Lockdown Diaries: The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe remember VE day in London
The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE) commemorated the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day or VE Day in London, by following the national two minute silence at 11am on 8 May. At 11.15am, the resident priest at the Zoroastrian Centre, Ervad Yazad T Bhadha commenced reciting the Stum-no kardo in front of the fire in the Setayash Gah,...
Lockdown Diaries: Reflections of an Oxford shut-in
Something lockdown has given us all, in perhaps more quantities than we know how to deal with, is time. And as I find myself currently living alone, with my housemates having returned to their family homes, I have had all that time to myself. I had expected this to attract some sympathy - but the more sympathy I received,...
Lockdown Diaries: Mira Kaushik OBE spearheads an online platform to celebrate dance through UK’s performing artists
During lockdown, one of the things we art audiences are missing the most is being able to watch live performances. In the generosity of the universe, many top artists have been performing online for free. However, for London-based producer director and performing arts consultant Mira Kaushik, there was still something missing. “While the desire for viewing performances was being satisfied...
Global Indian Stories celebrates its first year
A year ago today, the first articles were published on the Global Indian Stories website. Since then we've had stories from 5-year-olds to 91-year-olds, from countries around the globe. We've heard from those who are trying to make the world a better place and those who are raising funds, food, or supplies for the vulnerable. We've had stories from those...
Hemraj Goyal Foundation: Supporting the next generation of philanthropy
At the Hemraj Goyal Foundation (HGF), we believe that supporting the growth and nurturing the development of next generation philanthropy is key to our own success as a Foundation. This is a story of not one, but three different activities, all designed by next generation philanthropists and the youngest descendants of Hemraj Goyal himself. Sense International In December 2018, Simran...
Surviving the Nepal earthquake in 2015: a memoir of a calamity
This is a topic I have written on countless times in my life. And over time, although the topic has remained the same, the days and the events have changed. During my school years, it progressed from the day I got scholarship in fifth grade board exam to being placed at the top of the list in HSC and...
Over a third of children belonging to lesbian mothers are bullied
One in three lesbian mothers in Britain has experienced homophobia from other parents, while the same proportion have children who have been bullied for having two mums, according to a rare study of LGBT+ women. The online survey by research firm Kantar of more than 1,400 LGBT+ women – one of the largest of its kind – found 37% of...
Lockdown Diaries: Harish Iyer helps sex workers and their families in Kamathipura
Harish Iyer espouses many causes. He was one of the few people who appealed to the Supreme Court against section 377, an archaic law criminalising certain forms of consensual sex between adults and one that was often used against the queer community. He is the only Indian listed in the World Pride Power List by The Guardian, among other...
Lockdown Diaries: Teenager Jai Aswani on a mission to feed the hungry in India by collecting 100 tonnes of food grains
Our initiative Mission 100 Tonnes was born out of distress calls we received from old age homes, orphanages, and pet shelters in Chennai, during the government-imposed lockdown in India three weeks back. Since then, there has been no looking back for us. The number of marginalised people requiring help during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 outbreak has increased...
Lockdown Diaries: Ankit Bhuptani’s views on self-isolation and how our actions will define a generation
50 or 100 years from today we will not be able to talk about the year 2020 without talking about this COVID-19 pandemic. I wonder, will a teen of that time be able to believe that all the commercial planes of the world were grounded? Businesspersons, film-stars, industry leaders and other powerful people who hardly had time to eat a meal peacefully,...
