Putting out forest fires with music, drums and a dash of devotion
The dying art form of sankirtan mandalis, recently revived by the women of Odisha’s villages, is being enlisted by forest officials to spread awareness about protecting forests
May 2025
With men gone, Odisha’s women take the stage to save a dying tradition
Cultural troupes in Odisha villages that had gone silent after men migrated for work have now been revived by women
Heatwaves are breaking Delhi’s migrant workers, and their incomes
As Delhi sizzles past 45°C, thousands of migrant workers face the city’s brutal heat without rest, shade, or protection.
Irregular migration to the United States: From aberrations to deportations
In 2023, an estimated 97,000 Indians arrived illegally in the U.S., taking complicated routes, traversing multiple countries or even oceans. India’s periodic labour force data offers an understanding of this desperation of people to risk life and limb to exit the country
Sweating in silence: The invisible burden of heat at home
In Bengaluru’s low-income settlements, homes built with heat-trapping material, poor ventilation, irregular electricity and water supply, have made cooling a serious challenge
‘It is like living in a nightmare that never ends’: Lost near the LoC
The recent conflict between India and Pakistan has left migrants in Kashmir’s border areas jobless, stranded and afraid for their future
“Municipalities are not city planners anymore, but vehicles of economic drain.”
From pourakarmikas to poets, protests to public policy, Srikar Raghavan’s Rama Bhima Soma is a layered portrait of the ever evolving state of Karnataka
Chandigarh’s unplanned shadow
Once an agrarian settlement, Jagatpura, on the outskirts of Chandigarh and Mohali, has transformed into a dense hub of informal rental housing for thousands of migrant workers who navigate precarious living conditions, high rents and exclusion from the city they help build.
