Nidhi K | Writer-Researcher Fellow, Madhya Pradesh

Nidhi K is an independent journalist from Mumbai who writes on travel, food, policy, public health, and the environment. A data nerd, she loves scouring databases to bring stories to the fore. Nidhi enjoys reading whenever she can (novels, Substack newsletters, investigative stories) to keep her spirit alive against the crumbling world. She is currently learning Italian for fun, and building the courage to start her own Substack newsletter on autism.

What do you hope to learn through this fellowship?

This fellowship gives me the rare opportunity to understand the lives of women farmers in Madhya Pradesh for an extended period of time. I hope to understand food systems beyond agriculture policy through their lens, and bring out stories that show their everyday lives and systems as knowledge producers.

What film or writing would you recommend we read to understand more about women farmers in your region, and what did you love about it?

I would recommend Phuljharia Bai – Custodian of the Seed Bank, a Green Hub documentary directed by Shibali Vishwas. Based on the life of Phuljharia Bai, it features her along with women from the Baiga community who have been preserving millet seeds for a decade. Through seeds, they take charge of keeping the community strong and preserve their indigenous culture.

What is an ingredient and an associated recipe from your region that you hold dear?

Made using sesame seeds, a popular dry sweet called Gajak, found in Morena and Gwalior, is something I hold dear. Enjoyed in the winters, its simplest variety has just two ingredients—sesame seeds and jaggery. To achieve its flaky, melt-in-the-mouth brittle texture, a dough of roasted seeds and jaggery is continuously hammered to break down the seeds, which releases natural oils into the dough.