about me
Khamrimo. My name is Anugrah Pandi and I’m from Kalimpong.
The meaning of my name is grace. What I respect about myself is that I haven’t given up on myself and I’m constantly looking to learn, unlearn, and grow out of my stumbling weaknesses.
Documentation I see as treasures we keep for the generations to come and also for ourselves. It’s a portal to nostalgia and life lived.
What is storytelling to me?
That narratives need to be owned and expression of storytelling is mine to decipher. […] With the world moving towards holistic development and leaving no one behind, indigenous communities and their narratives are equally essential to be recorded, heard, acknowledge and shared. […] I began with an anxious yet excited heart and I complete with a content heart. I have learnt beyond the four walls of theory and application and gone into self-reflection and self-expression. There are definitely moments of highs and lows but what I carry forward is the ethics of resilience and taking one step at a time. I am glad to have had this opportunity to learn to express myself with ownership and no inhibitions.
What is sacred to me?
Books are portals to the land of imagination & storytelling for me. I lose myself in stories and find myself also there. The knowledge, wisdom, stories, comfort and peak-a-boos in these books, I hold them sacred in my heart.–
Finding my sacred place
That’s my sacred place. It’s a part of my uni. campus. This place was grounding for me and still is when I go back. For the blue sky I’ve used fingerprints because I realised how blessed I have been & could see God’s active work in my life. The trees with all colours & shades of yellow and brown to represent the cycle of seasons that this place has comforted me with. The yellow and orangish shades represent the aura of the people who have been ah-mazing and a blessing in my life. The tiny white negative spaces to represent mogra and jasmine which fills up this place especially at night. Uni days were mentally tough for me but this small stretch of a pathway always full of life, laughter, songs, birds chirping, leaves rustling, students singing, cycle bells, aroma of food, buzz of making plans, art installations, and just the hum of life in the air always brought a sense of, I am safe here and probably this is why my heart took me here even though this was the last place I would have thought of.
I as a Lepcha…
Being Lepcha means being myself, being who I am, true to myself, my identity.
