Curated Communities: Unique Spaces Shaping India’s Social and Cultural Fabric

Written by Suvro Sanyal.

For the past several episodes, we have been delving into communities – both outside of our country & within our country. These communities as we have explored has its birth, unique history, its extinction in some cases, commensurating to time & relative periods.

In this episode we are to encompasses some unique communities existing in our country – which are curated.

Community of Interest –

• Headstart: is a volunteer led organisation supporting startups and entrepreneurship across India. Since its inception in 2007, Headstart has played an important role in shaping India’s startup ecosystem. They strive to enable the enablers of the startup ecosystem in helping the startups and entrepreneurs of India shine! They are fulfilling the founding vision of ‘changing the world with entrepreneurship’ contributing towards startup policy, venture capital, incubation, startup education and beyond. They have a bold vision for India, and as empowered citizens they do whatever beneficial for the community.

• Sunset Cinema Club – India’s Only Immersive Cinema Experience: screen both commercial and cult movies in settings such as Drive-In Cinema Experiences, Rooftops, Microbreweries, venues by the beach, bars, hotels and Amphitheatre’s. In addition to their own IP’s, they also organise shows for corporates and clubs as well as create new IPs for brands. They choose venues which they feel would add a new layer to the movie watching experience be it in terms of F&B, ambiance or just a resemblance to the storyline or characters of the film being screened. At the present their presence is limited to the following cities:  Bangalore, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune.

• Alt EFF Film Club – is poised to coalesce people around a shared appreciation of impact cinema, creating ripples of environmental consciousness and lasting connections. It is a space for learning (and unlearning), unwinding, and developing a unique understanding of human relationship with all living things. Immerse oneself in lively interactions with filmmakers and voices of change after screenings, feel free to ideate, debate and deliberate. Cutting-edge, bold and evocative, the films curated for the ALT EFF Film Club are artistically edgy and of the highest calibre of filmmaking. While the annual festival curation serves as the cornerstone of ALT EFF’s mission, focusing on climate literacy, action, and cinematic excellence, the ALT EFF Film Club curation complements this by exploring potential climate futures, showcasing the use of narrative techniques in climate fiction, and sparking collective imaginations. Their screenings and events provide opportunities for members to network and connect with like-minded individuals who share an interest in environmental issues and cinema.

• WOW Club – a community that inspires all women to travel over 50 destinations the world over. Sumitra Senapaty is a women’s travel expert, who has founded the club in June, 2005. WOW Club takes pride in watching friendships that are formed within the community and being a part of it, no matter where in the world it is.

• Gurgaon Organic Farmers Market – is a unique project, connecting local organic farmers, producers, entrepreneurs, and consumers to help create a healthy sustainable community. GOFM is focused on credible stewardship of the environment through a responsible and regenerative lifestyle. It was established in 2014, and is largely acclaimed to be a community project. currently held at DLF City Club 5, DLF Phase 5 on Sundays, and at RGREP, Leisure Valley Park, sector 29. Gurgaon. The community firmly affirms, pesticides and chemical-free, natural clean food is not a privilege but a RIGHT. For this, they have been organising GOFM – Gurgaon Organic Farmers’ Market and which brings together ‘real’ farmers, organic experts, gardening experts, health and fitness enthusiasts, and other concerned environmentalists.

• Scrabble Association of Delhi – has been active in the state of Delhi since 2005 and registered in 2010. Every year, it organises the under 18’s and above 18’s scrabble championship for Delhi. Other than that, it holds workshops, helps conducts tournaments and game events at venues all over the city and serves as a platform for scrabble enthusiasts in Delhi to interact.
  

Communities of Practice – The concept was inculcated by anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger in the early 1990s, but the phenomenon itself is timeless. From ancient artisan guilds to modern online forums, communities of practice have always been a key way by which humans share knowledge and innovate.

• Indian Administrative Services – identified as an institution which preserves the unity of the country have its own distinct operational logic for processes for executing the tasks and activities.

Indian Administrative Services is at the apex of All India Services and governed by the rules of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 under the Article 312 of the Indian constitution and was founded in 1947. Primary responsibility for the IAS officials lies in civil administration and policy making at all levels of the government apparatus. They occupy the highest positions in the government and only the IAS officer can be recruited to the highest level of administrative authority in any Indian state, the Chief Secretary and at the Central government in New Delhi, the Cabinet Secretary.

The tasks and activities which the IAS have been credited with like conducting elections and preserving national unity requires substantial coordination between them, and is a team effort and hence there must be a mechanism of collective learning.

There does not seem to be any significant disruption of legacies and traditions between generations of IAS officers, this must be holding true for the successive generations of IAS officers who are clearly engaged in transfer of knowledge and information to the new recruits each year. This clearly indicates the existence of a transfer mechanism of knowledge and information between the different generations of IAS officers.

The pan-India nature of IAS, the celebrated notion of the custodians of united India, glorifies the tacit existence of a community of shared attributes like values, identity, meaning and understanding.

• Indian Medical Association (IMA) – is the only representative voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well-being of the community at large.

The Association was started in 1928 on the occasion of the 5th all India Medical Conference at Calcutta with the avowed objectives:

• Promotion and Advancement of Medical and allied sciences in all their different branches.
• The improvement of public Health and Medical Education in India.
• The maintenance of honour and dignity of medical profession.

Over the period of 72 years, the IMA while maintaining its glorious traditions has secured a place of pride in the community, through its 1470 branches with a total membership of 120298 throughout the country. It has been rendering yeoman’s service in the field of health care deliver, disease control and eradication. Its services to the community during natural calamities like earthquakes, droughts and floods, famines and epidemics in the pre, and post-Independence periods have been highly lauded. Its role and involvement in the formulation and implementation of National Health Programmes e.g., Family Welfare, Maternal and Child Health, Universal Immunization Programme, Oral Rehydration Therapy, AIDS Prevention, Control and Management etc., has been highly significant and has received recognition by the Central and state Governments and the UNICEF.

The IMA and its branches have been fecilitating many community service Projects with specific branches establishing Family Welfare Clinics, Immunisation Centres, Ambulance Services, Blood Banks, Polio Eradications and RCH programmes, etc.

• National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) – has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalat’s for amicable settlement of disputes.

It undertakes various awareness activities in order to make people aware of their rights and about the role, activities and functioning of the legal services institutions. A variety of tools are used in order to achieve this objective like conducting seminars, lectures; distribution of pamphlets; participation in Doordarshan programmes, broadcasting jingles, live phone-in programmes etc; floating mobile multi-utility vans for spreading awareness through public interactions; nukkad nataks; short documentaries; cultural programmes by school children on legal issues; various competitions like painting, essay writing, debates and declamation etc. on legal issues. Specific issues are taken up for legal literacy programmes varying from place to place depending upon the needs of a locality and its people. Internship programmes are organised for law students to promote the role and importance of legal services activities.

‘Nyaya Deep’, the official newsletter of NALSA is promoting a healthy working relationship between legal services functionaries throughout the country and is proving immensely useful for exchange of views and sharing of ideas. Statistical information in regard to legal aid schemes and programmes is also included in this newsletter which is printed on quarterly basis. The editorials written by Hon. Mr. Justice R.C. Lahoti reflect the soul of ‘Nyaya Deep’ and measure the depth of the material included therein. These provide a window to the reader who in one glance through it can appreciate the content and purpose of the articles

• Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) – is an apex national body which organise and support, mountaineering and rock climbing expeditions at every altitude in the country. It was established on 05^th. January, 1961.

The organisation also promotes and encourages schemes for related adventure activities and environment-protection work in the Indian Mountain Regions, along-with striving to impart adventure education but is always keen on maintaining its paramount focus on principle of “Safety First”.

Risk is associated when we step into the world of adventure. However, learning to tackle the risks and emerge out safely is what a need of today. Adventure Education is not risky. Rather it is a well-planned and systematic curriculum wherein one learns life skills; it boosts the confidence of an individual and outdoor excursions enhances the immunity system. Both are essential for leading a healthy and meaningful life in today’s world.

Hence, to ensure seamless education, IMF invests significantly in the best safety measures as per international standards set by UIAA.

• Instructors are highly qualified and well trained mountaineers with vast experience,
• Equipment as per UIAA / CE standards,
• Highly trained first aid responders and medical officers during courses and expeditions,
• Adequate Student – Instructor ratio.

To be continued……………………….

Writer Suvro Sanyal

Mavericknews30 has launched a series of articles on community building, sharing insights and success stories. Stay tuned for the next article as we explore how to create stronger, more connected communities!

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