Death by black magic: Why an 11-year-old was sacrificed inside his own school
Last month, an 11-year-old boy died in a ritual murder. Blind faith, lack of awareness and inadequate legal mechanisms allow these practices to continue
HUMAN INTEREST
TIFR study uses psychedelic drug to trace neuron that can reduce anxiety
The word psychedelic may evoke wild, mind-bending trips out of the ‘60s. But what if the same trippy substances used in LSD & magic mushrooms could be harnessed to treat mental health issues? A TIFRScience
team may have unlocked that
team may have unlocked that
‘I envy your country, you still have many movie theatres,’ says Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore
Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore. The man is a curious mix of bittersweet nostalgia for the past and excitement for how AI might level the playing field for future filmmakers
Biometric Identity Crisis: Hand Transplant Recipients Face Challenges
In a world where biometrics are key to identity, what happens when it doesn’t quite match up? A number of transplant patients find themselves in a twilight zone as surgeries rob them of their digital uniqueness
Pink chaddis to spine models, how small props play big role in protests
In India, civil unrest usually involves chants, posters, street plays, night marches, songs… & sometimes, something more tangible to get a point across - protest props - everyday objects that are hard to miss, harder to ignore & the desperation that drove people to it
NHRC issues new guidelines to end discrimination against widows
In May 2022, two villages in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district banned regressive customs against widows, inspiring others. MP Supriya Sule introduced a bill to eliminate these practices. Recently, NHRC issued guidelines for protecting widows' rights, including setting up support cells and maintaining welfare homes
Meet the city samaritans bringing dignity in death to unclaimed bodies
In a city that never sleeps, some folks are often alone and forgotten, even in death but her last moments are also a reminder of the few good folks in the city, who have devoted themselves to ensuring that those who die alone or unclaimed receive a dignified funeral, at their own cost, despite knowing nothing about them until that moment.
Long live longevity! Why everyone is trying to turn the clock back
A greying world has meant a new focus on living longer and healthier. A look at how science and money are coming together in the quest for immortality
The bitter truth of quickie gate-cane weddings in Marathwada's sugar belt
Despite efforts by village authorities to crack down on child marriages by roping in priests, tent owners, music bands, decorators, caterers and card printers, these impromptu gate-cane weddings — stripped of all wedding festivities — remain difficult to detect or prevent.
Talk like a woman: Surgery helps trans women find their voices
Those who struggle with their old, ‘male’ voices now have the option of completing their transition as voice feminisation procedures become more accessible in metros
Bonded Labour in Maharashtra’s Sugarcane Belt: A Bitter Reality
Greedy contractors shackle vulnerable tribals with promises of a proper house or salary advances. It could lead to generations of bonded labour.
Why India is still waiting for its first face transplant
Three hospitals get licences, but the surgery that could offer hope to acid attack survivors and burn victims is facing several roadblocks
Community-led study sheds light on urgent toilet needs of nomadic homes
In the sprawling Circus Ground in Ambernath, Pooja Ingole and her family navigate life in a tent community, home to 530 families for close to three decades, their homes held up by bamboo poles or asbestos sheets that barely shield them from the realities they endure.
How Manipur's trans footballers are coaching kids stuck in relief camps
In 2020, Manipur witnessed the emergence of India's first all-trans football team 'Ya.All' - meaning 'you all' in English, 'revolution' in Manipuri and 'inclusive revolution' when combined. Currently, this team is on a new mission - coaching children stranded in Manipur's relief camps in the midst of an ethnic conflict that has plunged the state into civil unrest since May.
The hairy story behind India’s ‘black gold’ exports
It’s an overcast Monday morning in a low-income housing colony in Bengaluru’s Kamala Nagar. Malleesh, 21, Parasuram, 21, and Ravi , 24, are on a peculiar quest. Swinging a large sack slung over one shoulder while balancing a hefty net, crammed with aluminium vessels, they make their way through the neighbourhood, hollering ‘Kudalu patre kasu’ (vessels for hair), a boisterous call in hot pursuit of something valuable to them: balls of fallen human hair.
'No spl disability tag for spinal injury has left 1.5m survivors in lurch'
In September 2012, tragedy struck the Galgatte family from Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district during a promised temple visit with their six-month-old child, Tanmay. Their van collided with another car, leaving Tanmay's mother, Ashvini, with a life-altering spinal cord injury. Just a week later, Tanmay's father succumbed to his injuries.
Sign language is going mainstream silently as ‘hearing’ folks enrol for course
Within the noise of spoken words, there exists a silent superpower that goes largely untapped — sign language or the use of hand shapes, body movements and facial expressions as a form of non-verbal communication — which isn’t just for breaking down barriers with the deaf but can be a cheat code for the hearing population.
The Mindhunters: How brain mapping detects memories of crime
In the shadowy realm of crime, the human brain isn’t merely a cunning accomplice. It can also be the ultimate snitch. Over the last two decades, ‘ Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature (BEOS) profiling’ — also referred to as ‘brain-mapping’ or ‘brain fingerprinting’— has emerged as a forensic tool meant to unlock criminal secrets within the grey matter and crack open a case when traditional investigative methods hit a wall.
How Chhattisgarh's 'live-in' tradition is taking a toll on Adivasi kids
In the lush forests of Surguja district in northern Chhattisgarh where the Mahabharata still resonates, live two primitive tribes — the Pando claiming lineage to the Pandavas and the Korwa to the Kauravas. However, despite their unique cultural heritage, children from these tribes have been bearing the weight of a time-honoured tradition. More and more couples are embracing the tradition of dhuku to save expense of a lavish wedding but for the children they neglect or abandon, there is a heavy price to pay
Look Ma, new hands
Imagine looking down at your hands and seeing a stranger’s fingers. We spoke to recipients of hand transplants about their struggles as well as the joy of doing small tasks again.
To stop child marriage, Maharashtra & Gujarat eye village budgets, rope in priests & caterers
Every silver lining has a cloud. The fifth National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2019-21, confirmed that the incidence of child marriages in India had steadily declined from 47% in 2005-06 to 23% during the latest survey. However, a closer examination revealed that the coronavirus outbreak had left young girls more vulnerable than ever.
Decoding the fictional country of Kailasa that catfished 30 US cities
It was a usual scene at the annual meetings hosted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the UN Office headquarters at Geneva, last month. Conference-goers — NGOs, permanent missions, academic institutions from different countries — filed into a room inside the historic Palais Wilson building to discuss their rights.What was unusual was a delegation of about a dozen women — decked in gold jewel
'Fellowship' of social workers, lawyers helps poor undertrials navigate legal maze, get bail
Dia and Sonia (names changed), two sisters aged 20 and 21, had a troubled upbringing. Their mother, desperate to escape an alcoholic husband, remarried, but the girls never warmed up to their stepfather. They took to wandering the streets at night, falling into a life of crime that led them behind bars at the Byculla District Prison.
Spooked by recent 'airpocalypse', some Mumbaikars pack their bags
Vivek and his wife Anusha returned to Mumbai from South Africa in 2021 after a 15-year gap. Accustomed to daily runs and outdoor workouts while living in Johannesburg, they went running in Mumbai too. Except that whenever they did that, they found themselves gasping within 15 minutes. They are now among a small number of urban dwellers who have decided to relocate to another place...
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