Long Reads News - Page 17

Nepal’s fertile wetlands dying out due to ignorance, unplanned development

Undervalued and ignored, wetlands are disappearing and drying up in Nepal – leaving the communities and wildlife that depend on them exposed in a changing climate

The Yamuna: Delhi's worshipped — and abused — river

A photographer’s journey down the Yamuna in Delhi captures the extent of abuse and encroachments

Indian government revives controversial dam project on Yamuna

A massive dam project on the Yamuna is being revived by the Indian government, despite concerns of environment and financial sustainability, and despite the case against the dam being in court

In flood-prone Bihar, expert committee warns about mounting silt crisis

The Ganga carries one of the highest levels of sediment of any river in the world, which leads to devastating floods in the already flood-prone state of Bihar

Tiger deaths in 2018 lower than previous years, but habitat loss, poaching still pose threat

Nearly half of the total tiger deaths in 2018 – 49 to be precise – were outside tiger reserves

The First Summer After You, And Other Poems

This collection of five poems deals with the themes of beginnings or endings in some way. The featured poets include Urvashi Bahuguna, Manik Sharma, Mihir Vatsa, Rohini Kejriwal and Maya Palit.

Last days of Rex: As curtains come down on Bengaluru's iconic theatre, patrons attend final shows

On 30 December 2018, I spent an afternoon photographing at Rex Theatre on Brigade Road, Bengaluru. I had seen many movies there. (I had missed photographing the Plaza Theatre before it shut down few years ago.) Rex was full of nostalgia seekers, there to see the last shows.

Two faces of Sheikh Hasina and political alternatives to BNP and Awami League in Bangladesh

In between some military-ruled governments, Bangladesh has been run since Independence by only two political parties: Either by the Centre-Left leaning Awami League or the Centre-Right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

In 1984 carnage, unanswered questions remain over Kamal Nath's role: An eyewitness account

A reporter recounts what he witnessed at the Rakab Ganj Gurdwara in 1984: Kamal Nath's presence among a mob that had killed

Hornbill Festival: How Nagaland's vibrant celebration of its tribes, traditions became a global event

During the Hornbill Festival, one can get a taste of the local cuisine and hear stories about the Nagaland tribes at the morungs

Love in the City: In no-nonsense Mumbai, couples steal quiet moments of togetherness

Mumbai is not always kind to its lovers; perhaps it doesn't intend to be cruel, but romance must navigate tricky terrain here nonetheless. Intimacy in public places — exalted in Bollywood movies but frequently frowned upon in real life — requires some delicate maneuvering on the part of couples.

In the northern Himalayas, climate change is wreaking havoc on farmers' businesses

Climate change is estranging mountain farmers from their lands, driving youth away from agriculture. There is a major need to amplify farmers' demands for monetary compensation and crop insurance

Doubling tiger population by 2022 unrealistic; experts cite scarce prey, rampant poaching

Tigers are not specimens on a petri dish, just waiting to multiply on command. Tigers, for that matter any species in the wild, are subject to several drivers of growth and depletion

Go, Goa, Gone: Stories from a changing paradise — and a look at what the future portends

When you speak to long-term residents of the state, you'll hear phrases like “Oh, but it’s not like it was in the old days…” It seems, however, that everyone has a different take on the evolution of Goa

Dhanushkodi's residents battled nature's fury; but will they survive government apathy?

Dhanushkodi, lying just 20 km west of the pilgrimage town of Rameswaram, is a long strip of land at the southern tip of India. Flanked by the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, it is one of the most beautiful coastal stretches of India.

Spain, beyond the Sagrada Familia: Travels through Seville, Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga

I chose to travel to Spain to visit a culturally, artistically rich country in its off-season, to be lost in a sea of people who speak a language I don't know, to be surrounded by more World UNESCO Heritage sites that I could imagine, and eat all the paella and seafood I could stomach. I wanted to take long siestas, and walk in and around museums all day, hoping to soak in some creative inspiration for myself.

After the March: Farmers on their way home from Delhi speak of anger, hope, and bleak futures

On 30 November, Delhi saw one of its largest congregations of farmers with over 35,000 of them from across the country marching from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament street, protesting a wide range of issues that have plagued the agricultural community for decades.

On Babri Masjid demolition anniversary, photojournalist Praveen Jain revisits the fateful day

On the morning of the 6 December, 1992, two days after Praveen Jain had stepped on the soil in Ayodhya, the Babri Masjid was demolished and perhaps with it the idea of a secular India.

Farmers protest in Delhi: Portraits from the Kisan Mukti March's vigil at Ramlila Maidan

Thousands of farmers camped overnight in the open cold at Ramlila Maidan, preparing to march towards Parliament Street on Friday

From Manipur's trans community, stories of hope, despair, triumph and rebellion

Five stories of transgender individuals from Manipur, and how they navigate personal conflict and societal strife

Dalit shahirs of Maharashtra: Sambhaji Bhagat takes Ambedkar to the world

At a time when technology has enabled the propagation of Brahminical values at a mass scale, Sambhaji Bhagat continues to perform in slums and neglected neighbourhoods across Maharashtra

In a Bengal village, a school set up by constable Arup Mukherjee is helping a Dalit tribe

Using limited resources and a small patch of land, police constable Arup Mukherjee has set up a school meant solely for the children of the Sabar tribe

In rural Belgaum, one man traded his flute and shehnai to make toys

Narayan Desai had to give up his caste-based profession of being a flute and shehnai player to take up a more lucrative job — making toys

The Relli community fights back: Sewage workers protest against apathy, discrimination

The Relli community, like other marginalised communities in India, face structural and occupational discrimination even today

#MeToo: Understanding consent and sex-positivity in a patriarchal society

Patriarchal hookup culture treats consent like a game, something to be secured so that technically what follows isn’t rape. Many of the narratives that have emerged during #MeToo have revealed the hollowness of the distinction between illegal rape and unethical sex.

Dalit shahirs of Maharashtra: In Suresh Bhat's ghazals, a fight against oppression

Suresh Bhat, who had failed his exams and faced humiliation because of a deformed leg, found the strength to fight because of the Ambedkarite literature he read

Lens on history: Praveen Jain on capturing milestone events in India through a 37-year career

“I still hear the voices of the victims in my head,” says photojournalist Praveen Jain, of shooting photographs of the Hashimpura massacre

Calcutta then, Kolkata now: Portraits of a city's past, juxtaposed against its present

Much water has flown down the Hooghly since the time Calcutta was modern India’s first capital, from 1772-1931, to its transition into the 21st-century mahanagar that is present-day Kolkata

Loved, hated but never ignored, Lewis Hamilton is the spectacle F1 needs

For a sport at the crossroads, Lewis Hamilton is the perfect metaphor

Red Dead Redemption 2: The symbology, morality and philosophy of Rockstar Games' latest

Red Dead Redemption 2 reminds you that those who choose to live by the sword, run a good chance of dying by the sword