Lanco's allies

Goa's dark side

Goa, the name evokes images of sun kissed beaches, parties and tourists. Is that all there is to Goa? For most of us, yes. It’s not so for others.

Ami’s dirty picture

I recently spent a day interacting with people residing near the banks of the river Ami in Gorakhpur district. A lesser known rivulet, the Hindi belt may have read couplets of Sant Kabir Das referring to the Ami lovingly as Ammiya; his samadhi (mausoleum) is on the banks of the river at a nagariya named after him. Sikh guru Nanak Devji, during his travels, is said to have enjoyed his rest on its banks. While much earlier, young Siddhartha is said to have shed his princely clothes for seer like robes after he crossed the river, to spread the word as the Buddha.

Scientist meets bumpkin

Shyamrao Deshmukh has no explanation, scientific or otherwise, to why his biogas plant works. He can’t even articulate the process through which he arrived at the solution that worked.

A hard rain’s falling

Gorakhpur's deadly curse

“We are doctors. When we see the children die, we don’t feel good. Please repair the monitors of ventilators,” pleads K P Kushwaha with the technician. Kushwaha is the head of paediatrics department and occupies a  modest room in the Baba Raghav Das medical college in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. I notice the helpless look on the technician’s face. The senior doctor who has served in the hospital since his internship days knows that chances are bleak that the technician would receive money for the repair work. Nonetheless, he asks the young man to make a note of the payment.

Tiger tour operators' incidental love: tribals

An SMS invite, I received for a press conference this morning, said, “A Baiga tribal, who has never travelled out of the Kanha National Park before, will be there to share his story.” The Baigas are the indigenous people of the forests in central India. I was puzzled.

Drums, cymbals and stories

“Let's walk with the rains. Not try and run from it,” said Salil Mukhia. Few seemed to pay heed. A persistent drizzle had turned into a downpour and participants at the Confluence of Indigenous Story Tellers were making a rush to the nearest shelter. Unfazed at the silencing of the drums and cymbals, Mukhia smiled and said “we will continue in the hall. Only it won't be an open air session. At least the elements have not interfered in a ritual that involves seeking permission from the mountain gods to tell the stories.”

The last mayor of Kathmandu

Keshab Sthapit mirrors the rough and tumble of Nepali politics. The last elected mayor of Kathmandu, Sthapit was elected to the post in 1997, and served a full five-year term. After a year’s gap, he was recalled by the royal regime, when he served as Mayor of Kathmandu for another 10 months.

Pee, poop and paani

It is often said that if you see someone in the Lion City (Singa-pura) with oriental features and in good humour, he or she must be either a Filipino or a Filipina. The average Singaporean does not emote freely. They ensure their intentions are not misinterpreted; rarely do they smile, or acknowledge an unknown person. And often they are accused of being staid and boring, yet envied the world over as they strive for perfection on all counts. This clinical obsession is deep-rooted in their psyche and extends to how they look at water.