brighter days for rural India
work done at Itu Chaudhuri Design / role creative direction, content planning & development / client Vedanta Resources
Nand Ghar is Vedanta Resources’ ambitious initiative to advance the government’s Anganwadi programme (mother and child care centers), bringing accessibility of early education, health care and women’s empowerment programmes to rural India. We were approached to create a coffee-table book to showcase the project, and to win support from government constituencies and the general public.
However sophisticated the facilities, programs and interventions were, the idea of a glossy, coffee-table book seemed inappropriate given its rural context. We felt that in order to create the right impression on its audience, there was a need to create meaning and garner affection for the beneficiaries of the Nand Ghar. Photography and writing was guided by this idea—going to the source and seeking narratives from the lives of children and their families to portray the true impact of the initiative.
revealing a typical day at a Nand Ghar
The book is structured to reveal activities and interactions between children, supporting staff, and the community from the break of dawn till the time they reach home. Subsections created a balanced emphasis on the facilities, human narratives, and expert essays on education, health and women’s empowerment.
Readable at a glance, pages are dominated by photographs, and supported by short write ups and quotes. Even expert essays included to substantiate the interventions are truncated to keep things light.
a brighter future for eduction
The design draws from the world of a child, with gestures that signal its educational context—the core of these programs. The use of bright colours mirror the contrast of these buildings in their stark, rural landscape while symbolising a sense of positivity and hope brought by the introduction of these Nand Ghar across the country.
partner in charge Itu Chaudhuri / creative director Richa Bhargava / design concept Sukanya Baskar / design development Sukanya Baskar / photogaphy Samar Singh Jodha / content planning Richa Bhargava / content development Jairam Seshadri, Richa Bhargava, Sukanya Baskar / webpage photography Palash Jain