Even as we write it, a new India is irreverently, and with sass and humour, asking questions of its predecessors. The clear-eyed vision, practical humour, and language is something Nandini Kochar and Co., are familiar with. Over the last four years, Kochar has been overseeing the Nazaria Arts Collective which began in the hamlets of Shankarwadi in Jogeshwari East. “It started in 2022 with a colleague, Riddhi Samarth and myself, during a Teach for India fellowship. “We were passionate about bringing media education to the students, because we felt a systemic absence of creative education in the public system,” the co-founder shares.

The absence of media literacy to a generation embedded in new media felt contradictory to them. “They [youngsters in marginalised communities] engage with media on a molecular level, and yet, there is close to no access in formal training in media fields,” she explains. At a time when Oxfam India reports reveal that 90 per cent of leadership roles across the media industry lacks diversity and representation, it is not surprising. While accessibility has eased, education remains expensive.