Columns
Chai pe charcha: A journey across Indian cultures, having tea and conversations
From being offered thick fresh buffalo milk in Rajasthan, to salt and fat for tea in Ladakh, the warmth of the conversations over a shared cup of tea, and the new friendships born.
Neha Sinha
It is time we stop demonising riverine floods during monsoon as a calamity. Here is why
Human beings are conditioned to consider riverine floods a threat to their existence rather than as a geomorphological process necessary for agrarian wellness. Here is why this should change.
Manoj Misra
Too early to say the tribal population of India, our most vulnerable, ducked COVID-19?
As India’s COVID-19 tally crosses the million mark, it may be tempting to conclude that tribal communities have ducked the blow so far. That is a partial truth that hides more than it reveals.
Patralekha Chatterjee
‘A river is as healthy as its sickest tributary’
A journey along the river Hindon, the first of the large tributaries of the Yamuna, lead to a unique mound and a small town Barnawa with history written all over it.
Manoj Misra
Pandai: A small transboundary river; a big bone of contention between India and Nepal
Recent border related conflicts between India and Nepal are mostly related to either a river, or access to water, or flood protection works. Understanding small transboundary rivers is crucial.
Eklavya Prasad
This summer, I discovered wasps possess swarm intelligence, and bonded with them over water
One morning, when I was thinking what water means to all of us, I saw a swarm of wasps rushing, not at me, but at the water. This is the story of how I bonded with a wasp over water.
Neha Sinha
Will cycles make a comeback in the post-COVID19 world?
Until the sixties, a cycle was the preferred ride of the lower-middle class. It was an essential part of a household and was used for covering small distances. In the post-COVID19 world, it may become a reality.
Shivkumar Vivek
Sikkim is synonymous with homestays. But the lockdown has brought this sector to its knees
Sikkim relies heavily on tourism and has over 600 homestays spread across its villages and towns. Can these community-run homestays survive the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Satyadeep Chhetri
Centre’s recent agrarian market reforms may lead to mismanagement of water resources
Recent changes in the agrarian market set-up will reduce the State’s role in the sector and promote entry of the private players. But, this may impact both the water and land resources of the country
Partik Kumar
Commercial mining – not a boon but a curse
On June 18, 2020, the central government released a list of 41 coal blocks from all over the country to be auctioned to private companies. Most of these mines are located in the predominantly Adivasi-inhabited areas. About 40 per cent of the 60 million people displaced by development projects in the past decades are Adivasis