Lockdown Diaries

Our series of articles all about how people are making the best of the situations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lockdown Diaries: Bamboo House India supports waste pickers, daily wage earners with continued livelihood and aid

'My Waste, My Responsibility' is the mantra followed by Hyderabad-based social enterprise Bamboo House, India. Prashant Lingam, who co-founded the initiative along with his wife Aruna Kappagantula in 2006, moved from making eco-friendly bamboo homes to recycled eco-friendly plastic homes, plastic paver titles and kiosks for street vendors, using tonnes of used plastic garbage that would otherwise end up...

Lockdown Diaries: Oli Khan’s Surma Takeaway to distribute thousands of free hot meals to frontline workers in the UK

The holy month of Ramadan 2020 will be remembered in history for coinciding with one of the worst pandemics of all time, and this has changed the way Ramadan is being observed globally this year. However this has not dampened the spirit of compassion and generosity during this sacred time. Celebrated chef Oli Khan FRSA and Surma takeaway in Stevenage have...

Lockdown Diaries: Apsara Reddy fights against heightened abuse and vulnerability during curfew in India

Apsara Reddy is the first trans-gender Indian politician, who has led the way and been an inspiration to thousands in the community in India and across the world. The inspirational leader was appointed the National General Secretary of All India Mahila (Women's) Congress, in January 2019 by the Congress President Rahul Gandhi. The lockdown period imposed by the government of...

Lockdown Diaries: Biker doc Nilay explores India on two wheels to inspire and uplift

They say "smile a while and while you smile, there will be miles and miles of smiles because you smile." I have taken this saying so seriously that i create smiles as a full time dentist and ride for miles on end all over the country as a hobby. So for all those who don't know me I am Dr. Nilay...

Lockdown Diaries: Arya Taware of FutureBricks shares her hands-on attitude to success

I love to start my day properly by making sure I’m awake at 6am. I’ll either go for a morning walk or run everyday before I sit at my desk. I find that routine is everything right now and can help everyone mentally separate the very thin line between personal and professional life. Remaining positive As an entrepreneur and founder, it’s...

Lockdown Diaries: Ten-plus-year olds review animation film Sitara, make statements to stop child marriage

Sitara: Let Girls Dream, made by renowned two-time Academy and three-time Emmy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is the best film we've seen in the last weeks during the Coronavirus lockdown. It is out on Netflix.  As sisters aged ten and eleven, we were quite excited when our mum showed us the trailer of the movie about two sisters in the...

‘Evening Shadows’ to screen in London marking LGBTQ+ History Month

Sridhar Rangayan’s gay drama kicks off series of films as part of London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) The UK and Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, the London Indian Film Festival  (LIFF) is kicking off its 2021 series of films and marking LGBT+ History Month with a screening of Sridhar Rangayan’s feature film Evening Shadows, a tender heart-warming story, set in...

KASHISH 2021: Film Submissions open for South Asia’s biggest LGBTQI Film Festival

The twelfth edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is scheduled to be held online next year from May 20 to 30, taking into consideration the prevailing pandemic situation. The organisers have mentioned that they are still considering a two day on-ground festival if the situation improves, a decision which will be taken only in February 2021. Festival director Sridhar...

Global Indian Stories – Top 10 stories so far

Global Indian Stories is back! We've moved our website onto a bigger, faster server and changed our domain to globalindianstories.org to better represent our ethos of being a non-profit organisation. Our goals are unchanged. We still aim to help increase literacy by supporting and encouraging writers, especially those who have never been published before, hopefully leading to a greater sense of...

We can’t breathe: George Floyd death strikes global chord

The recent death of George Floyd, a 46 year old African American has caused anger and protest around the world. It is not enough to call it a death for it was certainly a custodial murder by the police officers, one of whom was seen pinning Floyd down with his knee. As with Eric Garner murdered by police in New...