This week I'm in conversation with the spirited Avantika Thapa. She was part of the first cohort of the Coexistence Fellowship, and went through the programme with her partner, Chandra Maya Sharma. Avantika hails from the hills of Darjeeling and has been knowingly and unknowingly linked with nature from a young age. Serendipity and more kind humans along the way helped her find her footing, and she then went on to pursue a PhD and this Fellowship to better study the people and wildlife of the eastern himalayas. Both she and Chandra Maya noted the disparity between the stories they grew up hearing and the realities they now lived among. Avantika is an enthusiastic do-er, and has since not let go of any opportunities to give back to the communities she works with. She has used her voice well in these years and is now a post doctoral consultant with ATREE, based out of Gangtok in Sikkim. Hers is truly an inspiring and motivating story, and I hope like me, you feel a bubbling burning urge to do your bit to make a difference in this world after listening to this episode.The Coexistence Fellowship thanks the University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU) for creating a home for the Coexistence Fellowship Programme, and the British Asian Trust and Elephant Family for their generous support, also to the Coexistence Consortium for their guidance as their knowledge partner.

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