UPWORD FOUNDATION
ANNUAL
Table of Contents
Introduction
2022-23 was a year of tremendous learning for us and we devoted a significant amount of our energies towards exploring new tools and developing new capabilities to achieve our objectives of introducing pathbreaking ideas into the Hindu discourse.
The world is changing at an alarming rate with new technologies powered by artificial intelligence shifting the paradigm of content creation. While we believe that no tool, however powerful it may seem, can replace human intent inspired by the Gods, it is important to keep pace with the changing technological landscape to ensure that Dharmic ideas are not misrepresented, distorted or miscommunicated due to ignorance or malice.
Since inception, we have painstakingly built a team of committed artists, researchers and animators who are not only well versed with their craft but also understand the nuances of Dharma and politics to be able to come up with art that truly inspires and engages minds. In 2022, we gave the team enough room to explore diverse new formats like cartoons, graphic novels and documentaries across the spectrum of animation from live action to 2D animation to 3D animation.
We are hopeful that our investment in training and capability development will pay off in a big way in 2023, a year in which we will make a quantum jump both in terms of the intellectual heft and production values of our videos
Message from our team
Working at Upword is a unique experience because other than getting the opportunity to excel in our chosen craft, we find meaning and a sense of purpose derived from our civilisation identity.
Our art is political but we have been trained to look beyond electoral politics and short-term posturing. We take up themes that have a long-term relevance to the cause of Hindu revivalism. We understand Hindu epistemology and all our efforts are put in the service of freeing the Hindu mind from enlightenment era notions that inform much of culture and politics today. From picking the topic of a video to the colour palettes in our artwork to the framing of shots in our documentaries, each creative choice comes from reverence and gratitude towards Dharma.
We are at an inflection point as a team and seek your continued patronage and support.
Activities 2022-23
With a special focus on research work, we laid the foundation for rich andinsightful videos for a long time to come. We also entered the documentary space with ‘Praan Banaras’.
Research Projects
- Hindu-Sikh Relations
- World History of genocides
- A critical study of Arya Samaj
- Karpatri Maharaj – Life and Works
Pragya for Kids
- 2/20 books published
- 5 more books ready to be published
- Cartoon show ‘Agastya’ developed
Advocacy/Analysis Videos
- The myth of breast tax
- Pashubali
- The menace of anti-dowry law
- Hindu conception of pilgrimage
Explainers/Annotation
- Khilafat Movement
- Hasrat Mohani (Hindi)
- Hindu-Sikh History podcast (Hindi)
- Breast Tax Myth Buster (Hindi)
Documentary Film
A work of faith & devotion, Praan Banaras is the result of two years of our determined struggle to document the destruction of sacred spaces in Kashi to give way to kitschy laser shows and glitzy tourist attractions.
Kshetrayanam Conference
Our annual conference on protection of sacred spaces was held at Kumbakonam, TN on Dec 26, 2022. A wide range of subjects were discussed like Resurrection of temples in Vijayanagara, Neglect of village temples etc.
Other Activities
As Kashmir has been a core civilisational issue on which we have focused since inception, we showed our support for ‘The Kashmir Files’ by distributing 20,000 ‘Reclaim Kashmir’ T-shirts across scores of campuses all over the country.
Other than that, we also distributed more than 400 copies of Shri Rajiv Malhotra’s book, ‘Snakes in the Ganga’ to our long time patrons and supporters.
Our online magazine, Pragyata, published 71 articles, which were read by 300,000 people.
Successes and Failures
No true struggle is possible without its share of ups and downs. While we celebrate our successes with humility, we take failures as learning opportunities.
50+ high quality videos
We produced videos in various formats in both Hindi and English and they were viewed by more than 6 million people from around the world. Our video on ‘Khilafat Movement’ created a new benchmark in political artwork.
Documentaries
We entered the documentary space with the release of our first film, ‘Praan Banaras’ and started research and pre-production work for our second documentary, ‘Darshan Kara Laun?’, a commentary on Vrindavan’s endangered heritage.
Cartoon Show
Project Pragya started off as an attempt to publish storybooks for children on civilisationally important topics. But videos being our DNA, we decided to experiment and were pleased with what we developed… Agastya!
Sporadic Output
Regularity of output is an important parameter that we have consistently failed to achieve but we intend to work on this weakness and get better at releasing videos as per a pre-decided schedule
Private Release only
Given the high political stakes invested in the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project, even before the documentary was produced, we got dragged into several controversies. In the interest of our team’s safety, we decided to not release the film publicly.
Pragya Storybooks
Of the 20 storybooks we intended to finish in 2022-23, we were able to release only 2, which also left much to be desired in terms of quality. As we spent time developing the concept of Agastya, the books took a back seat. We will fulfill our promise this year.
2023-24: What to expect?
Disengage from the noise of short-term electoral politics and tune in to fresh & original ideas that have long-term relevance for the Hindu civilisation.
Our work this year will focus on breaking the spell of woke ideas and equipping our viewers with the traditional (Dharmic) lens that helps them make sense of the chaotic politics of the modern world.
Compelling ideas
With a special focus on the ‘Pinpoint’ series and conversations with scholars, authors & thinkers, our content will disrupt obsolete patterns of political thinking with genuine insights and age-old Dharmic wisdom.
Documentaries
A space that Hindus have completely ceded to the leftist cabal leaving us with operspective on the pressing issues of the day. We intend to reclaim this space and set the agenda on various important issues.
Great artwork
For us, art is a vehicle of the perennial wisdom of the shāstras and for it to be able to carry that sacred load, it must be introspective yet unapologetic. We will the beauty of colours and forms even as we inform, educate and empower.
Children’s content
While we must deal with complex ideas as adults, we cannot lose sight of the power of simplicity and its role in shaping character. For children, we plan to publish several storybooks and an entire season of our brand-new cartoon show ‘Agastya’.
Coming sooner…
We are really excited about these works in the offing. We hope you will like the content and appreciate the effort that has gone behind producing this content.
Darshan Karaa Laun?
A documentary featuring a teertha-purohit from Vrindavan as he struggles to keep the flame of sacred tradition alive against the pressures of mindless commerce and tourism.
Karpatri Ji Maharaj
An animated film on the life and
times of the most authoritative and revered Dharmic icon of independent India – Dharma Samrat Karpatri Maharaj.
Agastya Season 1
In the very first episode of our new cartoon show, Agastya discovers the backstory for his grandmother’s love for her Tulsi plant and why it is so special.
Important announcement
Our learning from the feedback received regarding books already published under Project Pragya will be incorporated in all the future books in the following ways:
1. Better print and binding quality
2. Each book will specify the age group for which it is intended
3. The language will be more children-friendly.
Support Us
All that we do is made possible by the love and generous support of our patrons. We always strive to never let down your trust in us.
Upword Foundation is a registered non-profit and all donations made to the organisation are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80(G) of the Income Tax Act.
01
One time donation
New to Upword and just want to donate once to start with? You can visit the above link or pay through UPI directly (upword@upi)
02
Join the Upword League
Support our work with a recurring monthly contribution. Join the Upword league and fund the war against intellectual imperialism.
03
Sponsor a project
If here is any project of ours that you find particularly important, feel free to contribute specifically towards that.
04
Contact us
Whether you have an interesting idea to share or a question for us, do write to us and we will get back asap.
This report is a snapshot of the projects undertaken by Upword Foundation in the last one year and a glimpse into what lies in store in the coming year. However, there is a lot more brewing that is not covered in this report. Stay in touch with us through email or whatsapp and we will do our best to keep you abreast with the latest on a regular basis.
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