What can we learn about Bengali women’s complex relationship with food from bratas?

These observances prove that the idea of feminine propriety has not been entirely abandoned.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Jan 28, 2023 · 11:30 am

Remembering the Gujarati lawyer who fought for Indian indentured labourers in Fiji and Mauritius

Manilal Doctor answered the call of Indians when they needed help to take on an exploitative regime of indentured servitude.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Jan 31, 2023 · 11:30 am

Who was the photographer who took these dehumanising images of the Madras famine?

Willoughby Wallace Hooper, who shot the famine of 1876-1888, often referred to the people in his pictures as objects.

Sujaan Mukherjee

· Nov 20, 2017 · 11:30 am

How a German missionary changed the way houses were roofed in western India

Georg Plebst’s brainchild, the Mangalore tile, has spread as far as Australia and Africa – and yet very little is known about him.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Jan 24, 2023 · 11:30 am

A trove of ‘pornographic art’ is lying unappreciated in a sarkari library in Uttar Pradesh

Amid the Raza Library’s collection are paintings depicting a variety of carnal encounters that have never been reproduced in any book on Indian painting.

Kamayani Sharma

· Jan 17, 2023 · 11:30 am

A search across India for food that is cooked on stones

From Kerala to Ladakh, hot stones are used creatively by a few families and communities to grill, roast and bake.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Jan 21, 2023 · 11:30 am

One woman’s search for the kathak dancers who were relegated to the background by Bollywood

Who were the extras in early Hindi cinema? And what ever happened to them? Researcher Siddhi Goel found some troubling answers to these questions in her work.

Malini Nair

· Jan 14, 2023 · 11:30 am

In Sukumar Ray’s hilarious poems, food was always served with a side of commentary

The pioneer of literary nonsense in India wrote at a time when British officials’ gluttony had became an object of ridicule.

Priyadarshini Chatterjee

· Dec 20, 2022 · 11:30 am

Indian illustrators are telling the inclusive fashion stories that photographers often don’t

Indian fashion brands and magazines are increasingly working with illustrators to create a new design vocabulary.

Fiza Jha

· May 22, 2018 · 11:30 am

Why a plan to link India and Burma with one of the world’s most scenic railroads didn’t work out

In 19th century, engineers trekked through the jungles of Assam and Kachin state to decide the ideal path for a railway line. But economics and war intervened.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Dec 10, 2022 · 11:30 am

Meet the Hindustani violinist who has spawned a rare all-women classical musical lineage

Violinist N Rajam’s life made for a fascinating story even before she formed a quartet with her daughter and granddaughters.

Malini Nair

· Nov 05, 2022 · 11:30 am

Remembering the ‘Indian Titanic’ that was sunk by the Japanese

In November 1942, SS Tilawa was on its way to Mombasa when it was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy’s I-29 submarine, claiming 280 lives.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Nov 29, 2022 · 11:30 am