Compassion Contagion

Compassion Contagion is an online archive that documents acts of compassion, resilience, solidarity and hope of ordinary citizens through stories, art and graphic narratives. It was started during the pandemic immediately after the first lockdown in collaboration with Nida Ansari, an activist. It is an attempt to shift the narrative from ‘despair’ to one of ‘hope’ .

Under this, I started an initiative called ‘Art Aid’ during the second wave – a collaboration with various artists and poets to raise funds for individuals and organisations who were doing extraordinary relief work during the pandemic.

In 2021, I collaborated with another activist- Ashik Krishnan to add Manifesto for the Future to the archive with the aim to shine light on alternate, local, sustainable models of development through the medium of folk, tribal art. graphic narratives. Food sovereignty, holistic healthcare, place-based education, community banks, media and cooperatives and reimagining of both urban and rural spaces are some of the themes that we focused on to show how it’s truly possible to create a more equitable, just and compassionate future.

The project received two grants that we received from the University of York (Centre for Applied Human Rights) and the Open Society Foundations under Arctivists.

Rafooghar-the house that mends

(inspired from the word Rafoogar/ Rafu Gar, needle-worker, darner or a cloth mender, رفو گر)

Rafooghar is a socially engaged art practice and a community space in one of the most marginalized neigborhoods of New Delhi, India where women gather for ‘sukoon’ and fursat’ - for some moments of rest and leisure, which most women living on the margins, don’t get time or permission for. It was born out

Here, embroidery and textiles become tools for emotional repair, rejuvenation and resistance, creating room for mending that goes far beyond fabric. Sitting and stitching together becomes a way of building agency, sisterhood, solidarity, and interfaith friendships.

Rafooghar received grants from ART, University of York and Pollination grant in 2023.

* This project was born out of a personal crisis. In 2021, when my father was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer, I discovered the therapeutic and healing powers of embroidery. His illness took a toll on the family, particularly my mother, and I wanted to find a way to keep her calm, engaged and motivated. Knowing that she used to embroider in her younger days and found passion in it, I decided to order an embroidery kit. Embroidery not only brought a sense of purpose to my mother but also helped her manage her anxiety during this challenging time. Intrigued by its effects, I decided to learn embroidery myself. Amidst the endless chemo sessions, tests, and side effects, as well as our never-ending caregiving duties, embroidery became our refuge. While researching on embroidery's therapeutic potential, I realised that despite being frequently dismissed as a trivial domestic pursuit, embroidery has demonstrated its power, time and again, as a tool not only for therapy but also for protest, advocacy and social change. Rafooghar emerged as an experiment to test this idea: could stitching become a medium for collective healing, storytelling, and social transformation? What began as a deeply personal act of care has since grown into a socially engaged art practice and community space, nurtured in collaboration with Yellow Streets, Artreach India, Shivangi Singh, Roshni Bhatia and community members- Foziya Shahista, Shabeena Ji, Jyoti, Anjali, Saniya, Ruma, Gulafsha and Hariom.