156 items in this section. Displaying page 3 of 16
The Language of a Cat
The poet Carl Sandburg wrote, “The fog comes in on little cat feet.” So do a large number of our words and expressions. Let’s think of the cats that run and leap and pounce and slink and purr and meow through the English language. There are a number of explanations for the phrase, “it’s raining cats and dogs”? Cats and dogs were closely associated with the rain and wind in the western mythology. Dogs were often pictured as the attendants of Odin, the storm god, and cats were believed to cause rain....
Magic of Kondapalli Toys
Did you know that animals, birds, reptiles and humans learn the lessons of life through play? Any object can be used as a toy. Lion cubs even play with their parent’s tail! Human children play with objects of daily life, like spoons and cardboard boxes. But toys remain the favourite playthings of most children. In India, the oldest toys belong to the 5000 year-old Harappan civilisation. These toys were made with natural materials like clay, wood and stone....
The Birth of Christ
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Everyone knows that. Do you know the entire story of his birth? Let me narrate it in brief. Over 2000 ago, Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So everyone went to his or her hometowns to register. A carpenter called Joseph, who was in Nazareth in Galilee in the Middle East (which was also part of the empire), went to nearby Bethlehem....
The Silken Web
While working on a machine in a sericulture unit in Karnataka, a little girl was severely injured in the head. Sericulture is the art of raising silkworms to obtain raw silk. The incident ocurred in the Ramanagaram-Channapatna taluk (a group of villages make a taluk) of Karnataka, where there are many such units. The little girl is one of hundreds of thousands of children employed in the sericulture industry in the state. Owners of sericulture units prefer children over adults for the work....
Abdul Kareem's Forest
A lush green forest in the middle of a rocky wasteland. No, this paradise is not an illusion. Abdul Kareem has created it with his own hands. Kareem’s 30-acre forest is in Kasargode district, Kerala. It is home to 1,500 medicinal plants, 2,000 varieties of trees, rare birds, animals and insects. Agricultural scientist, MS Swaminathan, has called the forest a “wonderful example of the power harmony with nature.” Abdul Kareem’s Forest [Illustration by Shinod AP] So, how did Kareem manage to convert a wasteland into a forest?...
Welcome to Blind Cow Restaurant
Almost two years ago, a blind pastor, Reverend Jorge Spielmann started a restaurant for the blind in the city of Zurich, in Switzerland. Almost all the chefs, bartenders and waitresses who worked at the Blind Cow, as the restaurant was named, were also blind. Now, not just the blind, but even people who can see with their eyes flock to this restaurant for the unique experience it provides, apart from the good fare it dishes out....
Saraswati River in the Thar Desert
The vedas mention the mighty Saraswati river flowing down the Himalayas and then westwards towards Rajasthan. But Rajasthan is a desert. So where did this huge river, which the vedas say was bigger than the Ganga, disappear? It is widely believed that this river still flows under the Thar desert, though no one has been able to prove this for sure. Even the epic Mahabharata, written in 1000 BC, mentions Saraswati as the once-mighty river that was drying up....
The Taziyas of Old Delhi
I was wandering in the crowded streets of Chandni Chowk, the heart of purani Dilli or Old Delhi. Until India gained independence in 1947 and a new Delhi came up, it was the ‘only’ Delhi. For close to 300 years, it had been the seat of Mughal power and culture, especially when it came to cuisine. And that is what drew me to that place! I had taken the day off to savour Chandni Chowk’s famous parathas and the juicy sweet jalebi at the famous 200-year-old sweet shop, Ghantewala....
Seeing the City
I have a friend with whom I argue a lot. No, that seems as if I am the one who does the arguing all the time. Half the time it is he who says something ridiculous, and then we start arguing! There is one topic that we keep coming back to argue upon. I have stayed in one city all my life — in Delhi, the capital of India. He from childhood has lived in many places — cities as well as small towns across India....
Prabhu and the Prawns
The still, muddy water glistened with oil. There were no signs of any life as Prabhu stood by the side of the narrow canal and squinted hard, anxiously searching the depths of the murky pool. But the slick surface made it hard for him to see anything beneath the surface. Fear crossed the eight-year-old’s face. If he couldn’t find what he was looking for, there would be no meal tonight. Prabhu and the Prawns [Illustration by Anup Singh] Prabhu is a shrimp seed collector....