History, Culture, Traditions, Communities, Monuments - The Hindu

An aerial view of the majestic Town Hall, a heritage structure which is being renovated under the Smart City project, in Visakhapatnam.

Iconic Town Hall and Old Municipal Building to open to public soon

Nivedita Ganguly

Renovation project carried out at a cost of ₹15 crore

gaming Life & Style

Heritage Race, melding VR with history

Priyadarshini Paitandy

Established in 1876, the Coffee House in College Street has seen the soft and silky footsteps of the passing years, a place that has seen the mighty British Raj crumble, and what rose from the debris of time, was the haze of cigarette smoke, the brew of coffee and evenings fritted away in fierce debates, conversations and chance encounters. Stalwarts like Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray have sipped coffee under the high ceilings of Coffee House. During the 60s, Hungryalist poet Allen Ginsberg and his lover, Peter Orlovsky had made acquaintance with Bengali poets Shakti Chattopadhyay and Sunil Gangopadhyay at the Coffee House. Sunil Gangopadhyay often met the gifted actor, Soumitra Chatterjee in the Coffee House. A student of literature, Soumitra was a regular at the ICH where he used to co-edit a magazine. Even after he became a celebrity following the world-wide fame of the Apu Trilogy, Chatterjee continued to visit the Coffee House. The late feminist poet Kabita Sinha and writer-academic Nabaneeta Dev Sen also frequented the coffee house. It was the epicentre of Calcutta’s intelligentsia.

History & Culture

Measured out in coffee spoons: the iconic cafes of India

Through the ages, the public yet very private space of the café has reigned without control. These spaces have sculpted great artistic and political phenomena by allowing the tender exchange of conversation. People from all walks of life frequent cafes, which make for democratic pockets untapped by technology; where people can differ, debate, or even light a cigarette and immerse themselves in quiet contemplation. A site for dreaming, defying, and a breeding ground for ideas, fierce friendships

The restored image of Bodhisattva King Mahajanaka. Courtesy: Benoy Behl

History & Culture

field notes Indian cave paintings go digital

Azera Parveen Rahman Ancient Indian cave paintings are now being preserved as digitally restored images in Norway’s Arctic World Archive

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Baby Dalai Lama sitting on his mother’s lap, with his father, Choekyong Tsering. The 14th Dalai Lama, born as Tenzin Gyatso, is the highest spiritual leader of Tibet. On being exiled from Tibet, he lives in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

Dalai Lama: A portrait in pictures

In this Sept. 29, 1995, fie photo, cartoonist Charles Schulz holds a drawing of his famous comic strip character "Snoopy" in Santa Rosa, California, US. Schulz, the creator of ‘Peanuts’, penned the round faced boy Charlie Brown, and his dog Snoopy.

Sparky captured something that still resonates today, says Jean Schulz

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Iconic Town Hall and Old Municipal Building to open to public soon

History & Culture

A diplomat’s love of drama

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Heritage Race, melding VR with history

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How Hindi helped to build a bridge to Manipuri language and culture

field notes History & Culture

Indian cave paintings go digital

History & Culture

Kattilmadam, the Chola-era temple lies neglected

Earliest prints of ‘Young India’ and ‘The Discovery of India’ among the historic titles on auction

Prinseps’ ‘Nationalism Book Auction 2021’ features books on India’s freedom struggle, printed from the 1920s to the 1960s

Dalai Lama: A portrait in pictures

Here are some rare pictures of the spiritual leader as he turns 84 years on July 6, 2021.

In Hyderabad, rocks that resemble an elephant and a one-eyed gentleman

A virtual photography exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of Society to Save Rocks presents a ringside view of the rocks of Telangana and the Deccan

The dancer frozen in bronze

Archaeologist Sharada Srinivasan has traced the history of metallurgy in India from prehistoric to modern times

Dissent introduces ideas of change, says Romila Thapar

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Pandemic washes away the usual vibrancy of Moolam Boat Race

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Rare pictures from the Thanjavur Saraswati Mahal Library now in a book

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Who is Yevgeny Khaldei, the man behind the iconic ‘Banner of Victory over the Reichstag’ photograph?

It has been 80 years since Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The day, remembered as the Day of Memory and Sorrow, will be marked in Chennai with an exhibition of photographs by celebrated Russian war photographer, Yevgeny Khaldei

Sparky captured something that still resonates today, says Jean Schulz

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Unique literature kit ‘Telugu Sahitimoorthulu’ introduces Telugu authors to the next generation

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Ideas of sustainability from India at the London Design Biennale, 2021

Nisha Mathew Ghosh, curator of the India Pavilion at the London Design Biennale, 202 talks of the showcase and the challenges her team faced to set it up

‘Aaghosham’, an online festival celebrating the spirit of Kerala

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The Mummy returns: Egypt is looking to the past to rebuild its national identity

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A visual story of Gussadi, a tradition in Adilabad

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Mundeshvari temple: History in every stone

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Meet the designer helping artisans get vaccinated

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How the Pasteur Institute of India became one of the pioneers in vaccine production

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Indian English is a Prakrit, not a creole, says linguist Peggy Mohan

Her new book speaks of how Indian languages evolved via generations of migratory patterns

Countdown begins to discover where Columbus came from

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What does it mean to be a gay doctor in India?

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How the Cold War in Germany played a small yet significant part in establishing IIT Madras

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Rare sculptures of Rani Rudrama Devi unearthed in Khammam village

Temple was built during the reign of the Kakatiya queen

Camel Library Project brings cheer to children in remote Balochistan

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Esther David collaborates with Indian Jewish communities to record recipes for ‘Bene Appétit: The Cuisine of the Indian Jews’

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Young royals open up their palaces

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Kudukka Vina — Back from the brink

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Reviving memories of Cochin State Forest Tramway in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

A short film clip shows the Cochin State Forest Tramway in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve making its way through the Western Ghat forest with lumber. Considered an engineering marvel, it connected Chalakudy and Chinnar

A ventilator for the Landour Community Hospital

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Partition Museum and other centres will hopefully outlast the events of today, says Lady Kishwar Desai

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A campaign to save Visakhapatnam’s 2000-year-old Buddhist site of Thotlakonda

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Gautam Sen’s latest book is on India’s historic fascination with automobiles

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