Long Reads News - Page 4

In an illustrated biography, Tenzin Geyche Tethong looks at Dalai Lama's perilous journey from Tibet to India

The 352-page-book titled His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography has been in the making for nearly five years and is written by Tenzin Geyche Tethong, one of the Dalai Lama's closest aid and trusted advisor of over 40 years. It includes nearly 400 photographs and documents, many of which have never been seen before or published.

Bhutan's hydropower exports flourish during lockdown, but for rural communities it's a mixed blessing

For many rural communities, having hydropower stations nearby is a mixed blessing. Houses in these areas have developed cracks that often reappear even if they are fixed. Much of the damage remains unrepaired.

In a bid to lower carbon footprint, a group of Indian designers turns food waste into haute couture

Orange peel, lotus stems, betel nut husks, rose petals, sugarcane, pineapples, coffee grounds, eucalyptus and even fish scales are no longer just food or waste. They are the fashion frontline in combatting climate change.

Lockdown Secrets: With transgressions big and small, people test the limitations of a post-pandemic world

Through an anonymous survey on social media, we asked people about the fears and secrets they have been living with over the past several months — things they felt uncomfortable sharing with others, perhaps apprehensive of being judged.

In Bangladesh, abuse of Madhupur's indigenous people persists amidst government's 'social forestry' programmes

The Garos of Madhupur Sal forest have been struggling for the right to access the forest since 1962, when the Madhupur forest was declared a national park by the Pakistan government, which then administered the land.

Lockdown Caste Atrocities: Online campaign addresses violence against Dalits in the pandemic through art and dialogue

The campaign aims to share 'stories of pain, plight and struggle of Dalits' that need visibility and solidarity both at the national and international levels, since Dalit rights need to be addressed as human rights

Imagery, messaging for Durga Puja undergoes shift as Kolkata's creative industries contend with COVID impact

Kolkata’s art and culture community is responding in creative ways to an unprecedented Pujo, navigating their way around the question of what it means to observe Durga Puja during a pandemic.

Rethinking the hijab: COVID-19 made masks ubiquitous; will it also spur shift in assumptions about veiled faces?

To broach the topic about the veil meaning something more than a mere clothing choice seems somewhat an exhausting exercise now, one marred by debates that insist upon centralising the hijab as the server of patriarchal functions.

Dastaan-e-Dilrubai: Fact, fable and the unknowability of the 'real' Siddheshwari Devi

Siddheshwari Devi was among the most revered singers of a genre of Hindustani music that is called “light” classical.

Famine Tales from India and Britain: Project employs graphic and folk artists to illustrate perils of scarcity

The Famine Tales project aims to initiate a cross-cultural dialogue on food security and famines as urgent matters of concern, as opposed to distant episodes in history

Coronavirus Outbreak: A database of books, performances, courses available online in these times of social distancing

Several museums and art galleries have opened up their collections for viewers to enjoy from the comfort of their couch. Google Arts and Culture has teamed up with hundreds of these museums across the globe, digitising some of their art collections.

Dialects of Silence: Parul Sharma's black-and-white photographs capture the solitude of a locked down Delhi

In her latest book, Dialects of Silence: Delhi Under Lockdown, fine art photographer Parul Sharma captures her closest encounters with the sighs, sorrows and consolations of a city in despair

Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis upends 2020 election, but is a replay of 2016 on the cards?

Take a moment and think about how the race for president was placed in October 2016. And recognise the faint echoes of 2020.

Court and Courtship: JP Losty on four miniature paintings from the TAPI Collection, featured in his new book

The 90 paintings in the TAPI collection span 16th century portraits of emperors, courtiers, animals, and more, and courtly pictures from the Deccan, Rajasthan, and Central India; 17th century representations of classic texts like the Gita Govinda, Harivamsha, and Rasikapriya; and 18th and 19th century paintings of ladies in resplendent textiles and costumes.

Kevin Pietersen's second innings: Former England player is now committed to saving rhinos from extinction

As a cricketer, Kevin Pietersen made a name for himself by never backing down from a fight. After his England career ended, he discovered a new calling and now finds himself in the middle of a bigger fight ― saving rhinos from extinction.

Six months after India's coronavirus lockdown, time has both slowed down and sped up

Six months since India’s coronavirus lockdown was declared, how are people marking the passage of time?

Sudipta Sengupta shares her story of ascending Lalana, tragedies and triumphs along the treacherous trek route

The aim of the expedition was to climb an unnamed virgin peak (20,130 ft/6,136 m) in the Lahoul Himalayas. If successful, we planned to name it Lalana, which means woman in Bengali.

Nomadic nature of Pakistan's Bakarwals in danger, as community faces weather, administrative issues

For centuries, Bakarwals have centred their lives around rearing sheep and goats (bakra in Urdu) and even today accompany their herds across mountains and meadows.

In Diwik Singh Chhalani's quest to restore old radios, a coming together of nostalgia and sustainable methods

'Diwiks' are revived versions of old radios which individuals and families have held on to for decades, mainly for sentimental reasons. They feature sustainably reclaimed wood and a modern two-channel sound system.

A Jharkhand town powers India's nuclear dreams, at the cost of its residents' health, the environment

The people of Jaduguda note that displacement and deforestation for uranium mining robbed them of their land and livelihood, and later cursed them with health impacts.

Through Her Lens: Online exhibition encourages dialogue on representation in the North East through photography, archiving

The project's aim has been to record the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on women and marginalised communities in the northeastern states, and engage with visual storytelling as a form of research and archiving.

Case of the disappearing hilsa: Prized catch eludes fishermen's nets in Bangladesh's peak season

Overfishing had decimated Hilsa stocks in this part of the world until the Bangladeshi government imposed a ban in March and April, when the juvenile fish are growing up and moving out to sea.

Anwar Chitrakar, a folk artist from Bengal, captures vignettes of locked down lives through traditional art

Anwar Chitrakar talks about his latest online lockdown-inspired exhibition 'Tales of our Times', and his personal journey with the folk art tradition.

Journeying along the Ganga, in photos: The past, present and future of India's holiest river

For more than 1,700 miles, stretching from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganga flows across the plains like a timeline of India's past, nourishing an extraordinary wealth of life.

Dastaan-e-Dilrubai: Remembering Tarasundari, the shape-shifter of early Calcutta theatre

Born in 1878, Tarasundari was introduced to theatre by her neighbour and friend, Binodini. Binodini was 15 years older than her, and was already a well-known actress at the time | From #DastaanEDilrubai, a series by Shreya Ila Anasuya.

Ten artists respond to a decade of UN recognition for water, sanitation as vital human rights

WaterAid commissioned 10 visual artists from across the Global South to interpret the far-reaching impact access to clean water and decent sanitation has on people’s lives and the role these vital basics play in the realisation of other human rights

Wildlife photographer Shaaz Jung: 'Next big issue India will face is man-animal conflict'

Wildlife photographer Shaaz Jung talks to Firstpost about his viral black leopard photos, and importance of local involvement in conservation efforts as India tackles man-animal conflict.

As COVID-19 intensifies man-animal conflict, Thailand's Lopburi is a city under siege — by monkeys

In Lopburi, tourists and pilgrims have long enjoyed feeding monkeys. Now, as COVID-19 reduces visitors, they're getting hungry, and aggressive.

A new bill puts commercial surrogacy to an end. Here's how it shaped the lives of women in a Gujarat clinic

Primarily home-makers or migrant workers, the surrogates at the Akansha Hospital and Research Institute earn nearly 10 times as much as they would be paid as labourers

Dastaan-e-Dilrubai: The life and times of Farzana Joanna Nobilis Sombre Zeb-un-nissa, or Begum Samru

Too many accounts of Begum Samru's life convey an almost tabloid-like fascination of her possible romances with European men, and describe her as an upstart | From #DastaanEDilrubai, a series by Shreya Ila Anasuya.