In early December 2019, I was part of @veditum's moving upstream fellowship along River Betwa in Bundelkhand. 14 days, 270 km. We start our daily journey early in the morning, meet scores of villagers along the way, and by 5 p.m. find a village to sleep in. (Contd.)

There was so much kindness in strangers: from people walking with us for hours to show us the way, to those opening their homes for us. Not one bad experience or persistent moments of anxiety over two weeks despite the uncertainty of not knowing where we'd stay the night. (Contd)

Fields of wheat stretch out till the horizon. Bundelkhand is among the most backwards regions not only because of issues of water access, but also because the lack of government services, social inequalities, political apathy and skewed process that continue agrarian distress.

But there is incredible beauty and each day brought with it a humbling discovery. These are rock motifs ("Ancient Buddhist Carvings", says a small signboard) on a cliff in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary. The figures overlook the Betwa, while vultures nest in these rocks.

Could go on for tweets on end. But I've written a piece on kindness, poverty, caste, cattle and religion in Bundelkhand for @veditum . Thanks for this @sidagarwal http://www.veditum.org/upstream/betwa/discovering-betwa-and-its-people/