Visiting Anubhuti Trust

This blog is written by Anantvijay Singh and Ami Mishra from Dasra.

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A Day at Anubhuti Trust

10:30 AM - Kolegaon Youth Centre | Rallying Together for Freedom

Location: The centre is located in the Bouddha Wada in Kolegaon, a largely Agri-community dominated peri-urban area, without facilities like a city but more developed than a village
 

• We meet Amrita at Katai Naka. Amrita, a founding team member of the organization, heads fundraising and several other functions at Anubhuti, and she takes us to the Kolegaon youth centre where 15-20 boys and girls are having an animated discussion. They are planning for a rally on the 15th of August, for which there are songs and slogans being prepared. The energy is infectious, and the language isn’t a barrier.
• We sit down in the nearby room and are being given tea and breakfast, when Deepa arrives as well. This is the first time either of us are meeting her in person, after many online conversations. This doesn’t feel like the first time.
• We spend about an hour talking to her, Amrita and two centre facilitators— Darshana and Reshma. They talk about the challenges of nomadic and tribal communities of the region and the criticality of providing spaces for the youth, physical and otherwise. They offer some sharp commentary on the importance of context in every single activity they do, and about being careful not to criminalize the already marginalized by taking blanket actions even when speaking about women’s issues and domestic violence. She acknowledges the intrusion of heteronormative and patriarchal structures within Adivasi and Bahujan communities but reiterates the importance of providing recourse which is contextual.
• Thus, often Anubhuti Trust has had to develop new modules, ways of teaching, and counselling, for the communities they work with. This is when Deepa lays out her vision for the work they do, while the youth group in the background bursts into song dedicated to Savitribai Phule.

(Marathi)
Sau petati mashaal
Sau aag ti jalhaal
Sau shoshitachi dhal
Sau muktichi paul

(English)
Sau, like a burning torch
Sau, the fire will burn
Sau, a shield of the oppressed
Sau, a step towards freedom

• Deepa asks: How do we enable youth with lived experiences from marginalized communities to build leadership, and find spaces in the constitutional framework to participate and claim their rights?
• Anubhuti Trust focuses on mental justice, sexual and reproductive health and agency, cultural mobilization, career leadership, and access to higher education, as a means to support youth in breaking free from inter-generational cycles of discrimination, marginalization, and vulnerabilities.
• Deepa then begins facilitating a session with the youth group on gender norms and claiming spaces in public events such as Independence Day and the upcoming Vimukta Jati Day on 31st August. She speaks to the youth about respecting boundaries and ensuring that they create safe spaces when both genders are interacting with one another. The way she conducts the conversation is friendly and insightful, she touches upon topics relevant to adolescence with sensitivity.

“Law and policy only apply to stable communities.”
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“Leadership for marginalized youth is a process where they occupy space, gain freedoms, and claim their rights.”

12:00 PM - Ambarnath Circus Ground | Finding Homes in the City

Location: We are in a prime area close to Badlapur station, where 500+ families from various marginalized communities are relocated to a marshy land, with no sanitation or basic amenities
 

• Deepa introduces us to Ingoli Dada. He is a member of a nomadic tribe community with about 530 families in the area and speaks about spending the past 25 years fighting to get the community land rights. Anubhuti was introduced to him via their relief work during the pandemic and have been supporting him since. The families are from a number of different Nomadic and Denotified tribes— Nathpanthi Davari Gosavi, Banjara, Paradhi, Madari among others. The area is unique in having a mixed crowd.
• We have another tea, while Ingoli Dada tells us about how they were forced to vacate the better pieces of land they were living on after the lockdown was announced and to move into a much smaller and marshy area. Here, the government supported about half of them put up asbestos (patri) houses, while the rest had to fend for themselves. They have had to fight for access to some electricity, still have no access to sanitation and waste management services.
• Despite occupying this land, they are under constant stress of eviction and are harassed by local authorities. Part of the land is given away for the construction of a cinema hall – a case of the development versus displacement. Most of the communities here are still into their traditional livelihoods and have not been able to find a means to more dignified work or sustainable livelihood options.
• Over the past few decades, Dada himself has been helping the community get ration cards and Aadhaar Cards. The ration cards they have don’t provide them with any food or essential supplies. These efforts are Dada’s way for establishing some legitimacy to the community.  The land does not still belong to them.
• There is a deeply emotional moment as Ingoli Dada and Deepa discuss the precarity of their living situation, while breaking down briefly. Then, a few quiet moments later, Deepa reflects that communities who are wrongly implicated by the socio-legal system still remain committed to constitutional frameworks while fighting their battles. This hits hard. 

“The lack of rights and access to land or basic facilities for leading a dignified life affect sexual and reproductive health, mental health, addiction, child marriage and so many other phenomena. On this marshy land, during monsoons, people don’t have proper land to live on, the youth drop out of school and are negatively affected.”

2:00 PM - Forest Naka | Collectivizing on the Margins 

Location: We stop on a seemingly important main road that is alongside an urban green patch – there are small tea stall on one side, and smaller settlements in adjacent inward gullies
 

• On the way to Forest Naka, Amrita discusses plans for 4-5X growth over the coming years, the need for long term funding, and how they can start supporting their youth leaders to become active agents of change over the years.
• We bump into Prabhakar Dada, and over tea, he talks about running community kitchens with Anubhuti’s support that started during the lockdown but have continued since. The community kitchens are a great way to support people who may not have resources for small celebrations, community gatherings, or even food when there is not enough work available. 
• We cross the road and go to the Forest Naka community. Here we meet Kiran Tai and a few other women at a temple. We learn that everyone in the area has been falling ill recently due to contamination in their water sources. Kiran Tai gives us Sprite to drink. We accept the drink given to us with warmth, even as we are uncomfortable learning about their situation.
• The temple has been built by Kiran Tai herself with savings, dedicated to a faith that transcends itself by providing her a means for a living. She is from the Waghya Murali community, classified under Denotified Tribes, traditionally invited to perform at religious ceremonies. We discuss the deities in the temple. Deepa theorizes that leaders from the past have now been deified, and are probably worshipped as Khandoba, Kalubai, Bhairoba, etc.
• Members of the community are unable to earn a living during the monsoons, when rituals are not performed. At any religious function, Kiran tai tells us that 1-2 women of the community accompany a largely male troop, performing at night, at risk of harassment. They are paid INR 600-700 per ceremony.
• The conversation touches upon how the practices in the community are similar to the Devdasi system where children are offered to the gods. Deepa reiterates her point on the criticality of context. Anubhuti needs to meet the people where they are, as they do their work, and not ‘other’ them by tagging their cultural practices with an external gaze. She says it is important to take an intersectional feminist perspective.
• In response to a question on what resilience means, Deepa says that resilience is not just the end of an event or disaster. Each disaster leads to a loss of ‘social immunity’, and it is critical to ensure continued education, health, and safety. Thus, resilience could be gaining access to the right networks, ensuing immediate needs are met, and reducing discrimination and violence.

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“You cannot look at the beliefs of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes from an external perspective.”

4:30PM – Number 6, Rahatoli Swabhiman Chawl | Learning by Doing

Location: Number 6 in the Rahatoli Swabhiman Chawl is a place that Deepa used to rent for living earlier – this has now turned into a youth centre over the years
 

• Our last stop is at Anubhuti’s centre at Rahatoli village. Here, young children are practicing their singing and dancing while playing the Lezim. We hear more of Deepa’s philosophy as she tells the children that they should know the meaning of each word of the songs they are singing, since people will hear them at public events and take notice. The children are very enthusiastically being guided by Saif and Yogita, who later hitch a ride back to the station with us. She also reminds her field facilitators that the children should be reminded that the songs are written by a Mumbra-based organization called Aawaaz-e-Niswan.
• We end up eating a delicious late lunch made on order by one of the community members, while Deepa and Amrita talk about how they work with a CA to remain up to date on compliances. They tell us how the Guidestar certification process last year (initiated during BTF) threw up a few details they were not aware of. They then prepare to get on a Zoom call and there is a bustle to ensure that the Jio dongle is working, while we say our goodbyes.
• Guided by Saif and Yogita, we are shown the various locations where they undertake community outreach, en route Badlapur station. They show us a forest area where the youth are brought for nature walks guided by experts who tell them about the flora and fauna. Saif remarks how the landscape of the area has changed over the last decade, with greenery replacing concrete.

“It is important to approach our work with a balanced perspective and rights-based approach.”

“Cultural immersion and change are very important to mobilize youth. This will inspire them to take action and feel confident.”