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
The forgotten carpenter from Melbourne who gave birth to an enduring Olympic tradition: The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting spectacle in the world. Apart from showcasing sporting excellence, the Games also convey the message of brotherhood (1/n)
But there are times when political tensions have overshadowed this sense of unity and brotherhood. One such instance was at Melbourne during the 1956 Summer Olympics. Even before the start, the event got mired in political currents (2/n)
Egypt decided to boycott the event in response to the Suez Crisis. Iraq, Cambodia & Lebanon joined it. In Europe, Netherlands, Spain & Switzerland opted to boycott as a mark of protest against the brutal suppression of the Hungarian revolt by the USSR (3/n)
Handia, in India’s Uttar Pradesh, is believed to be named after Mahabharata’s Hidimba. It is also famous because it is the #Kathak town of India. Kichkila, a village in the Handia tehsil, has been the home of Kathak dancers for many generations (1/n)
Pandit #BirjuMaharaj Ji who died on 17th Jan, 2022, was a son of this village. Maharaj Ishwari Prasad & his brothers took Kathak to Lucknow. There, Ishwari Ji trained his sons in the Natvari Style who in turn took the dance form to the courts of Lucknow (2/n)
Under the patronage of the Nawabs, this dance form which was once exclusive to temples and religious gatherings became popular to the masses, earning the identity of ‘Kathak style of Lucknow.' (3/n)
The connection between the grounds of one of the oldest sports clubs in India, a silver screen icon and a half century old missing person’s case – a thread: (1/n)
Founded in 1884, Aryan Football Club (initially Aryan Sports Club) actually pre-dates the more illustrious names like Mohun Bagan, East Bengal & Mohameddan Sporting (2/n)
Although the club never really touched the same heights as its more famous neighbors, its ground on the Maidan may or may not have witnessed a human tragedy unfold (3/n)
The mahout boy from Mysore who won a DFC in WWII and was inducted in Hollywood Walk of Fame - a thread on the incredible life of Sabu Dastagir:
Born as Selar Sabu in 1924 in Mysore state, Sabu grew up among elephants (1/n)
His father was a mahout in the service of the royal family of Mysore and Sabu along with his older brother, Shaik Dastagir helped their father in his daily duties. His life would change in 1934-35 (2/n)
Robert Flaherty, a British documentary film-maker, decided to adapt Rudyard Kipling's "Toomai of the Elephants" for the silver screen. It is believed that while location hunting in Mysore state, Flaherty's wife came across Sabu (3/n)
Today is Zanzibar Revolution day - a day to remember for a story of a country’s freedom and also the story of a forgotten genocide. A thread on Zanzibar Revolution, Parsees of Gujarat and a flamboyant rockstar we’ve all heard about (1/n)
For centuries, Zanzibar - a Tanzanian archipelago - was ruled by Muslim Sultanate and a hot destination for Indian traders. Indians, both Hindus and Muslims, had their families established within a flourishing community until one dark day arrived (2/n)
On this day back in 1964 a violent coup by African allied parties, fueled by ethnic pride & anger over slavery in the past, not only ended 200 years of Muslim rule but also murdered and expelled thousands of Arabs and Indian civilians in broad daylight (3/n)
On #SwamiVivekananda's 159th birth anniversary, today we take a look back at some of his sports exploits. Vivekananda’s love for sports and physical activities is quite well documented (1/n)
He exercised regularly, was adept at wrestling (kusti), horse riding among others and was also an admirer of football (2/n)
According to a recently circulated picture on social media, one might even conclude that his bowling action may have provided inspiration for Hedley Verity! (3/n)