Some birthdays are marked by celebrations. Mine this year was marked by dusty village roads, monsoon skies, camera gear, and long conversations.

Over the birthday weekend, I travelled through rural communities with a small camera crew, filming everyday life and spending time with Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, and the people they serve. We weren’t chasing dramatic moments—just the quiet realities that rarely find space in headlines but say so much about life and public health in India.

Fieldwork has a way of slowing you down. It teaches you to observe before you speak, to listen before you conclude, and to appreciate the extraordinary commitment of people who keep communities healthy with limited resources and endless determination.

This journey is part of a personal project that has been quietly taking shape over the past few months. It’s still too early to say much about it, but every conversation, every frame, and every kilometre travelled has reaffirmed why I chose documentary storytelling.

There couldn’t have been a better way to welcome another year—on the road, learning, listening, and collecting stories that deserve to be seen.

Here’s to the journey ahead👍