In Kali’s Memory: A Personal Story Of Mental Health, Healing, And The Complexity Of Care
As I think of freedom and mental health, I hope all forms of stifling are challenged, and unjust barriers are broken.
The Harsh Beauty Of Pain
Many people have asked me why I decided to curate an issue on mental health. I think the answer lies in the memory. An old, painful one, but I wanted to be free to confront it on the page and to write a letter to my dead grandfather, who once was a caregiver to his youngest son, who suffered with schizophrenia. My Uncle was a brilliant doctor and a gentle person. He wasn’t perfect, but he was family.
Rethinking Mental Health Policy: You Can't Heal People Without Healing The World
Mental well-being is rooted in the complex relationship between society and the individual. Laws and policies alone cannot fix it
Ruling After Ruling For Mental Health
The courts, including the Supreme Court of India, have stepped in on multiple occasions, flagging violations of the Mental Health Act.
Girls Finding Second Chances: Life Beyond Mental Illness and Homelessness
At The Banyan's Home Again facility in Chennai, dignity, friendship and hope replace the stigma of being mentally unwell.
Ratnagiri's Place To Heal, Where Minds Can Wander And Mercy Awaits
In quiet seaside town Ratnagiri, six women share a home built brick by brick from understanding. Here at The Banyan’s Home Again, healing is a promise, not a miracle.
Shahnaz Faced Homelessness And Mental Illness: Now She's Fighting For Her Children's Future
Shahnaz lost everything: her home, her memory, her place in the world. At The Banyan, Ratnagiri, she began the long journey back to herself, and to her children.
'My 74-Year-Old Father Is My Everything': Saraswathi’s Journey Through Pain, Poetry and Healing
Saraswathi Premkumar has been living at The Banyan’s Chennai facility for the past ten years. She has been through a lot but love for her father keeps her going.
How 'Cycle Lady' Rode From Survival To Hope In Chennai
Premavathi, who lives at The Banyan’s Chennai facility, earned the charming nickname as she was often seen cycling around the city.
How Two Women Lost Their Identities To Mental Illness, And Fought To Recover
Kamalini and Kajal now live at The Banyan’s Ratnagiri facility, where community, care and a cat named Sundari help them heal from their trauma.
The Healing Power of Music: Sameer's Journey Through Ghazals and Shayari
Since joining The Banyan's Home Again project a few months ago, Sameer has been uplifting spirits at the Ratnagiri facility with his melodious singing.
Sonal Finds Solace And Hope In Mental Health Recovery
After years of moving between facilities and shrines, Sonal finally found a home at Ratnagiri’s Home Again facility. She opens up about her deep longing for family, love and belonging.
Sunil's Journey Through OCD, Depression, Grief And Homelessness
Sunil was depressed, his wife battled schizophrenia; they lived on the streets in Chennai, then lost their daughter. Now at The Banyan’s Chennai facility, he's finally doing better.
Abuse, Loss And Long Road To Recovery: A Woman Recalls Her Life
Srividya, who grew up in the Kolar Gold Fields, sheds a life of abuse, strives to overcome her pain every day.
There Is a Suicide Crisis Amongst India's Youth And Elderly
The suicide crisis among the young and older adult populations needs specific targeted interventions.
Denial Of Dignity: The Psychological Toll Of India's Caste System
From Varanasi’s funeral pyres to Delhi’s sewers, India’s caste system creates hazardous working conditions for the country’s most marginalised communities, leaving them with psychological and physical scars
In Uttar Pradesh, Dawa And Dua Go Hand In Hand
In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, genuine efforts are being made under the District Mental Health Programme to help people with mental illnesses. However, a large section of disadvantaged society is still slipping through the cracks
Is The Global Mental Health Crisis Also An Existential One?
Which moments—those fleeting, profound fragments of our existence—will linger and haunt us in our final breaths?
The Little Joys: Amrit Bakhshy, 83
Bakhshy, 83, has been the primary caretaker for his 53-year-old schizophrenic daughter.
Taking Care Of Ma: Amandeep Sandhu, 52
Sandhu, 52, has been taking care of his schizophrenic mother since he was young.
Afraid To Laugh: A Mother-Daughter Account As Caregivers
Both Ratna and her daughter Tanya learned early that Ratna's brother Sushil required more care than them.
Life, Together | A Chronicle Of My Mother's Caregiving Journey
My father suffered from a combine of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for more than four decades. In all this time, our family battled social ostracisation, structural stigma and the healthcare system’s inability to deal with mental illnesses effectively.
Need To Reimagine Workplace For People With Psychosocial Disabilities
The paradox at the intersection of work and mental health is that our world today exemplifies working conditions that undermine people’s psychological wellbeing, while simultaneously excluding millions of people with psychosocial disabilities from occupational roles
Why India Is Shutting Down Mental Health Hospitals Instead Of Reforming Psychiatric Care
Instead of reforming mental hospitals, India is shutting them down
Mental Health In India: Why Policy Reform Must Focus On Empathy
India's mental health policy must go beyond treatment, prioritising prevention, awareness and support at every level.
Asylum: How Treatment Of Mental Health Disorders Evolved In India
Although the how, where and when to treat mental illness are now better understood in India, the ‘why’ continues to be obscure.
Inside A Mental Health Facility Near Ranchi: Forgotten Women Cry For Home
Desperate to leave, inmates of the century-old mental health facility near Ranchi open our eyes to the world of those deemed too 'ill' to live with others in society.
When The Frontline Is Your Doorstep: The Mental Health Crisis Facing Conflict Journalists
Covering conflict is dangerous, but it becomes even more hazardous for journalists when the conflict zone happens to be their motherland. A personal account.
'I Would Get Nervous And Suffocate': How Saira Grappled With Isolation, Anxiety And Grief
Balancing financial responsibilities and academic pressures while adapting to unfamiliar social customs placed a heavy strain on Saira’s mental health.
How Mental Health Disorders Are Used To Silence And Browbeat Women
Mental health needs to be reframed as a human right—especially for women in India who have been silenced, stretched thin, or made to feel small.
Fifty Shades Of Pink | How Conversion Therapy Continues To Dehumanise Queer Persons In India
The prevalence of conversion therapy stems from the ingrained stigma around queerness in the society, leading to the pathologisation of sexual orientation as a mental illness.
The Burari Case: Blind Faith Or Shared Psychosis?
It’s been seven years since the CBI’s psychological autopsy ruled that the Burari deaths were motivated by shared psychosis. Yet the case continues to be viewed through the lens of ‘bizarre’
How The Elderly Keep Mentally Strong: Lessons On Resilience
Is India prepared to meet the needs of its ageing population?
Journey Of Advancing Mental Health Initiatives— Insights From A Retired Officer
Snippets from a civil servant’s experience—pre- and post-retirement
Are Indian Cities Facing A Mental Health Crisis From Rapid Urbanisation And Digitisation?
India’s rapid urbanisation and digital saturation amplify the paradox of people hyper-connected online but isolated in their real-life contexts of proximity without intimacy.
Sadness In Places That None Can See
A young girl remembers her mother's depressive moods and looks beyond them
Dead Woman Walking, A Poem By Meena Kandasamy
Meena Kandasamy examines what a woman's sacrifices to society