This issue of the LMD magazine carries an article by Udan Fernando of CEPA on “Why democracy and governance should be monitored by citizens”. The article sets out a story of a village woman called Chandani's that shows an excellent example of how an ordinary woman's sheer curiosity, determination and perseverance led to a collective effort to creatively carve out a niche for citizens to engage in democracy and governance… at a level that matters to their lives. Democracy and governance are not finished products; they're work in progress. Political representatives are elected and entrusted with the responsibility of formulating appropriate policies and ensuring good governance. But this does not happen automatically between elections. Democracy and governance, therefore, should explore and invent innovative tools and mechanisms to guarantee citizens' engagement at regular intervals.These tools and mechanisms need not be highly specialised and technical. They should be easy to follow, and can be adopted by ordinary citizens. Often, these tools need to be invented by the citizens themselves