Bigha Se Bigha

Growing up, I didn’t get to spend much time with my grandparents. My paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather had passed away before I was born. I only had a few years with my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother, when they were alive, but we weren’t very close. I lived in small cities in Bihar and Jharkhand, far from the ancestral landscape, community and (hi)stories. When they passed away, I felt like I had missed out on their stories and a part of my heritage. I became curious about our family history and the places in Bihar they came from. Thus, I started asking my parents about their memories and stories. 

My parents took me to the places they remembered from their childhood in our ancestral region. Through their stories, I discovered similarities between my paternal and maternal heritage, helping me connect the dots of our history and the changing landscape. 

A year later, I asked my father to write about the pictures I had taken. This project is my exploration of who my ancestors were and how the region has evolved. The more I learn, the stronger my bond with my ancestral land and its stories becomes.