Twenty-year-old Nandkishore Vishthapit is a final year graduation student in Rajasthan’s Deoli block, Tonk district. His life has been one full of escapades. It all began when he was 17. He failed in his class 12 examinations. He was severely beaten up by his father and he ran away to Ajmer. He took up a job in a general store. But his family managed to locate him and brought him back. Nandkishore then began working on the family farm. At this point, his parents decided the best way to keep him there was to get him married. To avoid this, Nandkishore ran away once again. His destination this time was Bhilwara. He began working in a factory with a gruelling 12-hour work schedule. Keen to study further, he quit his job as well and went to Jaipur. He began living with a relative, working as a motor mechanic and studying alongside.

When he passed his class 12 examination, he resolved to return to his village. He became an active member in the movement against the Bisalpur dam. Working as an activist made him understand the importance of seeking out his roots. He made efforts to reestablish ties with his family and even became an active participant of the jati panchayat. He joined efforts with the Mahila Jana Adhikar Samiti (MJAS), a group that fights for women’s rights and against the practice of ‘nata’ (an informal marriage without rights, where money is exchanged between male relatives), and began assisting them in their gender justice work. Today, Nandkishore, known fondly as Nandu, actively helps women in distress. He takes up their cause, both at the jati panchayat and at police stations, where women remain vulnerable to harassment.