Long Reads News - Page 6

Opening the door to Prajakta Potnis

Prajakta Potnis describes her relationship with the doorbell as 'feeling responsible to be answerable'. Often, in cities like Mumbai, crime comes to light when the doorbell goes unanswered. But if you’re alive and kicking and still not answering the door, then that in itself is a crime.

Loneliness is unavoidable in a time of self-isolation. Why then do we resist it?

'I’ve often thought of loneliness like being washed over by the waves of the sea. It doesn’t recede as much as it sticks around like salt, burning in the sun, cooling down in the shade,' writes Sasha Mahuli.

Dastaan-e-Dilrubai: Janki Bai's is a name that rings in history, memorable as her bright voice

Janki Bai of Allahabad was a singer and poet who rose from extraordinary odds to make a name for herself | From #DastaanEDilrubai, a series by Shreya Ila Anasuya.

Category Error: Three stories of love, longing and loneliness against the backdrop of a lockdown

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Bhutan: Can progress in household electrification provide relief from expensive fossil fuel imports?

Bhutan has made substantial progress in household electrification in recent years, according to the Department of Renewable Energy. In 2018 over 99.97 percent of households had access to electricity, up from just 30 percent in 2003.

Coronavirus outbreak: Assam's boat clinics conduct door-to-door surveillance on saporis

Assam's boat clinics are the primary means of healthcare for inhabitants of the 2500 river islands. They have pitched in to deal with the coronavirus outbreak by carrying out door-to-door community surveillance.

Category Error: Shut in against a pandemic, residents of a high rise complex mull over grief, life, and irony

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Category Error: In a lockdown, life moves online, as do learning, news reading and friendships

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Lockdown lives: Mumbai to Lugo, stories of days (and nights) stuck in coronavirus crisis-induced limbo

This crowd-sourced collection of narratives highlights fragments of life during a lockdown — from Mumbai to Jerusalem to Lugo; a record of the fears, anxieties, uncertainties and quiet joys that make up our days (and nights) as the world is gripped by a crisis.

Lack of Pak govt's intervention can spur migration, ecological imbalances in once-flourishing Indus Delta

Dam construction and mismanagement of water by the government have significantly reduced river flows, causing the Indus delta to shrink, threatening both human life and its ecology.

The Other Side: A new look into Muzaffar Ali’s creative mind, through landscapes and the outdoors

Each artwork in filmmaker-artist Muzaffar Ali's latest exhibition The Other Side has a single mission: to position itself at the axis of the beauty and wonder of the outdoors. He says ideas come to him when he goes on walks, takes in scenes, when he sees leaves on trees; there is a stack of leaves on his desk at all times.

In new Final Fantasy 7 game, a blueprint for true remakes — and philosophical themes to mull on

Considered by many as one of the greatest games ever made, expectations have been sky-high around the return to Final Fantasy 7

Coronavirus crisis' mental health burden: Notes on battling germophobia during a pandemic

As the coronavirus crisis rages, what coping with germophobia has meant for an individual with the condition

Art in the time of coronavirus: Indian artists channel lockdown experiences into insightful, evocative works

Art is serving various functions during the coronavirus lockdown, from expressing individual agency and keeping up the momentum of protest to offering a sense of catharsis and entertainment.

Category Error: Amid a lockdown, an ideological impasse, gambling on love, and learning generosity

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Bangladesh's Jaladash community of fisherfolk dwindles under onslaught of climate change, state apathy

Almost no member of the Jaladash community owns any land, so farming or aquaculture are not options open to them. They use the same fishing nets that their ancestors did.

COVID-19 crisis highlights long-term neglect of Himalayan women in determining water policies

In moving forward as the cases rise and water availability goes down the Hindu Kush Himalayan region has a choice: to deal seriously with its water problems, to involve women and marginalised communities in its decision-making, or to suffer the consequences of a health emergency boosted by a long neglect of its water policies.

Re-thinking productivity during the pandemic, countering a culture obsessed with being 'useful'

In a more well-adjusted world, we would not expect ourselves to be constantly productive during a pandemic. But our world is dysfunctional at best, and we need reminders about how we’re not working from home but rather "at home during a crisis, trying to work", to stop feeling disappointed in ourselves

Category Error: In the midst of a pandemic, life goes on in an Indian high rise complex

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

On 50th Earth Day, a look at what is causing the Amazon rainforest to fast approach its tipping point

Amazon Aid Foundation founder Sarah duPont talks about the Amazon rainforest's tipping point, a documentary on illegal gold mining, and effects of the coronavirus on the indigenous inhabitants of the region.

Thrissur Pooram cancelled due to coronavirus crisis: What the festival means to a city and its people

The cancellation of the Thrissur Pooram in the wake of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown has hit the city — which has a deep-rooted emotional and economic connection with the festival — hard.

Remembering Nemai Ghosh: The unassuming man behind the extraordinary photographer

Photographer Nemai Ghosh's enviable eye for detail and perseverance steered him through 25 years with Satyajit Ray, where he meticulously recorded every moment of his movement through film sets, dubbing and recording studios, and even his home. Ray's son Sandip takes us down memory lane, tracing the life of an extraordinary man.

Dastaan-e-Dilrubai: Revisiting the poetic tradition and artistic legacy of Chanda, better known as Mah Laqa Bai

This week in #DastaanEDilrubai, a series by Shreya Ila Anasuya: Chanda, or Mah Laqa Bai, was a contemporary of Mir, Dard and Sauda. Scholars agree that she was among the first, if not the first woman to have published her own diwan of Urdu poetry.

Struck by coronavirus crisis, art enthusiasts rally around Hyderabad's century-old Surabhi theatre group

The Surabhi theatre group is known for its repertoire of plays that draw from Indian mythology, staged every weekend at the Lalitha Kala Toranam in the Public Gardens in Hyderabad.

Coronavirus Outbreak: In Kathmandu, ancient stone water spouts offer solace during lockdown

Kathmandu's ancient water distribution system through stone spouts provides both water and arena for social theatre.

Category Error: Three snapshots of life during a pandemic, from an Indian high rise complex

In 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Even as the return of a tiger to Ajanta after over 50 years shows their resilience, conservation requires trust with local people

With TPWL-T1C1 as tigers return to Ajanta, prioritising conservation over human safety needs trust between the people who want to see these animals protected, and the people who will live with the animals that have been protected.

Category Error: In an Indian high rise complex, residents respond to a world they no longer know

In a new column, 'Category Error', writer-painter Amruta Patil marries news-triggered observation with fiction, history, philosophy, against the backdrop of an Indian high rise.

Turning newspapers into sculpture: Amritah Sen's unique art traverses fear, life's uncertainties and politics

Kolkata-based artist Amritah Sen's intriguing creations, a hybrid of newspapers or books and sculptures, mirror the society as we know it today. The results are stirring images that follow her stream of consciousness, to reflect grotesque realities, capturing the artist's reactions to the world around her.

How sustainable methods adopted by tribal honey hunters could conserve bee population, improve food security

The Nilgiris are home to over eighteen ethnic groups. Of them, Kattunaickens, Kurumbas, Sholigas and Irulas are known to be the primary honey hunter tribes.