Storyteller, Quizzer, Marcom Pro.
Storyteller, Quizzer, Marcom Pro.
The term poramboku is a fascinating example of how a technical administrative word evolved into a social slur. Derived from the Tamil elements puram (“outside”) and pokku (“account” or “record”), it originally referred to land outside or exempt from revenue registers. During the Chola period…
It all comes down to history, horses, and Napoleon. For centuries, most travelers rode or drove on the left. Long before automobiles, people traveled on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages. A warrior riding on the left kept the right hand…
What comes to your mind when you think of the Dalai Lama? A calm figure with a gentle smile? You’ll be surprised to know that “Dalai Lama” is not a personal name, but a title that carries centuries of political…
Jodhpur, Rajasthan’s second-largest city, is known as the “Blue City” for the cluster of azure houses surrounding the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. The custom began with the Brahmin community, who painted their homes blue to signify status and align with the…
Sallekhana, also known as Santhara, is a voluntary Jain religious vow of gradually reducing food and water intake with the intent to purify the soul and embrace death in a state of detachment. The term comes from the Sanskrit sal…
In 1914, as the First World War raged, the British Empire needed more than rifles and rations: it needed soldiers. Over a million Indian soldiers were called to serve in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. But a deep cultural…
Tholu Bommalata, literally “leather puppet show” when translated from Telugu, is a centuries-old shadow puppetry tradition from Andhra Pradesh. Believed to have originated during the Satavahana period and flourishing under the Vijayanagara empire, it served as a powerful medium for…
Mother’s Day, celebrated globally, honors the invaluable role of mothers. Its origin traces back to 1908 when Anna Jarvis, a West Virginia activist inspired by her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis’ Civil War-era community work, held a memorial for her to…
The Doms is a community whose presence is inseparable from Varanasi’s cremation ghats. For centuries, they have overseen cremations at Manikarnika and Harishchandra, the two principal burning ghats on the Ganga. Their work is ritually central: arranging wood, building pyres,…