Sahil Ahuja

Sahil Ahuja is a former employee of the Merchant Navy. He is also a theatre practitioner and has worked in both theatres and films as an assistant director. Sahil runs a theatre company called Einsof Theatre Garage in Jaipur. Through this grant, Sahil will be exploring the lives of teachers during the pandemic when they are compelled to teach through online platforms.

Indian teachers are used to the chalk-and-talk method of teaching, which is a practical way of communicating concepts and clarifying doubts to a large number of students in a class that they have to work with. Also, it is a method that is tried and tested and works across varied circumstances and locations. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and the six months when the schools have been shut, teachers were compelled to embrace digital technology and the internet to continue their work without any physical interaction with students. Sahil wishes to document this shift in the ecosystem of a teacher and its various implications on education and the lives of teachers. Sahil will do a series of interviews with teachers around Jaipur, whose lives have changed drastically in the past six months due to the pandemic and the disruptive nature of the Internet. These interviews will explore the physical, emotional and financial implications of the current scenario.

The outcome of the project will be a short film put together with the interviews and titled Maam we cannot hear you! The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the film.  

This grant is made possible under the special initiative 25x25, with support from lead donor Kshirsagar-Apte Foundation, and philanthropy partners, Titan Company Limited, Priya Paul, and Sethu Vaidyanathan.