The Pehli Peedi Fellowship is our effort to centre their experiences and bring visibility to the structural barriers they confront. As we bring you the next story, we are also excited to introduce the fellow behind it—Sumaiya Shahid.
Prachi Chauhan hails from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the Government Degree College (Centre of Excellence), Sanjauli, Shimla, and went on to earn a Master’s in English and Cultural Studies from Panjab University, Chandigarh. Now back in her hometown, she is engaged in independent research while also pursuing a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
As a Pehli Peedhi Fellow, Prachi sees this opportunity as a transformative one—especially for someone rooted in a smaller city. Deeply inspired by Eduardo Galeano’s words, “Many small people, in small places, doing small things, can change the world,” she is committed to documenting the lives and journeys of first-generation learners in Shimla. Her work seeks to honour their stories and bring the voices of her community into wider public discourse.
