Monthly Archives: March 2013

Our Indiegogo campaign: Joy’s letter to his daughter

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To my loving daughter Khushi,

You are only 4.5 years young and I am writing to you; for you to understand what your Papa does, about why there are cartons of books around the house and why my phone conversations and other interactions with people revolve around adivaani. Papa is building a ‘time machine’; the adivaani time machine for Adivasis; for us and for our people to travel to the past and carry the adivasi legacy we left behind to the present and the future. Beta let me explain: I started this new place of ‘work’ called adivaani in July 2012 partnering with Ruby and Luis (Remember Luis brought you a handmade arawak toy from Mexico and you have added it to your friend’s circle since then).

We are making books; and through them we want to reclaim our identity in our own terms. Super excited we produced our first ever book in Santali in the month of October 2012. With no proper sales guidelines and strategy we set out. We missed out few occasions where we could have sold our books but such are the challenges of a new venture.

By this time I had already shifted to Pakur, our home: you will not realize this as you see me far too often than when I was in Ranchi. Your mom used to scare me saying that one day you’d fail to recognize me because of my being away from home most of the times. Thank you for proving her wrong.

The start of 2013 was exciting for adivaani as we were busy producing two books together. One is Gladson’s (Remember we went for his wedding and you had a good time playing around). The other you love to look at and make me tell you the story of the geese again and again. Come February the 7th 2013 and we had a terrific launch of the two books at the New Delhi World Book Fair.

Way back in September 2009, when you were only 11 months young, I was in Edinburgh, Scotland on an official visit. Rev. Andrew Anderson, the then presiding Priest of the Greenside Church had invited me to speak on a Sunday morning service about the situation of our people in India. In his introductory remarks, he introduced me as the first person he has known in his lifetime that has his daughter named after him. Khushi (Joy in Hindi); your mom loves me for this, what about you?

‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door’…I’ve just re-tweeted this a few days ago copied from an online friend, who by the way also happens to like our posts on adivaani’s website. That’s why the time machine is important.Beta, I am building a time machine and I feel I’m running out of time and resources. Our passion alone cannot drive this time machine, we need fuel, and we need the support of everyone. I am worried and often wonder how we will make it. Then I look at you and when you play and make me laugh, I feel alive again. You inspire me. It’s for you and adivasi children like you that the adivaani time machine wants to preserve this cultural legacy. I do believe and hope that this ‘work’ of ours will fulfill the potential it has.

Your grandpa has donated a part of our house in Pakur to be used as the adivaani bookstore. I am so overwhelmed with his gesture and support. He extended his support without us even asking, and that humbles me. But we need to reach out to everyone and tell everyone who we are what we want to do and how we need their backing.

So we started an online fundraising campaign called ‘A time machine for Adivasis: documenting and tooling our history’on indiegogo in March 2013 to have them support our venture:

A time machine for Adivasis

A time machine for Adivasis

We’ve been blessed with the response we got; a few people donated money, some want to write about us and some want to keep our books in their library. That’s wonderful! We sincerely hope our campaign succeeds.

March 2013 also had adivaani written about for the first time in Tehelka.

I feel extremely honored to be in the company of such wonderful people who believe in adivaani and us. adivaani and the promise of what it can do is the inheritance I proudly leave for you and adivasi children everywhere.

This is the first ever letter written to you; the first letter of your life. From now on, you have a confirmed seat in our ‘time machine’, just beside me.

With everlasting love and best wishes,

Papa

adivaani on FB and Twitter

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We have Facebook and Twitter accounts now, so please, follow us, like us, befriend us, link to us, get connected, stay tunned, love us … and most of all, come travel with us …

PS. You can find the buttons permanently fixed on the left menu bar…

Tehelka feature on adivaani!

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An interview with Ruby Hembrom

In their own words

by Ajachi Chakrabarty

Time machine. That’s how Hembrom looks at her nascent attempt at creating a publishing house for India’s indigenous population: a time machine that documents Adivasi history and culture, fundamentally an oral tradition, before they are forgotten in the wake of modernity.

Read the rest in this week’s Tehelka and in their website as well…

Our Indiegogo campaign: The adivaani time machine needs your help

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Dear All,

So the adivaani ideator is in trouble.  The idea behind making books for and by Adivasis was to challenge every misconstrued notion about us. Also, and more importantly, adivaani is a response to the indigenous peoples of India’s identity being threatened, ignored, misrepresented and supressed. The problem is we can’t do it alone.

We’re 3 books old now and we’ve got a lot of attention, expectations and responsibility. Along with the accolades, came requests and suggestions for our books. ‘We love your books.’ ‘We haven’t seen this quality in Santali publishing before.’ ‘Your books are priced well.’ ‘Your books are telling our story.’ ‘Can you do our creation stories too?’ ‘Can we have the Santal Creation story in Hindi?’

I’m elated with the response and thrilled with the promise of what we can do. With the first sale and surge in book sales and the first bookstores willing to source our books in Ranchi and Kolkata, the excitement just grew.

The second book of the Santal Creation Stories for children is ready for print and the third is in the pipeline, the Santali folklore book is also ready, and Gladson is finishing his second book in English. That is certainly to be celebrated. However they are all on hold now–waiting to be printed and I can’t actually take them to the press. What a pity!

And with that come sleepless nights, worries and utter helplessness. It’s not easy to build a time machine, which does more than time travel. It actually documents and tools adivasi history. Not only will we go back in time to rescue what we forgot to bring into the present, we’ll ensure everything preserved move with every generation of adivasis into the future.

So the idea churner is churning out idea after idea after idea–quite exhilarating but I’m beginning to think, have I bitten off more than I can chew? I’m just a regular working-class Adivasi girl, trying to make ends meet, with a treasure of an idea.

Sometimes I think of giving up. But the enormity of what adivaani and its time machine could do keeps the passion alive. I not only realize what we can and must do, but that it has to be done now. We are in a hurry. We refuse to be a forgotten peoples.

I really want our books to go from being on hold to being available for your reading pleasure and our time machine to take off. So I really am in trouble and want you to bail us out.

Will you?

Please donate at:

A time machine for Adivasis

A time machine for Adivasis

Indiegogo (Click)

It’s a simple 3 step process. You can use your debit, credit or paypal account to donate from wherever you are. It doesn’t matter how much you contribute, we will be grateful for it.

Please spread the word of our online fundraising campaign by forwarding this message, liking our campaign on Facebook and Tweeting about it.

We need to get 5,000 USD in 60 days … we only have 30 days before the campaign closes and we’re only at 25 USD. That’s disheartening! The countdown has begun.

In hope,

Ruby Hembrom