Pehla Akshar: Jahan Jungle Bhavishya Likhta Hai (पहला अक्षर: जहाँ जंगल भविष्य लिखता है)

Green Hub Fellows: Akansha Chaudhary, Feroz Ahmad and Aparna Awasthi (2025–26) Organisation: Jeevanshiksha and Maee The film follows determined Van Gujjar youth who combine their education with their deep knowledge of the natural world to bring learning to children living in remote Van Gujjar settlements. Set in the Gandikhatta region of Haridwar, Uttarakhand, the film explores the changing relationship between education, community, and traditional pastoral life among the Van Gujjar community. Many Van Gujjar families have received settlements with changing times, while several families continue to live in forests and practice their traditional pastoral way of life. Living in remote forest areas, often far from nearby schools, has made access to formal education difficult for many children. As the community increasingly recognises the importance of education, new efforts are emerging to make learning accessible within their own environment. The film highlights Maee, a community-led initiative working with Jeevanshiksha to provide education to children from Van Gujjar communities. The initiative takes a nature-linked approach to learning, using the Van Gujjari language and the children's immediate surroundings as part of the educational process. Teachers travel deep into the forests to reach children and conduct classes within their communities. Through the journeys of these young teachers, the film captures both the challenges of travelling through remote forest landscapes and the difficulties of bringing education to communities with limited access to formal schooling. At the same time, it reflects the aspirations of Van Gujjar families who are seeking educational opportunities for their children while remaining connected to their community, language, culture, and relationship with nature. At its heart, the film is a story of education, community-led action, youth leadership, and the changing aspirations of the Van Gujjar community, highlighting how learning can reach children even in the most remote landscapes. This film has been made as part of the Green Hub Western Himalayas (GHWH) Fellowship. GHWH was launched in 2024 as part of the Royal Enfield Social Mission and is based out of the Himalayan Hub at Theog, Himachal Pradesh. Green Hub is the flagship project of Dusty Foot Foundation and was initiated in Northeast India in 2015, and Central India in 2021.