INSANE: Temple fac | Vintage Vibes

Ayudha Puja Dressing: Why You Keep the Clothes Plain and the Jewellery Heavy

The Rule Nobody Wrote DownThere is no dress code pinned to the wall of any temple on Ayudha Puja. Nobody hands you a pamphlet. And yet, walk into any home in Tamil Nadu or Karnataka where the puja is being performed and you will see the same thing: cotton or…

Times Life · Oct 19

How the Red-Eared Slider Became India's Most Damaging Invasive Turtle

A Pet Shop Animal With a Predator's AppetiteThe red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, is native to the Mississippi River basin in the United States. It gets its name from the vivid red stripe behind each eye. In a tank, it is docile, long-lived, and cheap. In the wild, it is…

Times Life · Oct 18

Why This 3 KM Himalayan Trek Leads to a Mysterious Temple

Hidden among the mountains of Uttarakhand, Kartik Swami Temple is not just a destination for trekkers. It is a sacred place connected to a powerful legend about Lord Kartikeya, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Reaching the temple requires a trek through mountain forests, but the story associated with the shrine…

MyLifeXP · Oct 17

Water bottle sold Rs 7 above MRP at temple shop, consumer court orders shopkeeper to pay Rs 7 lakh

The Kakinada district consumer commission has fined a shop licensee operating inside the Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swamy Temple at Annavaram after he charged a devotee Rs 25 for a one-litre water bottle marked at Rs 18. The commission ordered the licensee to deposit Rs 7 lakh in the Consumer…

The Economic Times · Sep 15

What Kautilya’s Arthashastra reveals about temples, money and the politics of faith

Kautilya’s Arthashastra offers a strikingly unsentimental view of religion, treating temples as centres of wealth, influence and political power. From state access to temple riches to staged miracles and agents disguised as holy men, the ancient text examines how faith could serve the state’s financial, psychological and political interests.

The Economic Times · Sep 11

A 3,000-year-old Ramesses II inscription sparks fresh mystery over Egypt’s lost city of Masn

New discoveries at Tell Abu Seify offer clues to the ancient city of Masn. A sandstone lintel bearing Ramesses II's titles was found at the strategic Horus Military Road. This inscription refers to a statue of Horus, the "Lord of the City of Masn". Excavations revealed roads, walls, and temple…

The Economic Times · Aug 25

The Tamilian Jewellery Traditions That Carry South Indian Craftsmanship, And the Artisans Losing Them

What the piece is actually sayingYou can tell a machine-made temple necklace from a hand-worked one by the back. The front is easy to fake, the goddess's face, the lotus border, the kirtimukha at the crown. Turn it over and the hand-worked piece shows you the ghost of every tool…

Times Life · Aug 21

What Traditional Indian Jewellery Really Signals About Your Region, Religion, and Caste

The dialect spoken in goldThe mangalsutra a woman wears in Pune looks nothing like the one her counterpart wears in Chennai. One is black beads strung on gold thread. The other is a thali tied with turmeric cord at the wedding and later restrung on a gold chain. Both signal…

Times Life · Aug 10

The Gajra Means More Than Beauty: What Hair Adornment Carries for Indian Women and Their Identity

The string your grandmother didn't explainNobody told you what it meant. Your mother pinned the gajra into your braid on the morning of a cousin's wedding and moved on to the next task. Your grandmother had done the same for her. The jasmine was simply there, the way certain things…

Times Life · Aug 9

‘We have to become warriors’: the fight to save the world’s only women’s sculpture park

With most monuments in London made by men, Claire Mander envisaged the Artist’s Garden as a way to redress the balance. Now, she says, it could be turned into a generic space for VIP events and cocktails

The Guardian - UK · Jul 30