The relentless, three-month-long dry summer had sucked out the last molecule of moisture from the air leaving the land and its people parched. The fumes-laden air shimmered above the city’s melted asphalt distorting vehicles and buildings and the noisy, chaotic streets would turn silent, utterly devoid of pedestrians by noon. Then one scorching afternoon in […]
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Banarasi Sarees are made of finely woven silk (Resham) and decorated with intricate designs using gold and silver brocade (Zari). The designs are characterized by intertwining floral patterns (Kalga and Bel) and a string of leaves called Jhallar along the border. Other features include – compact weaving, figures with small details, a metallic visuality, intricate Pallus, Jaal […]
The news that India has slipped on the Global Hunger Index ranking from 97 to 102, despite the efforts put in by the government and the NGOs to tackle the problem of malnutrition has come as a shock. A host of welfare schemes run by the government including the provision of: subsidized food grains to […]
After working in the Govt. of India for more than 25 years in various capacities both within India and abroad, I availed of VRS last year to work in the social space. I am now a part of the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation (SDF)’s Vidyadhan Program that endeavours to support students from economically disadvantaged families. As […]
… I visited again … (adapted to years spent in beloved Rajghat) … I visited again That corner of the earth where once I spent, In placid exile, eight unheeded years. More than three decades gone since then – and in my life There have been many changes – in myself, Who from the general […]
In India there has been a rich and deep tradition of Bhakti movements, which advanced a personal and direct connection between the individual and God and emphasized a devotional approach. These movements surfaced across the country at different points of time starting in Southern India in the 7th century. They upheld anti-caste ideals and foregrounded […]
Every day the newspapers report the missing: slyly, hidden among dreary advertisements for an Indian Railways project, or a PWD tender for road repair, a black-and-white photo of a young girl peeps, sometimes of a boy, or a young woman, set in a small box with a cursory, routine description and an appeal by the […]
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