Richa Kaul Padte

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Productions, will be the first Indian anthology of creative nonfiction in the fields of ecology and human-nonhuman relations. The book is tentatively titled Kin: relating to the nonhuman world. It will feature 10 essays, photo essays and illustrated pieces that challenge divisions between humans and their environment. Richa Kaul Padte is the Project Coordinator. 

Richa Kaul Padte is a writer and editor working with creative nonfiction. Her work explores sexuality, technology, illness, time, ecology, and wildness. She is the co-founder of the award-winning digital imprint Deep Dives, and author of the critically acclaimed nonfiction book Cyber Sexy (Penguin Books, 2018). She has worked in both India and the UK in roles related to writing, editing, and advocacy. She is interested in how art and language can bring about social and planetary change. Richa will be collaborating with Shivangini Tandon, who is a writer, conservationist and oral historian. Given Richa’s expertise she is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA. Shivangini Tandon will be a collaborator on this project.

The proposed anthology, Kin: relating to the nonhuman world draws inspiration from the work of American feminist theorist Donna Haraway, who envisions eco-justice as a process of forging kinship with other species. The book represents the attempt to create a collection of stories that challenge the way humans view the nonhuman world and, in turn, transform their own sense of self. This mini anthology will host a broad spectrum of Indian voices—environmentalists, conservationists, artists, writers and scientists—to reimagine human-nonhuman relationships. Their contributions will include essays that explore personal encounters with local ecosystems, photo essays that explore the ways inequalities shape relationships, to an illustrated piece examining queerness across human and nonhuman worlds. By bringing together these varied perspectives on human-nonhuman kinship, the anthology hopes to inspire a richer, more empathetic understanding of human’s place within the larger ecological web.

Kin: Relating to the Nonhuman World will be a 100-page, full-color printed and bound book. Instead of adhering to strict themes, the collection will be guided by artistic intuition and creative exploration. As curators and editors, both Richa and Shivangini intend to provide a space where contributors can experiment freely with both ideas and formats. They will seek contributions from poets, writers, photographers, environmentalists, conservationists, and scientists who will reflect on the dynamics between humans and nonhumans and the various crises impacting the planet. The book will also have a piece each by Richa and Shivangini. 

The outcome of this project will be a first of its kind creative nonfiction anthology on ecology, environment, and human-nonhuman relation. In India, creative nonfiction is a nascent genre, and the writings are frequently shaped through the perspectives of journalism or academia, rather than through the lens of literature. This project will bring together and curate writings and works on ecology, creating a layered collection of visual and textual thinking on a vast array of topics. Words, illustrations, and photographs will each be essential in shaping how readers connect with the book. The Project Coordinator's deliverables to IFA along with the final report will be the anthology.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice Programme in the way it intends to create conversations and discourses, by crafting a book that is both visually captivating and easy to engage with, and to introduce a variety of perspectives on human’s relationship with the nonhuman world to a wider Indian audience.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.