Over the next 5 days Paperclip will look back at 50 stories of courage & inspiration from the subcontinent in 2021. We will publish 10 stories each day, in no particular order of ranking as we feel all these stories are equally powerful. Follow #Paperclip50
Sky is not the limit: Andhra Pradesh girl Jahnavi Dengeti became the first Indian to be a part of @NASA's International Space Program. bit.ly/3Ie7FEn#Paperclip50
Protector: ASHA health worked Suman Dhebe walked over 10 Kms everyday during the #secondwave to successfully protect 5 tribal villages around Pune from #COVID contamination #Paperclip50 bit.ly/3Kfowsp
*worker*
Saviour: @IASRajBharud, a visionary doctor turned district collector, installed oxygen plants to save a small tribal district in Maharashtra from #COVID during the 2nd wave bit.ly/3IekqPs#Paperclip50
Never Forget: @tusharlall02 composed a poignant musical piece as a heartfelt tribute to Asifa, the 8 year old victim of communal sexual violence in Kathua #Paperclip50
Ambulance on auto: Karnataka auto driver BV Prashanth Kumar ferried emergency patients for free without caring for his life after his mother tested positive bit.ly/3KkkL4Q#Paperclip50
Gritty Lady: Annie Siva became a Sub-Inspector fighting all odds having been abandoned by her husband and family at a young age bit.ly/3tGDnpN#Paperclip50
Fighting in exile: Women members of parliament from Afghanistan escape the Taliban to form a government in exile bit.ly/33lkYUV#Paperclip50
Cottage Industry: Women in drought hit Andhra village help sustain their families making bags, pickles and masks bit.ly/3fGmrr7#Paperclip50
Big Short Story: Sri Lankan author @KanyaDalmeida wins the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize with a curious tale of care giving and abandonement bit.ly/3FErcfm#Paperclip50
Together we can: Civilians, Celebrities, Volunteers join hands to fight the deadly Covid second wave. Together they all made a difference #Paperclip50
Art of writing: Young women calligraphy artists in Kashmir revive a lost art in the midst of the pandemic and internet shutdowns bit.ly/3A8iogR#Paperclip50
All that glitters: Indian olympians and paralympians gift the country a bagful of medals from Tokyo bit.ly/3rVGJTB#Paperclip50
United against hate: @imVkohli and @Neeraj_chopra1 stood up for fellow players Mohammad Shami and Arshad Nadeem in the face of online tirade and abuse based on their religion and nationality #Paperclip50
Rainbow spirit: Telengana gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang exchange marriage vows surrounded by friends and family bit.ly/33JVpg6#Paperclip50
Resilience: Unfazed by floods in Rapti, 15-year-old Sandhya Sahani rows boat in flood water to reach school daily in Gorakhpur bit.ly/3nBPdxI#Paperclip50
Indomitable: Couple from Delhi fighting cancer transported 200 dead bodies and 400 patients in their ambulance during #COVID 2nd wave bit.ly/3qBuJXB#Paperclip50
Reunited at last: Fucha Mahli, 70, was finally reunited with his family in Jharkhand after working as a bonded labour in the Andaman for 35 years bit.ly/3GI7Ffq#Paperclip50
Winning smile: They say your smile is a reflection of your soul. Sudha Bharadwaj shows exactly that on her way home after getting bail bit.ly/3nxvkHR#Paperclip50
Truth: Extensive ground reporting on gang rape of Dalit girl in Delhi by Dalit journalist @KotwalMeena caught our eye as the hard hitting and brave journalism the nation needs bit.ly/329zO05#Paperclip50
Empowering: Historic moment for Chhattisgarh as 13 transgenders recruited as police constables in 4 distrcts bit.ly/3GEKvXz#Paperclip50
Everyone is welcome: India's first transgender run salon, La Beaute & Style, creates history bit.ly/3I8Vo42#Paperclip50
No place for hate: Fearless Kerala nuns dissent against priest's alleged hate speech against Muslims in the church bit.ly/3A6QRME#Paperclip50
Leading lady: First female Chief Minister of Nepal, Astalaxmi Sakya, is in a league of her own bit.ly/3Klbjhv#Paperclip50
Wings to fly: Roya Mehboob, the New York and Kabul based techpreneur spent frantic hours making calls across the globe to get the all girl Afghan robotics team on a plane to Doha as the Taliban take control bit.ly/3rrEkj3#Paperclip50
Spreading joy: Namgay Tshering, a Bhutanese politician, spreads joy by giving toys bit.ly/328ORqR#Paperclip50
Health for free: Papinder Singh, a native of Husnar in Punjab, runs a free wheatgrass juice langar for all ages after his cancer stricken mother benefitted from the drink bit.ly/3FJWpOE#Paperclip50
Women at the forefront: First female police station in Quetta gives hope to women as they become first responders crushing cultural and bureaucratic barriers bit.ly/32bwstu#Paperclip50
Defeating COVID: Bhutan displays COVID commitment by vaccinating 93% of its adult population by July 2021, recording only 3 deaths bit.ly/3rtX29D#Paperclip50
Reaching higher: Dawa Yangzum Sherpa becomes the first female mountain guide from Nepal and also breaks the speed record on the way to the Manaslu summit bit.ly/3Ag2tNx#Paperclip50
Provide and protect: Senior IPS officer Shrikant Jadhav and his team not only chase dreaded criminals but also provide food and shelter to the needy bit.ly/327ingv#Paperclip50
Demand: Barred from work, Wahida Amiri, a 31 year old Law graduate in Kabul, takes the streets amidst guns and bombs asking for her basic rights bbc.in/33NmEX7#Paperclip50
The fourth pillar: @DainikBhaskar, the country's largest circulated daily, does relentless ground reporting durng the 2nd wave to bring the truth to us bit.ly/3rs10Qn#Paperclip50
Smashing barriers: Tashnuva Anan Shishir goes live on March 8th from a private news channel in #Bangladesh to become the first transgender anchor of the nation bit.ly/3qCJ6ew#Paperclip50
Removing stigma: A 16 year old from Kolkata battles circumstances, local resistance to help her mother recover from COVID and leads in spreading awareness bit.ly/3qA3wVs#Paperclip50
Mother nature: A group of women fight to protect the Sundarbans from the effect of cyclones bit.ly/33JRuzC#Paperclip50
Feeding the weak: Zoeb Bhutia, an entrepreneur from Gangtok, helps feed the ailing during the pandemic bit.ly/3fPKEM5#Paperclip50
Keep the faith: Residents of Lakhimpur district of Bangladesh across religion come together to protect Durga puja pandals and temples after Comilla violence bit.ly/3AaHuLS#Paperclip50
Matching frequency: HAM radio operators in Bengal reunite woman in Bakkhali with her family in Jharkhand after 37 years bit.ly/3Kn84WU#Paperclip50
Changing uniform: Assam police officer dons the white coat during the pandemic running the local COVID care centre bit.ly/3qLpPaV#Paperclip50
Vaccinate all: Health care officials take the boat and truck to vaccinate people in the remote Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh bit.ly/3A8E6kM#Paperclip50
Big Cat and Thunder Dragon: The UNEP is working closely with the Bhutan government to revive the nation's tiger count amidst constant struggle between man and wild bit.ly/3qASO0K#Paperclip50
Nick of time: Men in green come to the rescue of more than a thousand tourists stuck near the Indo-China border at Nathu La due to snowfall bit.ly/3Ij1Y8l
Cleaning the mess: Everester Jamling Tenzing Norgay and his team of sherpas clean up the Everest trail bit.ly/3qGN59P#Paperclip50
Legend has it that a group of Jews from Kochi once embarked on a secret and daring expedition. Upon their success, the king of Kochi granted them a place to live, a street for the Jews. Now, it is a vibrant tourist destination. 1/14
The story begins with a quarrel & a bit of mischief. The Dutch & the King of Kochi shared an amicable relationship, but one day, that was put to the test. According to Ruby Daniel’s account the king dozed off briefly while listening to the Dutch governor’s ramblings in court 2/14
Kochi has, over time, been controlled by several foreign powers, including the Portuguese, the Dutch, and finally the British. While they ruled much of what is now Fort Kochi, other areas remained under the King of Kochi’s domain. 3/14
In the 1960s and 70s, a woman in a saree took the stage across Europe, mesmerizing audiences with her renditions of Hindi Bollywood songs. Her voice was flawless, her pronunciation impeccable. But she wasn’t Indian. She was a girl from Romania. This is her incredible story 1/14
Her name was Maria Amarghioalei, but the world knew her as Naarghita. Born in 1939 in a small Romanian village, she had a difficult childhood after her parents separated.
2/14
She had no ties to India. No Indian ancestry. No cultural connection. Yet, she became one of the most extraordinary ambassadors of Indian music. It all started with a film. A Bollywood film to be precise.
Humour finds a way even in the most difficult of times. It survived under the nose of Nazi police, across prisons, ghettoes and concentration camps. And it will survive again.
A short thread on ‘Whisper Jokes’ that once challenged the Third Order.
(1/16)
Under the Nazi Germany government from 1933 to 1945, Hitler had controlled almost every aspect of life in Germany. In 1934, the new Nazi government enacted a law that essentially termed telling and listening to any anti-Nazi joke as an act of treason. (2/16)
Between ‘33 and ‘45, 5000 death sentences were executed, a chunk of them for anti-Nazi humour. Regulations like Gleichschaltung and Reichskulturkammer were formed to control the work of all artists – including comedians. (3/16)
One day in 1958, a mob gathered outside the Polish embassy in Beijing. They were furious, banging drums, demanding entry. But they weren’t after diplomats.
They wanted to kill the sparrows.
What was happening? Let’s dive in. 1/22
To understand this bizarre siege, we must go back to the Great Leap Forward—Mao Zedong’s radical plan to transform China into an industrial superpower. Agriculture was to be revolutionized. Industry was to surpass the West. There was no room for failure. 2/22
And Mao found an enemy standing in the way of progress: Birds.
One of Mao’s first targets? Sparrows.
The Chinese leader was convinced that these birds were eating too much grain, threatening the country’s food supply.
A determined immigrant left his country for India to start a new life created a brand that gave Indians a place to eat and meet during the British Raj, when many places didn't allow Indians to enter. This is the story of Dorabjee & Sons, one of Pune’s most loved restaurants. 1/12
Established in 1878 as a small tea stall selling bun maska and Irani chai, Sorabjee Dorabjee started selling full meals only because the locals asked for it. Today, the restaurant is run by Darius Marazban Dorabjee, Sorabjee Dorabjee’s great grandson. 2/12
In 1878, there was only one restaurant in the Pune Cantonment area called El Moretos, which did not allow Indians to enter. Dorabjee & Sons not only welcomed Indians, but also introduced Parsi food to them. 3/12
This doctor on the left is not just any doctor. The year is 1969. The place is King’s College Hospital, London. And, she is Reita Faria—the first Indian and Asian woman to win Miss World. A woman of beauty, brains, and unstoppable elegance.
12 photos, endless elegance. 1/13
Born in the heart of Matunga, Mumbai, August, 1943, Reita Faria's story begins in a middle-class family where beauty and ambition ran deep. Her father worked in a mineral water factory, her mother ran a beauty salon—little did they know, they were raising a future legend. 2/13
Long before she wore the crown, Reita Faria was dominating sports in school—throwball, netball, badminton, and even hockey. Her competitive spirit was unstoppable even back then. 3/13