Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
The Elephant Stables are located in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Hampi in Karnataka. This long structure was constructed with majestic openings for the resting places of the royal elephants. The open area in front of the of the building was a parade ground for the elephants. The Elephant stables with their lofty domes and arches is synthesis of Hindu and Islamic forms.
Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times. Guides lead a mushroom hunt in Suzdal.
A shoutout to our mushroom guru, Milo, who has just recently relocated to the Rocky Mountains: we miss your mushroom-hunting in India! Besides his ever-intriguing mushroom-identification excursions with the tribal guides in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, and just about everywhere else where he steps foot, Milo’s culinary oyster mushroom cultivation project in Cardamom County’s organic gardens is fondly remembered. After a thoroughly refreshing monsoon season, the time for new cultivation in those gardens is upon us again. This article, from the New York Times, makes us wonder whether Milo’s first post from his new post will be mycologically motivated:
‘If You Are Normal, You Search for Mushrooms’
Continue reading
Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
Photo credit: Ranjith
The Kerala speciality Vattayappam is a steamed rice cake made with rice flour, sugar, yeast, cashews, raisins and coconut milk infused with the wonderful aroma and taste of cardamom. This is a traditional tea time snack.
There was no question he would be back. But when? Where? How? His fall from grace, with the help of a friend, was a shock. His return was quick and elegant, quintessentially Steck:
…Three times I traversed back and forth until I decided just to try. I needed at least 30 minutes until I had the feeling to finally know where I had to continue. I didn’t have any choice: I had to try. I found the right way and I reached without any problems Grand Pillier d’Angle. Now I found myself over the clouds. The summit was not far away anymore. From here I found some old traces. I wish I had them down at Col de Peuterey…
Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi Jayanthi honors the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi annually on October 2nd. Known as India’s unofficial “Father of the Nation”, Mahatma Gandhi was a national icon who led the struggle for India’s independence from British colonial rule. Continue reading
Among the many writings about Gandhi, Thomas Weber’s books seem to be held in esteem in India, with the book to the right being the most recent:
Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of truth and non-violence have intrigued the world for decades. Looking at the Western and Indian influences that had gone into making Gandhi the Mahatma, and the central importance of Gandhi to non-violent activism, these essays reclaim the power of truth and non-violence, which can still change the destinies of people and nations. In this collection, Weber discusses Gandhi, his ideology, and how India and the rest of the world is interpreting and reinterpreting the Mahatma. The doctrine of conflict resolution theory, new environmentalism, peace research, deep ecology, and Buddhist economics based on Gandhian principles renews the world`s belief in Mahatma and his teachings for our lives and our times.
One of the most visible and active Gandhi-focused websites posted an essay by Weber* about Gandhi’s influence on what eventually came to be known as deep ecology, and that seems a fitting reference on our site to commemorate this year’s birthday, which is also a national holiday in India. A few snippets: Continue reading
I captured this leaping Bonnet Macaque was photographed at Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary near Hampi, Karnataka. Although the photograph represents a split second of activity on the animal’s part, it represents a great deal of thought and patience on mine.
One of the important aspects in wildlife photography is to study the behaviour of your subjects, which will help you in your planning and image making. In this case I noticed the monkeys had a pattern of climbing the left rock and jumping to the right rock to get onto the trees on that side. Continue reading
The freedom fighter Appukuttan Poduval handing over mango tree grafts cultivated from shoots of the historic mango tree planted by Gandhiji at Payyannur in 1934.
Nonviolence. India. Artisanal salt. Artisanal everything else. Among the many reasons to celebrate his birthday today, Raxa Collective is pleased to have learned and is happy to share:
Planting saplings grafted from twins detached from a Malgoa mango tree planted by Gandhiji at Payyannur nearly eight decades ago is a novel way of celebrating Gandhi Jayanthi. Continue reading
Gamboa, Panama
Among the more interesting revelations, during his tenure as Editor of the New Yorker magazine, is that he is a big fan of The Boss. He has posted on the magazine’s website several times following his profile of Bruce Springsteen in the magazine last year. We normally shy away from posts about music on this site, for the same reason we shy away from cute kitten videos: you do not need more of that. But David Remnick’s writing is different. It is about community as much as it is about music. And his post today about this event in New York is not only about community, but about keeping heritage alive by infusing it with innovation–that is, entrepreneurial conservation:
When it comes to “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the new Coen brothers movie, I’ll respectfully leave the critical work to my colleagues Anthony Lane and David Denby, except to say that the movie’s appreciation of its great subject—the folk-music scene in Greenwich Village in the period just before Bob Dylan’s arrival—is wry, but full and soulful. Inspired by Dave Van Ronk’s wonderful memoir, “The Mayor of MacDougal Street,” and many other sources, the Coens have their fun about the scene, but their love for the music—the depth and variety of it—could not be more evident. Continue reading
Rachel Laudan says it very plainly:
Yeah, my new book, Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History will be out very soon. Continue reading
Photo credits : Ramesh Kidangoor
Thazhathangadi is located near to Kottayam town, by the bank of River Minachil. It is one of the oldest trade centers in Kerala and during its prime it was essential to the trade in the region. At the end of the Onam Festival Thazathangadi hosts the oldest snake boat competition in Kerala . Continue reading
No one would mistake this for entertainment. It is two hours of research findings, all wrestling over complex food issues. No gastronomic delights. Rather, the puzzle over how to feed a rapidly multiplying human population. Click the screen above to go to the video:
By 2050, 2 billion more people are expected to be vying for food and energy. Access to fresh water and arable land will be heavily constrained. And the food supply for the world’s 9 billion people will be increasingly produced under flood conditions, drought or both, as climate change accelerates. Continue reading
2009 Jökulsárlón, Iceland. Destined to melt, an 800-pound chunk of ice glows in moonlight, from the National Geographic story “Meltdown.”
On our pages we like to narrate stories, sometimes stories that people would rather not hear. If a “picture is worth a thousand words” then James Balog’s images for National Geographic tell a poignant narrative.
The pictorial language has the unique ability to penetrate the human heart and mind and photography has the power to alter the course of civilization through perception. My main subject has been the collision between human needs and nature, it’s always seemed to me that’s one of the pivotal issues of our moment in history Continue reading
Shiroor, Karnataka
The well-known supporters of World Land Trust make a strong case for all of us to to our part during this upcoming campaign:
Big Match Fortnight
Date and Time: 2 – 16 October 2013
Big Match Fortnight is World Land Trust‘s (WLT) major fundraising effort for 2013. During the fortnight all donations to WLT will be matched making them go further. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ranjith
Naivedyam (Kadum Payasam) is offered on banana leaves after a pooja ceremony at many South Indian temples. The traditional dessert is placed before the temple deity and consumed as a holy offering. Continue reading
When Phil first mentioned the series he would share here, the fit could not have been more perfect. It was based on his own experience as a diver; on his own informed understanding of environmental challenges at once universal and personal (as a diver, he has witnessed changes that disturb him); on his role as a citizen science participant; and on his belief in entrepreneurial conservation as a solution to some otherwise intractable challenges.
We prefer the first person here, but also share as much as we can of what science has to say on these subjects through our reliable cadre of science journalists. Carl Zimmer, over at National Geographic‘s Phenomena site, writes about genetically engineering in the wild, which raises important, obvious and not so obvious ethical issues:
Back in April, I wrote in National Geographic about the provocative idea of bringing extinct species back to life. In the five months that have passed since then, I haven’t spotted any mammoths or saber-tooth lions drifting through my front yard. If “de-extinction” ever does become real, it won’t for quite a while.
What I have seen over the past five months is a new conversation. Part of the conversation has revolved around the specifics of de-extinction. Some people are open to the possibilities of rebuilding genomes and embryos of vanished species. Some people find it a flashy distraction from the real work of fighting the current wave of extinctions. Continue reading
Organikos 