A miniature artist from Vijayawada who doesn't have the time to pursue his passion because of his family business, a woman from Kurnool who quit her job to start an NGO, a Vizag-based sculptor, a man from Kakinada who sells turmeric for a living and a man who handles the locker stalls in a temple in Mahanandi. Aside from belonging to the regal state of Andhra Pradesh, what these people have in common is that their stories have been a part of Humans of Andhra, a six-month-old Facebook page, and have eventually found their space in the hearts of its 2,393 followers.
Humans of Andhra may have borrowed their format from the iconic Humans of New York page, which was started in 2010, but it takes it to another level altogether. Started in September 2017 by Rachana Choudary Tummala, this page not only aims to capture the scenic beauty of Andhra Pradesh, its cultural heritage and its famous handlooms (through its posts), but it also wants to bring to light some of the region's burning issues.
Rachana Choudary Tummala, founder, Humans of Andhra
And believe Tummala when she says that people are not as reticent or shy as we make them out to be. "These people want someone to talk to, they want to vent and tell us about their sadness," says the 24-year-old, who also suggests that we forget the stereotypes usually associated with rural people. And just like Brandon Stanton (the founder of Humans of New York), who asks questions like 'What are you most afraid of?' and 'What's the happiest moment of your life?' instead of 'What do you do for a living?' and 'How is your day going?', Tummala too encourages her photographers and reporters, who record the interview and send it to the team for translation, to follow the same line of questioning and dig deep into the lives of the people they are talking to because that is where the stories lie.
And this is how they get people to talk about their issues…issues like the mysterious kidney disease that has been plaguing Andhra's Uddanam region for some time now. Along with writing true stories of people, Tummala also wants to encourage youngsters to wake up and start moving around their surroundings. Oh and by the way, they are also looking for contributors from all districts of Andhra. "We don't want to leave any stone on the streets of Andhra unturned," she says. And though Stanton went on to write a #1 New York Times bestseller, that's one avenue that Tummala hasn't thought about yet.
Check out the page at facebook.com/
