Restoring a century-old building in Chandannagar helps raise awareness about heritage management
The Registry Building constructed in 1875 served as the register office as well as the first French courthouse
Issues which history forgot
GREEN HISTORY OF THE WORLD Clive Ponting Publisher: Penguin, Harmondsworth Price: £6.99
Return our forests
S C Tripura, a Congress party member of the Tripura legislative assembly, talks to Nitin Sethi about the consequences of …
Colour of desire
Book>> A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield, HarperCollins, New York 2006
Press for profit
Book>> The book in the renaissance • by Andrew Pettegree • Yale university press • US $40
Green lore
Environment has been intrinsic to our oral traditions much before we developed writing. But it is only in the past decade or two that …
A megafauna bias in India’s carnivore research is hampering the country’s conservations efforts
For many smaller and less charismatic carnivores like the fishing cat, even basic ecological data like distribution range remains unclarified
When Pollution Meant Punishment
As early as the 13th century, restrictions were put on the burning of coal as a precaution against the health hazards of air pollution
Exploring Mekong expedition
Book>> Mad About The Mekong by John Keay, Exploration and Empire in Southeast Asia Harper Collins London 2005
How has the inside of the Earth stayed as hot as the Sun’s surface for billions of years?
Even now, moving plates keep changing the surface of the Earth, constantly making new lands and new oceans over millions and billions of years
Wet end of 2021 leads to fewer migratory birds in Odisha’s Chilika this year
Migratory birds are wintering in cultivated farmland near Chilika because of more water in it this year, say experts
Bihar plans migratory bird festival to raise awareness about them
The festival organisers hope the event will help in keeping a check on bird poaching incidents by making citizens value them
Britain and Europe: a long history of conflict and cooperation
British history is deeply connected to Europe and whatever the result of its referendum, this will continue
Taxman's hedge
Searching for the great hedge in the UK, Dileep Chinchalker uncovers the story of a hedge that ran from Torbela near Rawalpindi to Calcutta in …
Local smorgasbord
Book>> The food of a younger land: A Portrait of American food from the lost WPA files • by Mark Kurlansky • Riverhead books •…
A bunch of feisty women
BOOK - BLUESTOCKINGS: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE FIRST WOMEN TO FIGHT FOR AN EDUCATION - By Jane Robinson - Viking - Rs 800
Drugs and religion have been a potent combination for millennia, from cannabis at ancient funerary sites to psychedelic retreats today
The current ‘psychedelic renaissance’ is often called revolutionary for future of humans
Brief history of a line
The official definition of poverty keeps changing. A look at how the concept evolved Illustrations: Sorit
Digging for diseases, past and present
Scientists are turning to ancient grave sites to unravel the mysteries of human ailments
Smoke laws first enacted in city of joy
Because of its political importance in the British empire, Calcutta was one of the first cities to regulate smoke emissions. But legislation …
Much ado over nothing
THE NOTHING THAT IS: A NATURAL HISTORY OF ZERO·Robert Kaplan·Oxford University Press, 2000· 225pp
When exactly did the tiger colonise the Indian subcontinent?
Down To Earth popped the question to geneticists, historians and experts on the cat superstar. Here is what we were able to deduce
India’s child sex ratio has reached ‘emergency proportions’: UN study
While northeast states such as Manipur and Nagaland have shown a sharp deterioration in child sex ratio, the skewed ratio has improved marginally …
Book excerpt: How the ‘Pagri Sambhal Jatta’ Movement resonates with the 2020 anti-Farm Bills agitation
The century-old movement by Bhagat Singh’s uncle was against unjust British efforts to exploit Punjab’s farmers, notes author …
The pros and cons of four wheels
Book>> The Life Of The Automobile: A New History Of The Motor Car •by Steven Parissien • Rs 550