Bachpan Manao at the Festival of Play by Star Papaya

November 30 | Saptaparni, Hyderabad On a warm afternoon in Hyderabad, tucked away under trees and terracotta roofs at Saptaparni, we joined the Festival of Play, a new offering by […]
Lock Worry, Unlock Joy: A Space at Manotsava That Let Adults Feel Again

At the Bachpan Manao Zone at Manotsava 2025, amidst talks, sessions, and zones full of people, there was a smaller space, barely 8×8 feet in size, that offered something many […]
What the Bachpan Manao Zone Taught Us at Manotsava 2025

8-9 November 2025 | The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru At the National Mental Health Festival, hosted by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies in partnership with NIMHANS and NCBS In the middle of Manotsava […]
Makkala Hubba, Supported by Bachpan Manao: When a Festival Becomes a Movement

Childhood is not a programme or a checklist. It is lived every day – in small moments of play, in stories shared, in the way a child explores the world […]
BM in a Box: A Series of Micro-Events Celebrating Childhood

A citywide invitation to reclaim play, joy, and imagination Bachpan Manao presents BM in a Box โ a citywide invitation to reclaim childhood!ย As Bengaluru prepares to celebrate Makkala Hubba […]
I am Chulbuli
When we began creating Chulbuli, we imagined a playful character who might help parents engage more deeply with their childrenโs learning. What emerged surprised usโa character whose gentle stories quietly […]
The Factory is not the Only Place She Works How women in Virudhunagar are reclaiming their rights after years of invisible labour.
Virudhunagar, a bustling industrial hub in Tamil Nadu, is known for its spinning mills, garment units, power looms, match and firecracker factories. Thousands of women keep these industries running. But […]
Radha of Indavara A Librarianโs Tale
As a child, stories were Radhaโs haven. She spent her days wandering through the coffee estates of Chikkamagaluru, listening to her grandmother weave folk tales into the rhythm of the […]
She Spoke About Menstruation. In Halbi. To a Room That Had Never Heard It Before.
In a conflict-hit village in Chhattisgarh, a 17-year-old girl stood in front of her community and began talking about what no one else would. Not loudly. Just clearly. The Girl […]
The Boy Who Wouldnโt Let Them Harm The Pangolin
โE Gaja, Gajaaaaaโฆ tor maa daakche!โ (Gajaโs friend yells outโyour mother is calling!) The sunโs almost down. Birds flap home across the reddening sky. Cows shuffle into their sheds, their […]