DESHA - De-stigmatised, Evolved, Sustained, Holistic approach to Aarokyam (Health)
DHWANI - Resonation across the country
WHAT IS DESHA DHWANI?
DESHA DHWANI is an initiative that seeks to create more conversations and awareness around mental wellness. It's uniqueness lies in its efforts to draw learnings from traditional Indian lifestyle practices that naturally fostered wellness & prevented the onset of depression/illnesses. By combining modern ways of living with such learnings, DESHA DHWANI tries to deliver simple, understandable awareness sessions in various formats for specific target groups depending on age.
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In all its sessions, DESHA DHWANI drives primary focus on positive psychiatry and prevention of jeopardy to well-being, by addressing populations which are generally prone to what everyone understands as “stress” or “pressure”. The initiative wishes to establish and build the concept of “resilience” among as many people as possible. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from negative/disturbing experiences. Cliched though it may sound, DESHA DHWANI turns around perspectives by fostering preparedness for such situations and how we respond to them. Healthy and secure childhoods play central roles in determining resilience. However, it is possible to build capacities at any stage, with a little effort and consciousness.
FOUNDER: Neharika Rajagopalan
Neharika Rajagopalan is the Founder of DESHA DHWANI. She is currently an independent consultant who has worked with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Ernst & Young LLP, IFMR LEAD, CPR, CAG, CDFI, Pathfinder International India, BDO, TTC, and the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation. Her professional work spans the areas of sustainability, climate change, and development. She holds an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Warwick, and completed an online course on Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health offered by Coursera and University of Sydney with distinction. She is an avid writer, and has written for periodicals and online forums. She is also a Carnatic Music singer. Her vision is to make well-being (and economics, her core subject) easily understandable and accessible to all.
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Recently, Neharika Rajagopalan was one of the key team members on conducting an extensive study to set up a wellness centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. The study involved interactions with students, staff, and counsellors on campus to understand the wellness needs on campus at IIT-M.