Manoranjan Byapari, a rickshaw puller, would not have discovered his talent as a writer if he had not met celebrity author Mahesweta Devi who was his customer once. Shilpa Raina has the story

Manganiyars of Rajasthan are a community of professional musicians. But women are traditionally barred from singing in public. Shilpa Raina meets Maangi Bai, who broke the rigid convention

Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh has retained its charm as a ‘place where the god lives’. And the best time to visit the land of Buddhism and virgin nature has just begun, says Vishal Gulati

Fossilised dinosaur bones and eggs of gigantic creatures that measured around 18-20 metres and weighed 10-13 tonnes have been discovered in Salbardi area near Amravati in eastern Maharashtra

Chomu Fort with a 300 year history has captured the imagination of Bollywood and many films have already been shot here. Rahul Dass brings out the splendor and history of the fortified palace

Giving a new meaning to animation films in India, Shilpa Ranade has given life to a story written by Satyajit Ray’s grandfather. V Radhika checks out what makes the IIT design professor tick

Would you like to try your hand at the potter’s wheel? Go for a half-day tour of Delhi organized by Indomania Cultural Tours and meet the potters’ families in Kumhar Gram, says Shilpa Raina

Why Nelson Mandela was chosen to head the first post-apartheid government in South Africa when there were so many other heroes of the freedom movement around? Devaki Jain gives us an insight

Pulitzer prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book, ‘The Lowland’, is about three generations of women, touching on the frisson between Indian characters and America, says Harsh A Desai

Ujjayanta Palace, northeast India’s biggest royal mansion, now showcases the art, culture, history and tradition of the region as it has been converted into a museum, says Sujit Chakraborty

Ketaki Sheth takes a peek into the invisible life of Siddis, who are of African descent, through a set of 65 black-and-white photographs, now on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art

Refurbishing Humayun’s tomb in Delhi was an arduous job that took six years. Restoring the historic site to its original glory was fraught with challenges like plugging seepage in the dome

Blending cuisines, cultures and architectures of India and Pakistan, a young Punjabi has come up with Sarhad, a complex near the border, serving more than good food. Jaideep Sarin was there

Stu-C is Punjab University’s hotspot, a popular hangout since 1960s. Housing one of the oldest coffee shop, it draws students even now and evokes nostalgia among older ones, says Mannat Mundi

To save the gooseberry she fought malnutrition and helped farmers and women find livelihood. Rakesh Kumar meets Sarla Lakhawat whose prescription has brought prosperity to Anta in Rajasthan