For the love of gond
How an edible gum works wonders for the taste buds as well as health, explains Pooja Singh
The wood femine
Decline in supplies has badly affected many traditional crafts. Woodcarving in Saharanpur is one of them. Despite a revitalised export market, …
Science of the Common people
A recent congress highlighted the relevance of people-oriented science and technology such as the management of water, forests and agriculture.
Oasis underneath
Local people in the arid Churu district of Rajasthan know how to store sweet rainwater for the scorching, parched summers
Some knowledge is forever
The validity of traditional ecological practices, in terms of sustainability, has to be examined scientifically
Sage advice
Africa's researchers and scientists discuss their traditional knowledge and developmental skills for better sustainability
Catching the wind
Modern designers of interior climate control can learn a thing or two from traditional windtowers and windtunnels
Unveiling the past
People are now realising that the solutions to many modern problems lie buried somewhere in our traditional sciences
A dying craft
The technique of producing iron from low-grade ore used by the Agarias was environmentally sound. But the community is marginalised today, and …
Protecting the nation's patents
V K GUPTA , director, National Institute of Science Communication (NISCOM), tells VIBHA VARSHNEY how they set about building the Traditional …
Chinese ritual - Homage online
Chinese government departments have devised a rather strange solution to the problem of congestion and traffic jams. They have requested mourners …
The saas-bahu cereal
Aparna Pallavi took 20 years to understand Vidarbha’s culinary character. It lies in the staple
Leguminous affair
Boiled, roasted or deep fried... explore the many culinary delights of fresh pigeon peas
The rebirth of ancient wisdom
The role of dais, traditional Indian midwives, is being reevaluated as modern medicine finds their lore ideally suited to Indian conditions
Mud housing is the key
Mud's low cost and malleability makes it an ideal building material. But its use can be popularised only if such drawbacks as its …
The spirit of the sanctuary
Sacred groves - tracts of virgin forests - are vestiges of an ancient practice in which people protected a forest to avoid the wrath of its …
The other course
Traditional curative systems like ayurveda, homoeopathy, acupuncture... are being revived as alternative medicine. But in India and the Orient, …
Book review: HIV/AIDS and Traditional Medicine
Indian systems of medicine could receive a big boost if they could yield a cure for just one major disease. And, theoretically, there can be a …
Bitters for starters
A typical Bengali meal is eaten course by course. Kaushik Das Gupta shows how the tradition helps refine taste buds
Rolling back the architect
Durganand Balsavar’s designs incorporate community demands even at the cost of violating architectural principles
A thousand utility leaf
Sudeshna Saha shares benefits and recipes of a herb, sometimes used as an ornamental plant
Exploring the similarities in human action
EXPALANATION AND UNDERSTANDING IN THE HUMAN SCIENCE Gurpreet Mahajan Publisher: Oxford University Press Price: Rs 150
Losing the edge
As the world increasingly resorts to natural, plant-derived cures for illnesses, the wealth of India's traditional medicinal systems lies …
Going back to the past for a better future
The Tarun Bharat Sangh is helping drought-hit villagers of Alwar district of Rajasthan grow crops by reviving a traditional system of dam …
Common sense about common salt
In earlier times, a mixture of salt, herbs and spices or a simple dose of salt by itself was considered a prime cure for a range of illnesses.