Mamta Pared

My name is Mamta Pared. I am an Adivasi hailing from the Warli community, and I live with my family in Nimbavali village in Palghar district. My mother is unlettered, while my father was educated up to the fourth standard. After they got married, my parents started working together at a brick kiln. Every year our family used to migrate for employment and lived near brick kilns six months out of twelve months. We are five siblings, the youngest was born when I was five years old. As the eldest daughter in the family, I was responsible for caring for my siblings, and also helped with household chores. I had to skip school frequently and stay home to take care of my brother. But I studied hard, passed scholarship exams, stayed in a government hostel, even borrowed money to pay college fees. I eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media. I want to be a journalist, and later become a professor in a college. I am working on earning a Master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Abasaheb Garware College in Pune.