EXPLAINED: 2 | Rare Historical Photos

Pune's Ganesh Visarjan Procession: Where to Stand, When to Leave, and What to Carry All Night

How the Night Actually RunsThe procession doesn't move like a parade. It pulses. The Kasba Ganpati, Pune's manacha (first-ranked) idol, leaves its mandal in Kasba Peth in the early evening and takes several hours to reach the Mula-Mutha river confluence at Sangam Ghat. Behind it come the other four manacha…

Times Life · Sep 24

Rs 1.68 crore investments, Rs 89,000 monthly MF SIP. Can this 40-year-old investor retire at 50?

A 40-year-old investor based in Pune is on a mission to retire by age 50 while providing for her two children’s education. With savings of Rs 1.68 cr from diverse investments, she plans to pay off her home loan by December 2026. Experts suggest she aim for a retirement fund…

The Economic Times · Sep 23

What Idol Immersion Puts Into a River: Plaster, Lead Paint, and the Fish Downstream

The chemistry of a submerged idolPlaster of Paris is calcium sulphate hemihydrate. When it enters water, it does not dissolve the way salt does. It absorbs water, hardens briefly, then breaks into fine particulate matter that suspends in the water column and settles into the riverbed. A study published in…

Times Life · Sep 23

The Small Rehearsal Indian Women Do in the Mirror Before They Leave the House

The thirty seconds nobody talks aboutYou do it without thinking. You are already dressed, already running slightly late, and yet you stop. The mirror gets one last look, not to check for a stain or a stray hair, though you tell yourself that's why. You adjust something that didn't need…

Times Life · Sep 21

Pune businessman’s secret trip with woman ends at Mumbai airport, fakes immigration problem to mislead wife

In a peculiar twist, a businessman from Pune deceived his wife regarding an immigration issue while his associate was detained at the Mumbai airport due to passport complications. Fabricating a claim about surrendering his phone, this led to his wife's filing of a kidnapping FIR. Ultimately, he returned to the…

The Economic Times · Sep 19

Chanakya Knew Which Son Was the Good Son, and It Was Not the One Sending Money Home

The son your family brags aboutYou know exactly which one he is. His name comes up at every family gathering, usually within the first ten minutes. He is in Pune, or Bengaluru, or somewhere abroad. He sends money home every month. His parents' house has a new coat of paint.…

Times Life · Sep 19

How to Get Your Full Rental Deposit Refund in India: The Tenant's Complete Checklist

Chanakya's First Rule: Write Everything DownChanakya wrote in the Arthashastra that a transaction witnessed by no one is a transaction that never happened. Rental deposits in India operate on exactly this principle, and most tenants lose money not because their landlord is dishonest, but because they handed over sixty or…

Times Life · Sep 18

Pune's Manache Ganpati Walking Route: The Five Mandals That Set the Procession Order Every Year

The order was never arbitraryThe five Manache Ganpati mandals of Pune hold a rank, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and that rank determines who leads the immersion procession on the final day of the Ganesh festival. Kasba Ganpati goes first. It has gone first since Jijabai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mother,…

Times Life · Sep 17

Engineers’ Day 2026 wishes: Why is it celebrated on the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya, who setup key water infra in Pune, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Mysore

Engineers’ Day is observed in India every year on September 15 to honour engineers and recognise their contribution to the country’s development. The day marks the birth anniversary of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, one of India’s most celebrated engineers and statesmen. Here is why Engineers’ Day is celebrated, its significance and…

The Economic Times · Sep 15

The Golden Jackal: How India's Most Adaptable Canid Thrives at the Edge of Every Growing City

A canid that predates every city it now bordersThe golden jackal, Canis aureus, has been documented across the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, but its relationship with Indian cities is not ancient, it is opportunistic and recent, shaped by the specific way Indian urban sprawl works. Where a forest…

Times Life · Sep 15