105 items in this section. Displaying page 4 of 11
Footprints on Earth
Have you ever been to a national park? If so, you must have tried to trace or locate a wild animal by trying to see its footprints on the soil. For example, people who go to Jim Corbett National Park, in Uttar Pradesh, India, spend most of their time looking for tigers. They do so by trying to look for its pug marks on the soil. If they find even one, they return happy and spin tall tales of adventure to their friends, about “How I saw a tiger”....
The First Woman to Fly High in the Air Force
Across the world there are tales of women who take up adventurous careers as a challenge. They fly planes, climb mountains or travel to space on a rocket launcher. Some among them have another remarkable quality. They know how to include their striking achievements into their normal day-to-day life. Fifty-five year-old Dr Padmavati Bandhopadhyay is one of them. At home, she is like any other mother, happy to retell tales from the Mahabharata, cook elaborate meals for her family....
Rhinoceros: On the Comeback Trail
Next to the tusk-bearing elephants, rhinos are the other large animals heavily targeted by poachers. Rhinos are poached for their horns and these are sold in the black market at astonishing prices. Since 1977, trade in rhino horn has been banned but poachers and smugglers still hunt and kill these gentle creatures to meet the demands of the rhino horn in markets in Central Asia and the Far East. For some years now, rhinos have been high on the endangered list....
Talkie Star from the Silent Era
Talkie Star from the Silent Era [] August 19: At times the story of an actor’s life is no less adventurous than the exciting roles he plays on the film screen. P Jairaj was such an actor, who chose to leave the comfort of an aristocratic life for the ups and downs of a career in the magical art of cinema, which was a big novelty then. The acting bug that bit him during his wide-eyed viewings of the films of India’s first filmmaker, Dadasaheb Phalke, never left him....
The Shoe-shine Women
Ludhiana, the industrial capital of the state of Punjab in northern India, is like any other prosperous Indian city but for one interesting difference. Its cobblers are largely women. A trip to the inter-state bus stand, outside the railway station, at roadside corners, in the local markets, under trees, and in almost every other place that you can think of, will reveal scores of them, polishing shoes of commuters in the vicinity. The Shoe-shine Women [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] Actually, they may not like being referred to as cobblers....
Rani Hindustani!
March 27: Poonam Maharashtrian Hindustani (Indian) runs a one-woman-one truck transport company. But it is not merely her name or her profession that are colourful. The lady has had an equally colourful past. A good deal of her time in that past has been spent trying to assert her independence, reports The Indian Express, which wrote an article on this courageous woman. Poonam had been born Hemlata Gaikwad in Pune city, Maharashtra. Her father constantly beat her mother up and even burnt Poonam’s secretly-acquired driving license....
World's Cheapest Car Launched in India
Where: Mumbai, India March 23, 2009 : The Tata Nano was launched by Tata Industries chief Ratan Tata. The car will go on sale in April 2009 and deliveries will begin in July 2009. ‘Nano’ means ‘extremely small.’ The car costs just 100,000 Indian rupees, and it is only 3 metres (10 feet) long. It can seat five. Mr. Tata said, ‘I hope it will provide safe, affordable four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car....
Polite Police
July 8: Very soon, a banner will appear in the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi. It will read: The Tourist Police For you, with you, Always. But, most people are scared that it might actually mean “The Tourist Police, For you, with you, after you, Always. Polite Police [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] Disappointed with the police force and its rude ways of dealing with the public, the Ministry of Tourism now wants to have its own police force, says a report in ‘The Indian Express’ newspaper....
Gandhi's School is Dying
Where: Wardha district in the western state of Maharashtra, India October 6 : Every year, October 2 is observed as Gandhi Jayanti in India. Both children and adults look forward to this day, but not to commemorate the birth of ‘the greatest Indian since the Buddha, as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has been called. It is more to enjoy the national holiday that falls on this day. To most people Gandhi Jayanti is more like a history lesson they learnt by rote in school....
Latecomers Out
August 19: What happens when guests come late to school functions in the city of Surat, Gujarat? They are not invited a second time round. No prizes for guessing the identity of these guests – the city’s politicians, of course. Latecomers Out [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] Politicians who come late to functions in Surat, known as the diamond city for its thriving trade in the precious stone, are a worried lot today....