Why cast matters
IIM graduate and caste critic Rajesh Rajamani’s latest short film ‘The Discreet Charm of the Savarnas’ has brilliantly captured the hypocrisy of the savarnas who have taken on the mantle of fighting for the Dalit cause, says Radhika Giri
COVID-19: The Contrarian View
Coronavirus has killed about 40,000 in four months, while the common flu claims about 39,000 lives every month, says Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury analysing COVID-19 and concludes that in India lockdown deaths may compete favourably with Corona deaths
Model village
Panju Island, about 15 km north of Mumbai, becomes the first island in the world to go into 'self-quarantine' in a bid to combat Coronavirus. The village has stopped all fishing, farming, community and religious activities since Sunday
Catching ‘em young
A mechanical engineer who ditched his high flying job in the US to start Payir, an NGO, to help rural communities get a better deal, inspired over 1000 students of the Mahatma Montessori Schools through The Weekend Leader’s ‘Be The Change’ event
Mecca of Polo
The northeast state of Manipur is considered the birthplace of modern polo and has the world’s oldest living polo ground. Here, the game is played on the original Manipuri pony, and now the state’s women are taking to the sport, says Vishav
My Beautiful Reflections
Model and web series actor Ananya Dutta loves to express herself on Facebook. Her posts reflect her take on life, which might sound outlandish at times, but often also provide food for thought and philosophical insights on everyday situations
Empowering the Tribes
Tribal children are learning from picture books and computers at a school located inside the Kanha Tiger Reserve. The school functions out of a forest officer’s bungalow and the teachers are all wives of forest officers, says Kushagra Dixit
Trends of Fashion
Ace designer Ritu Beri opines that the Indian fashion design scene is going through an interesting time. She feels that the luxury consumers in the country are becoming more travelled, more discerning and more demanding than ever before, says Nivedita
An Immortal Entertainer
Stan Lee started his career as an office boy in 1939 at Timely Comics, a company which would later take the form of Marvel. He might have gone, but the superheroes he created with strokes of his imagination will live on forever, says Sugandha Rawal
Challenge to Biryani
Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul town is famous for biryani and some of the hotels in the town serve the best biryani in the country. But M S Mathivanan discovers a small eatery in the town that serves some delicious non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes
More to Conquer
Gautam Gambhir, who stepped down as captain of the Delhi Daredevils team midway into the last IPL tournament, is in no mood to hang up his boots. There is a vacuum and there is always something more to achieve in life, he told Durga Chakravarty
Techy Cotton Farmers
Farmers are able to activate their water pumps from anywhere using the ‘cotton doctor’ app on their phones. Nitin Jugran Bahuguna finds out how the app is helping farmers like Nivrutti Ghule to monitor weather, save water and deal with pest attacks
Schools of Excellence
The Delhi government is transforming government schools on a par with private schools. Even the children of rickshawpullers are receiving quality education thanks to the vastly improved infrastructure and modern teaching methods, says Nivedita Singh
Dance like a Pro
Women in the family of Kathak legend Birju Maharaj learned the dance form and performed within the household but were not encouraged to take it up professionally, until Mamta, Biju’s daughter, broke the tradition to the delight of all. Siddhi Jain tells her story
Sculpting a Hill
Chitta Dey’s three-decade labour of love is transforming an entire hill in West Bengal into a giant bas relief and a tourist hotspot. The ‘crazy’ sculptor has trained local youth in rock carving and they are working with him, says Gurvinder Singh