I was born in early 80s. I was born and grew up in Benares and I am proud to be born in Benares because this city taught me myths and might both. I attended Harishchandra Post Graduate Degree College to get a bachelors degree in commerce. I applied for a correspondence MBA course at Sikkim Manipal University but could not complete it because of some reasons. My one paper is still pending. Although it is my dream to complete my MBA and do a Ph.D. in either sociology or environment. Since science was never my background, I don’t know if any university will show interest in me holding a Ph.D. degree in environment but I want to try for it.
I went to a government school until High School and unfortunately government schools in Uttar Pradesh are nothing but waste of time if students are not serious. If you don’t take care of yourself, then school never takes care of you. And I, like most of the other students, did not take care of myself but I was good in English, maths and commerce. My professional life started with a part-time job at a cyber cafe in 1999 where I worked for two months. I started a silk shop in Benares in 2004 and run this for eight months.
After the silk shop, I started a guest house for foreign students and researchers in 2006 and this business is still running successfully. Currently I have been working with tourists, foreign students and researchers for the past three years as translator (Hindi-English or Bhojpuri-English) or assistant and I just love my job. I have enrolled for Italian language course at Centro Risorse India, Varanasi center. I have been going for Italian classes since January 2010 so it is new to me and I can not read or write in Italian yet.
I have worked with many international media such as CBC, MTV Italy, SBS Australia, Financial Times and Penguin group. I did research and translation for them. I have worked with a San Francisco based organization called Aidsvideos. I did translation of their HIV & AIDS education scripts in Hindi and Bhojpuri and filmed it in Varanasi. Although the whole project is about translating the scripts in other Indian languages as well and I am still working on it. I have passed tour guide exam organized by Ministry of Tourism for Government of India, have got training and now I am a government-approved tour guide for North India.
I have founded two NGOs named Sanjeevani Booti and ChanceIndia. I founded Sanjeevani Booti with help of my friend Mr. Lane Rasberry in the year 2008. Sanjeevani Booti’s aim is to provide education about sexually transmitted diseases to local community and promote researches. I founded ChanceIndia with help of my other friend Mr. Attila Csapo in the year 2009. ChanceIndia’s aim is to help poor kids in going to school by finding sponsors to sponsor their education.
I have a deep interest in research so it doesn’t matter what kind or what subject. I just want to learn as much as possible. So if you are reading this site and if your interests match with mine and have any desire to do research in India, then contact me, and I will help you in any way possible to produce quality research data. My interests are following:
- Environment
- Women Rights
- Human Rights
- Equal Rights
- Gay Rights
- HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
- Sex
- Drugs
- Religion
- Politics
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Anthropology
- Human Body Science (I hardly understand science but I have a deep interest in understanding basics about human body)
- Volunteer
- Ghosts (I don’t want to believe that there are ghosts around but I love hearing about them and I want to help people who destroy their lives by thinking that their life is affected by ghosts)
- Easy, Convenient and Effective Solutions to Problems (I have a deep interest in finding easy and effective solutions to problems. I know my society, and I know that Indians never want to compromise with religion so I try to find answers in religious books and stories related to Gods’s and Goddess’s lives and use them as examples or answers to solve the problems. And believe me Hindu religious books answer each and every question)
I hope to work together with you. Peace.
This is excellent. All the best with your endeavours.
Hi, I am Anutosh Pandey ,doing my BBALLB in National Law University Orissa.I belong to Varanasi.As a part of my course I have to do internship with a NGO in the month of May and June 2010.Although i am getting internships with many NGOs across India,but I want to work in Varanasi.Can you Please provide my some information regarding NGOs in Varanasi working in the flied of Human Rights,Environment or legal awareness and who are offering internships.
Thanking You
Anutosh Pandey
National Law University Orissa
anutoshpandey@gmail.com
I am not really sure about NGOs offering internship in Varanasi but I know NGOs working on Human rights, environmental rights and a lot of other issues. I will suggest you to contact Lok Samiti in Varanasi. They are situated in a village called Mehndiganj near Rajatalab. This NGO is famous all over the world for its struggle against Coca-Cola. Have you heard of Coca-Cola polluting ground water and doing other kinds of pollution in Mehndiganj? They are doing really great work on a lot of different issues. They are working on NREGA, right to information act, they have started self help group programs in several villages, they have over 20 schools… really great NGO. Need more information about them?
Your blog is very interesting. Being belonging to same background and culture, I can really understand your drive to excel and absorb all knowledge. People like you give me hope that our community can change and become mainstream of new global world.
Best of luck
Radha
Radha,
Thanks for writing. I think if we can come out of the systems made by British, Mughals and all of those people who ruled us and if we can learn our real religion and culture, it will be enough to become mainstream of new global world.
Nandan,
Of what you replied to Radha, what do you mean by ‘real’ religion and culture…what we inculcated from mughals and britishers isn’t partly our own now? for instance, the usage of english language..or the english-medium-system of education is a lineage left by the british…mostly young educated indians like me n you ‘think’ in this language these days. what would you call it then…drifting away from our culture?!
Hey Hi There Nandan,
I read your Blog and It Quite Interested and I am very happy for it. Keep it up. Being Myself is a Gay @ Chennai proud to be liked by many people and nowadays slowly All the Ppl are coming out of the Orientation. Thats Great and You ROCK.All the Best
Karan,
Thanks for writing. I also liked Chennai pride and I am happy that your city has taken such step to educate people about this issue.
Sana,
I agree completely with you that what we inculcated from Mughals and Britishers are partly our own now but I do not think that we should just accept everything. I believe in learning and I know that British and Mughals or anyone else who ruled us, taught us many things but I do not want to carry all the problems they left after leaving. India used to be the most liberal society before British and Mughals came and now we are one of the narrowest society in existence on the planet, so many problems with women, huge issues of equal rights, gender inequality… I don’t say that all the problems we have now were given by British and Mughals only but they did some serious damage which is not easy to repair.
Why do think that educated people think in English only? I don’t agree with this at all. Many people think in English and it should not be called drifting away from our culture. It is learning and nothing else. Learning a new language is really a good thing but forgetting our mother tongue is a serious problem and if somebody does it then it could be called drifting away from the culture because language is a culture itself. And believe me it is a serious problem if we just think in English and English only. You can not learn about others until you know yourself first.