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Bull fighters participating in the famous Alanganallur Jallikattu near Madurai on January 17, 2010

Jallikattu in the time of a pandemic: What is different this year?

Akila Kannadasan

This year’s jallikattu promises to be different not just because of COVID-19 protocol... it also features more first-time bull owners who took to the sport during lockdown

On Pongal, this accidental farmer revels in her new life, cobras included

Aparna Vishwanatham,

Wind sculptures spin with grace at Hyderabad’s Sanjeevaiah Park

Neeraja Murthy Designed by experiential science centre DoScience, artistic wind sculptures at Hyderabad’s Sanjeevaiah Park showcase an engineering marvel

History & Culture

How 2021 has brought the focus back on heritage conservation

Nivedita Ganguly Saraswathy Nagarajan Gowri S Here’s an overview of some significant developments in the heritage sector across different regions in India

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Watch | 2020: Indian bird-watchers' paradise

A papiermâché craftsman at work in Srinagar

Watch | A look at Kashmir's ancient art of papier mache

Faith

The archa form

Music in temples

Musical instruments to be used during invocatory prayers are specified in the Pancharatra Agamas, said P.T. Seshadri in a discourse. Iswara Samhita says that jallari should be played for Vishnu; Kahala for Saraswathi, mardala for Chandra, tantri for Gandharvas, harsva mardala for Bhu Devi, pataha for Lakshmi, Kaamsya for Brahma. This is the rule to be followed during dwajarohana (hoisting of the flag) during Brahmotsava. Paadma Samhita says that during pradosha and during abhisheka, musical

Devaki gets a boon

In His avataras, Lord Narayana had parents of His choice. Even in the case of Narasimha, Vedanta Desika says that since He emerged from a pillar, the pillar became Brahma’s grandmother! Brahma is Vishnu’s son, and if the pillar is Narasimha’s mother, then it becomes Brahma’s grandmother. Desika’s poetic imagination came up with such an interesting interpretation. But in terms of the Lord’s parents, none had the good fortune of Devaki, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan, in a discourse. Whatever Devaki

History & Culture

History & Culture

How 2021 has brought the focus back on heritage conservation

Nivedita Ganguly Saraswathy Nagarajan Gowri S

History & Culture

Pandya coin souvenirs give insight into Tamil culture of yore

Soma Basu INTACH Madurai launches replicas of a Pandya coin as souvenirs, to promote understanding and learning of ancient Tamil life, culture and people

Durga ‘Bhabhi’ and Maulvi Liaquat to get their due at the Allahabad Museum

Anuj Kumar ₹8 crore project for ‘one of its kind’ Azad Gallery will tell the story of revolutionaries in the Indian freedom movement.

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Spotlight Society

The past is a strange country: The paintings of Katayun Saklat

Allegedly Society

Sorry I missed your call

Faith

The archa form

Jallikattu in the time of a pandemic: What is different this year?

On Pongal, this accidental farmer revels in her new life, cobras included

Faith

Music in temples

When walls speak a thousand words at the Centre for Performing Arts in Varkala

The new Centre for Performing Arts at Varkala, Kerala, sports large murals depicting various performing arts specific to the State, done by muralist Suresh Muthukulam under the guidance of auteur Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Wind sculptures spin with grace at Hyderabad’s Sanjeevaiah Park

Designed by experiential science centre DoScience, artistic wind sculptures at Hyderabad’s Sanjeevaiah Park showcase an engineering marvel

Devaki gets a boon

In His avataras, Lord Narayana had parents of His choice. Even in the case of Narasimha, Vedanta Desika says that since He emerged from a pillar, the

Likes and dislikes

Life is constituted of various pairs of opposites such as joy and sorrow, birth and death, growth and decay, heat and cold and so on. Krishna points

Following the Indian Pitta from the Himalayan foothills to IIT Madras

This beautiful creature can be difficult to spot unless one knows how it moves, feeds and where exactly it hangs out — so, here is a meet-up with the bird in its breeding and wintering grounds

‘We want an India that is prosperous and resembles those nations whose people have the most freedoms’

As Hindutva majoritarianism pushes ahead, the need for individual participation in everyday activism becomes more urgent, argues columnist and translator Aakar Patel in his new book. An excerpt below

Good idea, bad execution

North-South arrived in a very solid contract after a straight-forward auction. North’s cue bid to show an invitational raise or better is standard

Vikram Lall: An uncompromising aesthete

The architect, music critic and historian of Buddhist architecture passed away in Brussels recently

Green Humour by Rohan Chakravarty

The art of silence

Writing about Tarkovsky, Kurosawa commented that those who explain everything about their films can’t have a bright future

Artist for all seasons: Lalitha Lajmi

The pandemic has not slowed down veteran painter Lalitha Lajmi whose drawings on 21 ft long Japanese scrolls throb with life

The Lord belongs to all

Among all the reasons for the Lord’s avatars that are taken for specific purposes, the task of protecting the good from evil forces is given top

Watch | 2020: Indian bird-watchers' paradise

A video on the bird watching highlights of the year 2020

The missing Margazhi moments

What a disappointment to have the live experience snatched out of my eager ken

Release from samsara

Contemplating on the Lord and His endless effulgence is sure to bring about a humbling effect in every being in whom the sense of ‘I and Mine’ is

How 2021 has brought the focus back on heritage conservation

Here’s an overview of some significant developments in the heritage sector across different regions in India

India’s unstoppable hallyu: Why K-dramas matter

As the Korean culture wave gathers steam across India well into 2021, fans of K-dramas are riding the tide like never before

Swatantra Theatre’s online theatre festival sees kids take to the stage

Swatantra Theatre’s ongoing four-day online live children’s theatre festival tells stories of the famous funnyman in Urdu literature

Thanjavur veena maker replicates ‘Mayuri Yaazh’

The intricate engraving to shape the peacock base was the toughest part of the project, said veena maker N. Rajendran.

Mystic awareness

The hymns of devout saints such as the Nayanmars or the Azhwars and of acharyas such as Adi Sankara form an integral part of devotional literature and

Bird flu | The Bar Headed Goose and its strong link with Pong Dam Lake in Himachal

In an unfolding avian-flu crisis, a substantial number of this high-altitude bird which descends on this wetland every winter and adds to its charm have perished along with other bird species

Here’s how national parks are doing after the pandemic-induced hiatus

With sanitised safari jeeps, smaller tour batches and a will to bring wildlife tourism back on track, national parks and sanctuaries across the country are getting back on track as they open the gates to local tourists

How this yoga artist’s love for ‘kolam’ is gaining momentum in Japan

Nao Yamashita has been organising workshops for ‘kolam’ enthusiasts in Japan since 2018

Inner worship

The account of Pusalar Nayanar in the Periyapuranam highlights the way in which Siva brings to light the immeasurable quality of heartfelt worship

Pandya coin souvenirs give insight into Tamil culture of yore

INTACH Madurai launches replicas of a Pandya coin as souvenirs, to promote understanding and learning of ancient Tamil life, culture and people

Tales of devotion

Sekkizhar, who was inspired to chronicle the lives and times of the 63 Saivite saints known as Nayanmars, had called this monumental Tamil devotional

Hyderabad’s government school teachers keep up with the times

From learning video editing to creating slide shows and presentations, Government school teachers from Hyderabad have got a taste of their own medicine

Quoteworthy words

There are people who want to keep to the path of righteousness, but do not do so, because of various reasons. Affection for their kin often keeps

Durga ‘Bhabhi’ and Maulvi Liaquat to get their due at the Allahabad Museum

₹8 crore project for ‘one of its kind’ Azad Gallery will tell the story of revolutionaries in the Indian freedom movement.

Against the odds?

South’s three-diamond bid was natural and game forcing. North’s three-spade bid was ambiguous. Did he have a big hand for diamonds or was he worried

Notes from under the peepal

The towering tree with its magnificent trunk has a soothing presence

The mask is the pivotal part of Purulia Chhau

Each dancer’s mask is unique, made according to his or her facial measurements by their trusted craftsmen, who work in close collaboration with the troupes

The women behind the Chhau mask

Chhau dance, with its martial origin and strenuous body movements, was once a strictly-guarded male domain. Now several all-women troupes are all the rage

Sunday quiz: Easy like Sunday morning

‘Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits’

The fiery taste of childhood

I would hop on a cycle rickshaw to go to Sheetal Chaat Bhandar and get some pav bhaji packed to enjoy at home

Have you tried ‘drumming together’ as a community?

A gated community on Chennai’s IT Corridor has discovered some rhythm, some energy and some healing — through a Drum Circle

Vagrant at estuary near ECR

For a couple of weeks, eBirders from Chennai have been heading to Yedaiyanthittu Estuary to study an unexpected visitor — a Grey-tailed Tattler. Previous data about this bird points to Pulicat lake

Ragas in Agamas

In the Vishnu Purana sage Parasara tells Maitreya that the Universe is the embodiment of sound (nadaathmajam jagat), and it is from nada that the

The prayer for the season

A school of thought considers prayer as simply programming our inner mind. The science of psychology teaches us the power of imagination whereas

Revisiting the lost art of letter writing

2020 has also been the year of letters as many sought to reconnect with friends and family through intimate forms of communication

Greatness of archa form

Poigai Azhvar, in one of his pasurams, says Lord Narayana takes the form in which we want to worship Him. He is glad to be called by whatever name you

Seven-year-old in Madurai sells his paintings worth ₹50,000 for charity

Seven-year-old Rithun Kunal in Madurai sells his paintings for ₹50,000; his parents donate it to charity

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