nourish 1 billion Indians.” It was six years ago that US-returned Raju Bhupati drew his inspiration to advocate for better nutrition in India from his father, who was both a spiritual leader and a healer. “He was a homoeopathic practitioner and would treat the poor for free. This was the base for my motivation to deal with the nutrition challenge in the country,” he said in an interview. In a short span, Raju has become the millet movement pioneer in India making nutrition meet affordability, one snack at a time.

Raju Bhupati | Global Indian

Journey from IT to entrepreneurship

But growing up, entrepreneurship was never on his mind. In fact, after finishing his MSc in Organic Chemistry, he made his debut in the world of IT as a lab assistant and later moved to Computer Science Corporation. Over the years, he climbed up the corporate ladder and soon became the youngest global director at CSC managing the Independent Testing Services vertical. His hard work and perseverance took him to the US where he helped accelerate the growth of several IT companies globally.

Having worked for years in IT for other companies, Raju knew that it was time to start something of his own. This desire to become an entrepreneur made him return to India to start Hello Curry, one of India’s first cloud kitchens in 2013. He successfully pioneered India’s first shared kitchen model, where multiple brands could operate from a single kitchen connected to Hello Curry, creating a unified platform for ordering food.

Raju Bhupati

Reintroducing millet

Riding on the success of Hello Curry, his ambition to further innovate in the food industry and provide affordable nutrition led to the establishment of Troo Good in 2018. This led Raju towards millets, an economical and nutritious grain. “Since I wanted to make the food affordable, I needed something locally available. Quinoa is a good, healthy alternative to wheat, but it is expensive and has to be imported. Then I found millets, which are the best choice,” he added.

He began with selling millet paranthas to local schools and corporations and soon transitioned to millet snacks with chikki, owing to its long shelf life. Upon research, he found that ₹5 and ₹10 snack market is huge in India. “You mostly get chips, biscuits, and other snacks in that price range. I saw that existing options only cater to taste. I wanted to focus on three fundamentals through Troo Good — affordability, taste, and nutrition.”

Having found the perfect vessel in chikki to turn his mission into reality, Raju collaborated with a team of in-house scientists to develop a millet chikki enriched with ragi, bajra, jowar and peanuts. In no time, the brand was recognised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Indian Institute of Millets Research for its pioneering work in providing affordable nutrition.

Troo Good

Making an impact

While his mission has been to establish a healthy snacks market centered on millets as the star ingredient, he has also significantly contributed to inclusive growth by employing local workers, sourcing raw materials locally, and selling the products within the community, all of which help maintain the affordability of the snacks. However, the sudden surge in demand led him to set up three new factories in a fortnight by sending his employees to Chattisgarh and nearby states. “We needed skilled manpower. My team members went to villages and spent nights in the houses of contractors. We had to add factories at lightning speed. With a ton of courage, we added three factories in 15 days and increased our volumes to 5,000 kgs,” added Raju.

To support their operations, they hire locally and create employment opportunities for women, who form 80 percent of their factory workforce, thus working towards women’s empowerment. “Wherever we go, we train the women at the self-help groups. We also help farmers by directly buying from them, helping them increase their profits,” said the entrepreneur. With over 250 employees across 8 states, Troo Good is India’s largest non-NGO social enterprise. Their products are available in more than 12,000 small brick-and-mortar shops and 500 modern retail stores across various cities in India.

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Currently, they are collaborating with the Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh state governments on several initiatives, including Poshan Abhiyan, young mothers’ welfare, and the mid-day meal scheme. They have also partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation in Karnataka and Vedanta in Uttar Pradesh to enhance nutrition in Anganwadis.

Raju, who translated his dream into reality, says that his mantra is to go all out with every ounce of energy to achieve what you want in life.

Celebrating millet

Millets, once a staple in rural India, are now celebrated as a superfood, leading a nutritional and environmental revolution across the country. Renowned for their high protein, fiber, vitamin, and mineral content, millets offer substantial health benefits, such as improved digestion, chronic disease prevention, and effective weight management. Interestingly, their resurgence aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

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With strong backing from the Indian government and various enterprises, these grains are increasingly integrated into public welfare programs, including mid-day meals and Anganwadi nutrition supplements, thereby enhancing dietary habits and supporting local economies. This millet renaissance is a pivotal force in India’s pursuit of sustainable and inclusive growth, and Troo Good is playing an important role in helping in taking the millet revolution a step forward.

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Published on 15, Jun 2024

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MR Rangaswami: From angel investing to mobilising Indian leaders for social change through Indiaspora

(March 12, 2024) These days, MR Rangaswami is a real man about town in the US. He's at the top summits, meeting celebrities like AR Rahman when they're in the US, and rubbing shoulders with the likes of PM Modi, attending parties at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris or rubbing shoulders with Ambassadors Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Eric Garcetti. He's one of Silicon Valley's top angel investors and philanthropists, as he mobilises his vast network of business leaders, politicians, startups and non-profits to bring about social good. It wasn't always the case, though. MR Rangaswami's success came through hard work, failure and the ability to take a risk, which he has done several times, from becoming the US' first angel investor to organising a CEO retreat for some of the US' biggest names in the corporate world and giving all the proceeds away to charity. Back in 1997, however, when MR Rangaswami was busy organising his first CEO retreat under the banner of his company, Sand Hill, it seemed as if things weren’t destined to go his way. He set up an advisory board, put a programme together and sent out invitations. Nobody registered. CEOs received dozens of

s received dozens of conference invitations just like this one, and they wanted to know how this one was any different. So, the Global Indian made a bold decision, one that would change his life. He decided to organise the first ever non-profit conference, where 100 percent of the proceeds would be donated. The idea was a huge hit. In the last 15 years, the organisation has given away over $20 million to non-profits, and CEOs pay up to $10,000 per head just to attend. The conference is also a platform for deserving non-profits to network with industry captains, receive advice, feedback and investments.

M.R. Rangaswami is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley. He has been profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, named to Forbes' 'Midas' list of investors and has been recognized by CRN as one of the top 25 Tech Executives. He's also the founder of Indiaspora, through which he mobilises high achievers from the Indian diaspora as a force for good. His ethos is simple: Indians are in the top one percent in the US, with an average annual income of $1,50,000. "Our community tends to be very low profile," he said, in an interview. "But we need to be more high profile because all Americans need to know that we are generous and we help." Indiaspora hosts an Annual Leadership Forum, a Philanthropy Summit and the Global Connect Initiative, and engages in community issues as well.

‘Young and naïve’ in Houston, Texas

M.R. Rangaswami first arrived in Silicon Valley "as a young, naive person with absolutely no idea of what the value was about," as he puts it. He had graduated from Loyola College, Chennai and was a techie with a comfortable job in Houston, Texas. One day, when he met a consultant for training, the consultant asked him what he does. M.R. replied that he had an MBA and works with computers. "He says, 'what the heck are you doing in Houston? You better get out to Silicon Valley'. In those days there was no LinkedIn, no Facebook, no internet, nothing. In '82, I'm sitting in Houston saying, how the hell do I get to Silicon Valley?"

The only way was the long way. He went to the library, starting at what Silicon Valley was in the first place. He made a list of potential employers and software company listings, typed out his resume and mailed it out to them.

The Silicon Valley journey

Sure enough, a company called him, did an interview and offered him a job. What MR didn't know at the time was that he had joined a startup. And he was the only Indian there. The compan did great, doubling in the first year, the second year and third year. Then, in the fourth year, the company asked him to lay off all the employees in his group, until he was the only one left. "Then they called me and said, 'You're laid off as well'."

[caption id="attachment_49924" align="aligncenter" width="528"] MR Rangaswami with PM Narendra Modi[/caption]

However, instead of being bogged down by failure, MR knew the time had come to pivot away from the corporate ladder. "I grew in the industry, seen Steve Jobs, Mary Ellis and Scott McNealy and all the big names in enterprise and consumer tech," he says. "That was my upbringing. I had a terrific career at companies like Oracle and helped take a company public; the stock went from 25 cents to $50." And the sudden break in his career allowed him to ask if he wanted to keep on making money or do something different with his life.

This was the mid-nineties, at the height of the startup boom and the Silicon Valley dot-com bubble. And M.R. Rangaswami chose to do what nobody had done before. He founded the first Angel Investor firm, at a time when the phrase hadn't even come in to use yet. In 1997, he bought sandhill.com for $20, beginning his journey as one of the founding fathers of the Silicon Valley tech startup ecosystem. "I picked up the domain for $20 and thought, that's going to be my exit. One of these days, someone's going to offer me a million bucks." His aim was to help startups, either through feedback and connecting them with investors, or by investing personally. He invested in some 150 companies, a few of them did badly, and others did very well. "I invested in some good companies but that was not my intent," he says. "It was to help founders."

The thrill of giving back

It did, however, invoke his spirit of giving. "Then I wanted to bring the whole ecosystem together, through a conference or a retreat for the top 100 people in business and in tech," Rangaswami recalls. He had seen the Indian community in Silicon Valley grow in leaps and bounds, until they populated the top one percent of the working population in the US. When MR first came to Silicon Valley, it was home to some 10,000 Indians. Fast forward four decades and there are 4,00,000 Indians living there. They're also among the highest earners, at the forefront of major corporations, VCs, angel investor firms and startups.

[caption id="attachment_49925" align="aligncenter" width="443"] MR Rangaswami and Sri Sri Ravishankar[/caption]

When his corporate retreat idea didn't take off, Rangaswami decided to make an even bolder move and pivoted straight into the non-profit space and discovered that he had created a very successful mode. "We have been able to give away over $20 million and also bring the CEOs of non-profits into our network and give them mentorship, advice and even money from many of the CEOs of large corporations," he said, in a talk. "The same CEOs pay a lot of money to attend, today, it's $10,000 per person. All that money goes to non-profits, I don't take a single penny out of it and the model has become a huge success." He also went on to found the Corporate Eco Forum, an invite only community for publicly listed companies with a strong environmental focus in their core business strategy. Members in the Top 100 include Bank of America, Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Microsoft, Sales Force, The Walt Disney Company and many more.

The birth of Indiaspora

After that, there was no looking back. In 2007, noticing that the Indian diaspora was growing in numbers and in wealth, with no single organisation to unite them, he started Indiaspora. "There are communities for lawyers, doctors and other professions. And there are groups for communities like the Gujarati Samaj and the Tamil Sangam," he says. "The idea was to bring together people from all walks of life to be a force for good." Driven by the idea of 'seva', Indiaspora helps non-profits and different organisations amplify their messages.

A decade later, Indiaspora is a high profile network of global Indian leaders, involved with philanthropy, civic engagement and social impact and entrepreneurship and innovation. Their philanthropic efforts are in the form of a long-term partnership with Give, based in India. In the US, they aim to support over 500 non-profits through philanthropic contributions from over 200 partners and this arm of the organisation is headed by Ashish Shah. The partnership was formed in 2022, as Give India and Indiaspora hosted the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit at the Consulate General of India, New York, bringing together leading philanthropists, foundations and non-profits.

Their civic engagement deals with a diverse set of issues, including racial justice and gender equality. And MR Rangaswami believes that all enterprises will eventually be social enterprises, that for-profit companies will work for social good. He urges everyone to live by Salesforce's' 1-1-1- model - 'Donate one percent of your time, product, profit to philanthropic causes'.

Follow MR Rangaswami on LinkedIn.

Eye of the tiger: Dr Latika Nath is India’s first female wildlife biologist

(September 28, 2024 ) Dressed in the elegant chiffon sarees that were fashionable among upper crust Indians of her time, equally at ease at high society events and in the depths of the forests of Madhya Pradesh, Latika Nath was an unusual personality, both in social circles and among her conservationist peers. Known as the 'Tiger Princess', Latika Nath is India's first female wildlife biologist, and the first to acquire a Ph.D. dedicated to tiger preservation. Her recognition spans from securing support from the Save the Tiger Fund for developing camera traps to receiving scholarships from prestigious entities such as the Overseas Research Student Awards Scheme and the Chevening Scholarship, reflecting her academic excellence and dedication to environmental causes. Her efforts in conservation and environmental protection were acknowledged with the Karmaveer Puraskaar and an accolade from ATOI in 2007 for her impact on ecotourism in India. Nath's expertise and dedication have been spotlighted in documentaries by BBC Wildlife, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic, which gave her the moniker 'Tiger Princess'. Tryst with the Royal Bengal Tiger When she was one year old, Latika received a golden retriever puppy and a Siamese cat. Born into an Indian royal family, Latika grew up

ika Nath | Wildlife conservationist | India" width="458" height="344" />

Tryst with the Royal Bengal Tiger

When she was one year old, Latika received a golden retriever puppy and a Siamese cat. Born into an Indian royal family, Latika grew up amongst wildlife - her father, a doctor at AIIMS and the health advisor to Indira Gandhi until the time of her passing, also set up India's animal conservationist movement in the 1970s. An avid wildlifer, he also enjoyed hunting big game and would sometimes take his daughter along.

"Ever since she was a little child she had been very fond of animals," Latika's mother said in Tiger Princess, a documentary by the National Geographic. The family lived on a farm in Kashmir, where they had lots of animals. "She loved being outside most of the time. She was also very set in her mind about what she wanted to do, she didn't give us any second choices about her line of interest," she smiles. Latika's greatest love, however, was for the Royal Bengal Tiger. "It's the sheer majesty of the animal," she says, in the documentary. "It's the thrill of seeing something so beautiful, so untamed, left in the wild as it is mean to be."

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The atypical environmentalist

After obtaining her undergraduate degree in environment science from Maitreyi College in New Delhi, Latika received a scholarship for the School of Forestry at the University of Wales. Latika had hoped to do a PhD on the snow leopard, which can be found in her homeland, Kashmir, but this was 1989, the year of the militancy and exodus. "We were one of the first few families to be targeted by the terrorists, and they killed eight people of our staff. They came in, gunned them down, and burned our houses." The family was forced to flee to New Delhi, and Latika left her home and her dreams behind.

In Delhi, Latika met H.S. Panwar, the director of the Wildlife Institute of India, who suggested she do a doctorate on tigers. It was a tough call, and although Latika knew the road ahead would be filled with hardships, she took it on. At the age of 24, with a scholarship from the Wildlife Institute, Latika left home for the first time.

"I just decided what I wanted to do and I did it," she says, "I borrowed a four-wheel drive from a friend in Delhi and went. I had never driven one before." Surprisingly, her parents let her go, giving her a maid and a driver. 'The family thought it was ridiculous," her mother admitted. They drove through the treacherous ravines of Chambal, the 'badlands' ruled by dacoits. At one point, Latika recalled, the driver put up his window, worrying that a bear would put its paw through and get him.

Dr Lathika Nath | Wildlife conservationist | India

The harrowing journey brought her to Bandhavgarh National Park, where she was greeted by a family friend, Nanda Shumshere Rana. The Ranas, who had ruled Nepal for over a century, were also famous for their love of hunting and the outdoors. Nanda Rana, however, had pivoted, from hunting tigers to conserving them. Latika was so relieved to see a familiar face that she burst into tears.

Up against the glass ceiling

Rana and Latika spent their days together in search of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Rana was taking care of the Bandhavgarh National Park, while Latika did work on her PhD. Her job was to identify the tiger population and map their territory and followed, in particular, a tiger named Sita. She would go fearlessly out into the night, driving on terrible roads, staying out from 8 pm at night to 4 am in the morning. Like a princess, she did this too with a team of servants, and set up 22 camera traps.

However, being a female conservationist was not going to be easy. More so for someone like Latika, who enjoyed her life as a royal to the fullest. "There have been so many people trying to stop me, for so many different reasons," she remarked. "People who are threatened by my ability, my social contacts, my personality, by the fact that I could ask questions." Influential conservationists challenged her research, accusing her of falsifying data, and it resulted in Latika's scholarship, as well as her permission to work in the park, being withdrawn.

Changing the game

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However, Latika was determined not to let her dreams die. She applied to Oxford University, hoping to do a PhD at Christchurch. Her parents supported her, giving her access to her trust fund. She had all the money in the world, and no admission. Then, fate intervened. She met a tourist, Judith Pallow, who happened to be the sole tutor for graduates at Christchurch.

With a PhD from Oxford, there wasn't much her critics could say. Latika returned to India and has been a conservationist for decades. Her work spans research, education, advocacy, and hands-on conservation projects. Her primary focus has been on tiger conservation, where she has delved into studying their behaviour, habitat requirements, and the threats they face due to human activities. Her doctoral research, recognized for its pioneering nature, laid the groundwork for further studies and conservation strategies aimed at preserving tigers in their natural habitats.

The Global Indian's approach involves photography and writing as tools to spread awareness and in 2018, released her coffee table book Hidden India, a collection of photograph taken over years of exploring the country's remote wilderness. Her engagement in exhibitions like "Omo – where time stood still" and "An Eye on the Tiger" at the Royal Albert Hall underscores her influential role in promoting wildlife and conservation awareness.

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Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan: From first Amul baby to her mom’s biographer

(June 30, 2023) “My family’s association with the Amul brand is intensely personal,” wrote Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament in one of his gripping articles. Elaborating on the association he shared, “Way back in 1961, Amul’s advertising agency, ASP (Advertising & Sales Promotion Ltd), was looking for a baby to front their milk powder in a first-of-its-kind ad campaign. They went through hundreds of pictures of babies – 712, to be exact – until ASP’s creative head, Sylvester da Cunha, asked my father, his friend and Secretary of the Advertising Club of Bombay: “you have a baby too, don’t you? Mind if you show me a picture?” Shashi Tharoor reminisced talking about how his sister Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan became a model when she was just 10-months-old. Senior Tharoor shared Shobha’s picture with Sylvester da Cunha and the rest is history. “My sister Shobha became the first-ever Amul baby,” remarked the proud brother, who is known for his gift for words. No less of a wordsmith herself, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan is a celebrated children’s book author and has churned several books for top publishing houses in India and the US. She brought her mother into limelight when Penguin launched her first

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No less of a wordsmith herself, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan is a celebrated children’s book author and has churned several books for top publishing houses in India and the US. She brought her mother into limelight when Penguin launched her first book outside her world of children’s literature - a biography on her mother, Lily Tharoor.

[caption id="attachment_40898" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Indian Author | Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan | Global Indian Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan[/caption]

Good Innings: The Extraordinary, Ordinary Life of Lily Tharoor, has received rave reviews and garnered immense curiosity among readers to get a peek into the life of the Tharoors. “This story is definitely a tribute to my mother, but it’s not just that. It’s a tribute to all you women, your mothers, our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters who hold up our part of the sky,” remarked Shobha at a literary event in Kolkata.

The California-based author is also a poet, translator, editor and has been a former non-profit development professional spending two decades as an advocate and fundraiser for persons with disabilities. A celebrated voice-over talent, she received the National Award for best narration / voice over for the film Rhapsody of Rains: Monsoons of Kerala at the 68th National Film Awards ceremony by President Droupadi Murmu in 2022.

Coming out of comfort zone

When Penguin approached Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan with a request to pen a biography on her mother, she was hesitant. Undoubtedly, her well-travelled mother has lived a remarkable life motivating her children (Shashi Tharoor, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan and Smita Tharoor) to think out of the box and reach their maximum potential, but ‘would we like to put all that in a book’ she wondered.

The fiercely self-dependant octogenarian, Lily Tharoor is a strong matriarch who believes that ‘the only ground that is stable enough to stand on is the one created by your own hand’. She has had her own share of tragedies, travails and triumphs, but Shobha was unsure to document those.

However, Penguin was persistent. Looking at the journey of the feisty octogenarian who renewed her driving license at 82, and was forthcoming enough to support her son atop the election campaign vehicles, had raised an interest in them to chronicle her life. Finally, Shobha gave in to their request encouraged by her brother who later wrote the foreword of the book.

[caption id="attachment_40901" align="aligncenter" width="863"] Indian Author | Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan | Global Indian Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan with her siblings Smita Tharoor and Shashi Tharoor[/caption]

“When I presented the book to my mother, she said, why you have written a book on me. What have I done that needs a book? You should’ve have written about your brother,” shared Shobha.

The author knew that there are many people who could write a book on Shashi Tharoor as he is a public figure but Lily Tharoor’s story could only be written by her children who have seen the marvels of the lady and her amazing everyday story unfolding before their eyes.

“My mother thought it was criminal not to live up to our full potential,” Shobha shared and used the book as an opportunity to inspire younger generation to ‘grow and act’.

Storyteller’s voice matters

“I have been a ‘storyteller’ and communicator all my adult life writes Shobha on her website. In both India and the United States, Shobha’s voice has been used in documentaries, advertisements, corporate training manuals, stage productions, travelogues, educational and journalistic projects, and audio books.

Before becoming a voice over talent, the Global Indian spent two decades in the non-profit sector serving people with disabilities as a grant writer. Even as a grant writer, she utilised the power of words and stories to attract funders to programs they wished to support.

[caption id="attachment_40910" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Indian Author | Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan | Global Indian Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan receiving award from President Droupadi Murmu[/caption]

“I take this same love of words to my writing and voice career,” she shared. As the voice over talent with a natural and elegant speaking style and a global accent, Shobha has been the perfect choice for Silicon Valley companies looking for a voice to showcase their products and for their training manuals. While her books are part of some of the school curricula.

Shobha has a home studio in Campbell, California from where she delivers many of her voice-over assignments for all types of media - from individuals to small businesses to large broadcasting organisations.

Miss Calcutta’s journey of life

Raised with the awareness of their Kerala heritage, Shobha spent the early years of her life in many places. “I was the responsible middle child with an overachieving older brother and a mischievous, younger sister so my childhood was full of learning and fun,” she said in one of the interviews. “We were diasporic Malayalees as my parents had lived from a young age away from their roots in Kerala, including abroad in London,” she remarked.

From a very young age, Shobha had developed an immense love for literature and acted in Shakespeare and Osborne plays during a pan-Indian childhood, without missing summer vacation in Kerala every year. “We were raised to be as comfortable eating with our fingers on a plantain leaf as we were dining at the table with appropriate cutlery,” she shared.

[caption id="attachment_40903" align="aligncenter" width="730"] Indian Author | Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan | Global Indian Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan with her parents and siblings when they were young[/caption]

During her teenage years the family was living in Kolkata. Her mother always encouraged Shobha and her siblings to make every minute count by delving in not just academics but a wide array of activities - dramatic arts to tennis to French classes. When Miss Calcutta contest happened, she sent both her daughters – Shobha and Smita to participate with the intuitive wisdom that they would be able to fair well. And, she was right, While Shobha got crowned as Miss Calcutta, her younger sister ended up being the first runner up.

After leading a protected teenage life in Calcutta, Shobha moved to the US for higher studies. Starting from her bachelor’s studies there she went on to complete her master’s in English at Syracuse University. It was during those days that she met the guy who would be her husband, married him and settled in California. It has been four decades since then. Regular visits to India for work and family commitments continues. The multi-talented author and voiceover artist considers herself more of a ‘global citizen than an Indian or Indian-American'.

From the Archives:

[caption id="attachment_40904" align="alignnone" width="355"] Indian Author | Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan | Global Indian Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan as the first Amul baby[/caption]

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Cycle Didi pedals to empower: Sudha Varghese has been working for the Musahars for over 50 years

(April 8, 2022) Gingerly, she lifted one leg onto her bicycle. Haltingly, she pedalled. All she knew around 50 years ago was she was here to serve and help the downtrodden – and Sudha Varghese went about it with dedication. Soon the “Cycle Didi” was a welcome face working tirelessly for the upliftment of the Musahars, a Mahadalit community of Bihar. The Padma Shri (2006) awardee brushes aside accolades, as for this altruistic mind, people and their plight are all that matters. Born in Kottayam, Kerala, Sudha shifted to Bihar in her late teens and saw the harsh reality of the have-nots. Today, Sudha runs several residential schools for girls and offers livelihood programmes for women, and empowers these Dalit communities from the shackles of the upper caste. “When I came to Bihar and saw the condition of these people, I knew I had to do something, especially for women. I lived with them for years, and taught the girls in my small room,” shares the Padma Shri awardee, in an interview with Global Indian. “I devoted all my energy, time, and love to help the Musahar community,” she says. Known for their vocation of rat-catching, the Musahars lived on village

Musahar community,” she says. Known for their vocation of rat-catching, the Musahars lived on village fringes and faced caste and gender atrocities from the upper castes.

[caption id="attachment_22802" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Social activist Sudha Varghese[/caption]

Age no bar

Born into a prosperous family in 1944, the eldest of six siblings, she admits to being a pampered child. A love for the arts saw her take part in plays, dance, and singing competitions at school. “As the first child, my grandparents - maternal and paternal - loved me a lot. I liked being in nature,” she adds.

Even as a child, the plight of the impoverished concerned her. In middle school, sifting through a magazine, she chanced upon a photograph of a ramshackle hut in Bihar. “I couldn’t get that image out of my head. The thought that a family had to live in that condition made me sad,” shares the 77-year-old social worker.

[caption id="attachment_22804" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Sudha Varghese with students of Prerna school[/caption]

Around this time, she joined the Notre Dame Academy, and despite resistance from her family, entered the religious order to become a Catholic nun. “When I told my family that I wanted to go to Bihar, my parents refused. I tried to convince them, but they did not want to listen. One day, my maternal grandfather came home and after speaking to me, persuaded my parents to let me go,” she says.

Overcoming the challenges

Life in Bihar wasn’t easy. It took Sudha a year to understand the deep-rooted caste system, discrimination, and untouchability. However, the biggest struggle was language. “When I shifted from Kerala, I knew little English. I didn’t speak Hindi. Soon, I realised that I will have to learn both if I wanted to help the Musahar community,” she shares, adding, “I was unaware of the evils of the caste system, and the miserable state of the community - no home or income, forced to beg and live on footpaths.”

[caption id="attachment_22805" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Sudha interacting with ladies of the Musahar community[/caption]

At the Notre Dame Academy, unhappy that she wasn’t doing enough, she struck out on her own. She asked some Musahar villagers for a place to stay and was offered a grain shed - where she started classes for girls. “The major source of income for this community was making tadi (toddy). Customers would come to buy liquor, and that disturbed the education of young girls. So, I asked them to come to my room, where I used to take classes - not just academic, but sewing and embroidery too,” smiles the social worker.

Soon many girls started attending classes. But educating them wasn’t enough. Raising a voice for their rights and funding for hand pumps to access clean water – Sudha was unstoppable. The activist encouraged them to demand higher daily wages. That did not go down well with several people who threatened to oust her. “I had to leave my home in Danapur and shift to a rented one. There were days and nights when I feared that I could be killed. I realised that if I had to work for these people, being scared wouldn’t help. I had to stand up to them, so I went back,” smiles the social worker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUzGRPLZMuI

In 1987, she launched Nari Gunjan, an NGO to help Dalit women access rights. Two years later, straddled with a law degree (from a Bengaluru school) she fought cases for abused women - domestic violence and rape. “I went to the authorities initially, but later enrolled at the law school to ensure these women get justice,” she adds.

Changing mindsets

To educate Dalit girls, she slowly redefined their image - by establishing a residential school - Prerna (in the outskirts of Danapur, Patna) in 2005. “Girls were not allowed into schools. Upper castes had made it impossible for the people from Dalit and Musahar communities to survive. Even basic amenities were not provided. With funding from the state government and volunteer donations, we started the first batch in 2006,” Sudha shares, of the school which was “half public latrine and half water-buffalo shed.”

[caption id="attachment_22807" align="aligncenter" width="639"] APJ Abdul Kalam presenting the Padma Shri Award (2006) to Sister Sudha Varghese in New Delhi on March 20, 2006[/caption]

Her aim was not just academics, but also extracurriculars – she added karate, and the girls became so adept, they won five gold, five silver and 14 bronze medals at a competition in Gujarat (2011), winning a trip to Japan to participate at the International Martial Arts Championship organised under the auspices of Japan Shotokan Karate-Do Federation. “The girls are now pursuing their dreams - studying to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, and leaders - and that makes me happy,” she gushes.

Her initiative Nari Gunjan is active in five Bihar districts and runs empowering campaigns. “After the Nitish government put a ban on liquor, many had no income. So, we encouraged women to start a kitchen garden to grow vegetables and sell excess produce. Or make commercial chane ka sattu, which was a big hit,” says the social worker.

Another unique livelihood programme – the Nari Gunjan Sargam Mahila band, an all-women band belonging to the Devadasi Dalit community garnered much acclaim. “When we first approached them with the idea, they were unsure. We trained them, and now they perform at various government and high profile events. We are working on creating a second band now,” laughs Sudha. The NGO also produces inexpensive sanitary napkins.

[caption id="attachment_22808" align="aligncenter" width="539"] Sudha with Amitabh Bachchan on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati[/caption]

“While the girls are being educated, many still treat them poorly. I want to change their mindset. Many live in poverty and are marginalised. We are working on several projects to uplift the Musahar community,” she smiles, carrying on her good work.

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Reading Time: 7 mins

Simit Bhagat: Preserving Bhojpuri folk music and popularising migration genre

(July 24, 2024) Itna bata ke jaiyo, kaise dinwa beeti ho ram (While you are going, tell me how should I spend my time?) It’s a woman’s cry, pleading with her husband or lover, who is moving to foreign shores as an indentured laborer, to return home soon. More than 100 years later, these words of pain and longing have been kept alive through Bidesia — a genre in Bhojpuri folk music, loosely translated as “migrant.” Passed down through generations, this oral tradition is preserved in the heartland of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar by local artists. An art form that Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker Simit Bhagat is working to safeguard and conserve. “Bidesia is a form of Bhojpuri folk music that emerged in the mid 1800s when many men from UP and Bihar migrated to British colonies as indentured labourers, leaving their women in perpetual waiting and anguish. Music served as a balm for their pain and longing,” Simit tells Global Indian. To prevent this music from fading into obscurity, he made a 90-minute documentary, In Search of Bidesia, in 2019. The film premiered at the Dhaka Film Festival and won the Best Music Documentary at the Royal Anthropological Institute Film

e film premiered at the Dhaka Film Festival and won the Best Music Documentary at the Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival in the UK in 2021.

[caption id="attachment_53171" align="aligncenter" width="694"] Simit Bhagat | Global Indian Simit Bhagat with a Bhojpuri folk artist[/caption]

A chance encounter with local artists in a village in Uttar Pradesh introduced Simit to Bhojpuri folk music, a genre largely unknown to the broader population. This instant connection nudged him to explore more and led him to the home of renowned artist Mahendra Mishra in Chhapra, Bihar. The three-day stay to record music inspired Simit to share the stories and melodies of these local artists. “He told me he doesn’t care about money, but he wants his music to reach people. Those words stayed with me. If I can help bring their music to a wider audience or give these musicians a platform, that would mean everything,” says Simit, who founded The Bidesia Project.

"The songs have been in the veil of oblivion for too long. It’s time the world knows about Bhojpuri folk music," he adds.

Journalist-turned-social development practitioner

With his roots in Konkan, Simit considers himself a Bombay boy after his parents settled in the city for a better life. A chance encounter with a journalist in his neighbourhood during his childhood left him in awe of the profession. “Seeing his confidence and authority, I was spellbound. That’s what first attracted me to journalism,” says Simit, the youngest of three siblings. A diploma in journalism opened up new horizons, shaping his worldview and landing him a job at the Times of India on the environment beat. After five years, his passion for social impact and development prompted him to pursue a master’s in Society and Development at the University of Sussex. His year in Brighton broadened his perspective on development issues and taught him to enjoy life more.

Simit Bhagat | Global Indian

Armed with newfound knowledge, Simit returned to India in 2011, eager to make a tangible impact. “I wanted to move beyond research and apply what I had learned on ground.” He joined a UNDP project with the Mangrove Foundation in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, to sensitise community on marine biodiversity. In the small town with limited social life, he’d spent weekends exploring nearby areas on a colleague’s bike with a camera in hand. This led to his first documentary, My Disappearing Farms, which addressed Sindhudurg farmers’ declining interest in farming, causing the next generation to seek small jobs elsewhere. “That’s how my journey into visual storytelling began,” Simit reflects.

Brush with Bhojpuri folk music

Later, he joined Tata Trusts, travelling across the country to identify organisations and fund their projects. Simultaneously, he satiated his creative side. “I’d always carry a camera and shoot short videos.” One such program visit took him to Delupur village in Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh, where he discovered Bhojpuri folk music for the first time. “I was fascinated. Everyone in that village could play an instrument and sing,” he recalls. He immediately recorded the performance on his phone. Even months after returning, the music stayed with him. “I often listened to the recording, and something in me urged me to dig deeper into this,” says Simit, who has been passionate about music since childhood.

In 2017, Simit took a short break to explore Bhojpuri folk music. “I crisscrossed across UP and Bihar on my bike for 15 days, starting from Allahabad and travelling through Ghazipur, Benaras, Buxar, Ballia, and Lucknow. With no plan, I’d randomly land up in villages inquiring about local artists. The universe conspired and I kept meeting one artist after another, recording their music. By the end, I had recorded 1 TB of footage,” smiles Simit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v7jrygBRg8

Bhojpuri folk music is an oral tradition passed down through generations. “It’s an expression for people who have songs for different seasons and reasons,” says Simit, adding that Chaiti songs are sung during Ram Navami, while Kajri songs celebrate happiness and prosperity during the month of Sawan. Ropani songs resonate through farmlands during the sowing season. He recorded 92-year-old Saraswati Devi singing Jatsaar, songs of the grind mill. “Since grinding is arduous and requires physical energy, the women sing to encourage themselves, with themes of pain, migration, nature, and seasons,” Simit explains. Passed down to her from her mother, the song held a special place in her heart. “A few months later, she passed away and I realised if I hadn’t recorded it, it would have disappeared into oblivion. That’s when I understood the importance of preserving the intangible culture.”

Bidesia music – songs of migration

One form of Bhojpuri folk music is Bidesia – migration songs. While many people from Bihar and UP currently take blue-collar jobs in metro cities, Simit says this migration trend isn’t new. “During colonial times, people from UP and Bihar migrated to British colonies like Fiji, Mauritius, and Suriname as indentured laborers on five-year contracts,” he reveals. After slavery was abolished, plantation owners needed workers to maintain sugar production, the colonial empire’s main source of income. “They sought docile, abiding labourers and even tried Chinese labours but failed. Dubbed the Great Experiment, British officials turned to Indians who were reported as hardworking,” explains Simit, who found this information documented in the UK Archives during a visit to London.

In the hope of a better life, many people from these states agreed to leave for foreign lands. Calcutta being the nearest port, saw large numbers shipped out. “Since this region was impoverished and people couldn’t read or write, many false promises were made,” Simit reveals, adding, “Those taken to the Dutch colony of Suriname were told they were going on Sriram’s yatra, and Mauritius was referred to as Maarrich Taapu, stating it was a two-hour journey.” But it took them months to reach their destinations. Many died on the journey due to harsh conditions, as most had never even left their villages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXKySjb-QVg

The migration to distant lands led to many broken families. With no letters, women waited for their lovers and husbands to return, giving birth to Bidesia music. “These were songs of separation and longing that women felt. Interestingly, certain songs are from a man’s perspective, explaining to women the reason for migrating to foreign lands.”

The migration to British colonies included not only men but also some women, particularly widows. “With no social standing, these women often took the recourse of migrating to foreign lands. Moreover, they were paid higher wages than men due to the skewed sex ratio in places they were taken to, to maintain balance in society,” explains Simit. Upon arrival, indentured laborers would wake up at 3 am and work in the fields all day. Even after the expiration of five-year contracts, these labours had no way to return home. “With limited or no money and their documents controlled by plantation owners, escape was nearly impossible. It was more like a trap, and many committed suicide upon realising they had no means to return,” Simit reveals.

The women continued to wait for their men to return, singing songs that were passed down to generations. Over time, oral traditions are dying with the emergence of popular music, which makes it crucial to preserve and conserve them. While migration now primarily occurs within the country, Simit notes that even the lyrics and music of Bhojpuri folk have evolved. However, he quickly points out, "Bhojpuri folk music is pure and nothing the popular Bhojpuri music. The local artists don't consider it an art form."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2H2uQd1u4s

The Bidesia Project – Promoting local artists

After two weeks on the road, Simit had amassed enough footage to realise that a 90-minute film couldn’t do justice to the many local artists he encountered. “I knew it required a larger initiative to systematically document this music before it vanished. I wanted to create an archive where people could access and understand this music. That’s how the Bidesia Project was born.” As part of the project, Simit continues to record music when he can and uploads it to YouTube for wider reach. He often finds an audience among people from the Caribbean looking to reconnect with their roots. “These songs serve as a common thread connecting people from UP and Bihar, both in India and abroad,” says Simit.

[caption id="attachment_53173" align="aligncenter" width="669"] Simit Bhagat | Global Indian Simit Bhagat[/caption]

Through the Bidesia Project, Simit aims to conserve and preserve Bhojpuri folk music, which is at risk of disappearing. “There’s so much work to be done, and I don’t think we’ve even covered one percent of it due to my struggle to balance work with passion,” says Simit, who runs an award-winning creative agency. He plans to scale up the project by adding more resources, ensuring it is not reliant on just one person.

Simit, who loves swimming and traveling, is also learning electronic music production. “I have a deep connection with music, which drew me to Bhojpuri folk music even when I didn’t understand the language. Now, I want to bring this music to a wider audience and lift it from the shadows of obscurity.”

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