NIGEL CATTLIN/GETTY
Heidi Ledford introduces the following scientific finding on Nature‘s website:
As if making food from light were not impressive enough, it may be time to add another advanced skill to the botanical repertoire: the ability to perform — at least at the molecular level — arithmetic division. Continue reading
Chellar Covil
Situated about 14 km from Thekkady on the Munnar road, Chellar Covil has one of the best overlooks from the heights of Kerala into Tamil Nadu. The sleepy little hamlet offers a breathtaking view of the plains and cascading waterfalls of the neighboring state. Continue reading
Photography by Robert Polidori. BLUE HEAVEN | Built in the 15th century by Rao Jodha, the walls of the fortress of Mehrangarh are 70 feet thick. Many of the houses of Jodhpur are painted blue to deflect the sunlight, and, according to folklore to repel insects.
The Wall Street Journal carries a feature that is quite our cup of tea:
EACH SPRING, Maharaja Gaj Singh II hosts a Sufi music festival inside his family’s vast desert fort in the Indian city of Jodhpur. From a distance, this monumental sandstone fortress, called Mehrangarh, looms over the city’s chalky blue buildings, evoking the country’s ancient and otherworldly history. And yet people fly in from across the globe because the festival—and the maharaja who hosts it—blends old India so deftly with new. Continue reading
Parque Valle Nuevo, Dominican Republic
One of the projects we are currently working on is renovating a heritage building in the historical neighborhood of Mattancherry in Cochin. We hope that Spice Harbour will encourage other entrepreneurs to tackle these beautiful yet challenging buildings before they disappear into the night. But a neighborhood is not all about old stones.
The people of Mattancherry form a tight-knit community and a year ago a group of young enthusiastic locals created a neighborhood association “Nanma Sahaya Samithi”. Nanma Sahaya Samithi focuses on harmonious living and works on making healthcare and education accessible to everyone in the neighborhood. We were invited to donate notebooks and pens to children and to meet with other actors of the community. Continue reading
We have a particular interest in students on their way to university, in the middle of their university experience, or just on their way out. Today we celebrate the accomplishment of a young woman in Turkey with a science project that has been recognized as brilliant, as noted in this press release:
On Thursday, June 27, Elif Bilgin, 16, from Turkey, was declared the winner of the second annual Scientific American Science in Action Award, powered by the Google Science Fair. Continue reading
malabar parakeet
Periyar Tiger Reserve is an avifaunal hotspot extraordinaire and one of the most facinating birding destinations in the entire Western Ghats. The verdure of rolling hills, rich flora and a many-armed reservoir supports an impressive 323 species of birds, including Malabar Parakeet, Hill Myna, Bulbuls and Hornbills. Continue reading
Photograph by Daniel Giannoni. With eyes wide open, a painted Wari lord stares out from the side of a 1,200-year-old ceramic flask found with the remains of a Wari queen. Giersz and his colleagues think the Wari may have displayed the body of the queen after death in a royal ancestor cult.
Heather Pringle, at National Geographic, shares this about the photos (click on any image to go to the source) from this rare find:
The Wari forged South America’s earliest empire between 700 and 1000 A.D., and their Andean capital boasted a population greater than that of Paris at the time. Today, Peru’s Minister of Culture will officially announce the discovery of the first unlooted Wari imperial tomb by a team of Polish and Peruvian researchers. In all, the archaeological team has found the remains of 63 individuals, including three Wari queens. Continue reading
Architectural firm WEISS/MANFREDI project rendering
When President Eisenhower warned of the rising power of the hyphenated industrial complex his concerns were clearly well-founded. Cornell NYC Tech, the upcoming Roosevelt Island campus of graduate high-tech education, is in the process of rehabilitating the concept of collaboration with industry with the development of its first “corporate co-location” building.
“Cornell Tech is radically rethinking how industry can collaborate with faculty, students and researchers, and corporate co-location is vital to making that a success,” Continue reading
juvenile – El Cuyo, Mexico
View of the Kerala backwaters
A few days ago, I had the privilege of going on one of the Raxa Collective River Escapes houseboats to tour the backwaters of Kerala and although it was quite rainy, it was still very beautiful. First off, the houseboat itself was fantastically designed for traveling the backwaters. While it contained all of the first class amenities that anybody could ask for, it did not go overboard (pun intended); instead of an abundance of glass and feeling as if you were in a bubble, other than the bedrooms the boat is open air, and as the cool breeze danced across your face, it really felt like you were out on the backwaters.
What is so astonishing about the Kerala backwaters, and consequently what I, a student from the United States, have to often remind myself of, is that these backwaters define the lifestyle of so many individuals. Continue reading
© Ashish John/WCS. A new species of bird turns out to have been hiding in plain sight: in Cambodia’s capital city limits of Phnom Penh, home to 1.5 million people.
One of the conservation organizations we most admire announced some unexpected news via the CS Monitor:
It can be easy to go unnoticed in a big city, and that may describe how the Cambodian tailorbird kept its low profile for so long. A team of scientists discovered the new red-headed, wren-sized bird in Cambodia’s urbanized capital Phnom Penh and several other nearby locations, including at a construction site. It is one of only two bird species found solely in Cambodia. The other, the Cambodian laughingthrush, is restricted to the remote Cardamom Mountains. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
The shyanapradikshanam is ritual worship by devotes (usually male) of circling the temple sanctum sanctorum by rolling on the ground. The ritual is performed as atonement, pledge fulfillment or a gesture of thanks giving. It’s a common sight in many Kerala temples. Continue reading
The Shakuntala Patralekhan artwork by Raja Ravi Varma from the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art collection.
Thanks to Aayush Soni at India Ink:
NEW DELHI— In 1881, Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III, was looking for a painter to create his portrait as the newly crowned maharaja of Baroda, a princely state in Western India. As always, he sought the help of his mentor, Thanjavur Madhava Rao, the diwan, or chief minister, of his state, who had held the same position in the princely state of Travancore in southern India from 1857 to 1872. Continue reading
This and all other images copyright of the individual photographers
One of the magazines we follow and link to frequently has sponsored a contest:
The 25th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is now accepting submissions. Harness the power of photography and share your stunning travel experiences from around the globe with us. Enter today Continue reading
Mysore, Karnataka
Have you ever felt like you were in a book ?
St. Francis Church- The original burial site of Vasco da Gama
Today, for the first time in my life, I visited Fort Kochi. One of the first places I stopped at was the St. Francis Church, which is the oldest European church in India, and the original burial site of the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first person to sail from Europe to India. Both the Portuguese and the Spanish were in search of an ocean alternative to the Arab monopoly on the lucrative spice trade, and the Portuguese had the good fortune to sail east vs. west. He and a few other Portuguese men who followed were allowed by the Raja of Cochin to build a fort in Kochi, and subsequently, in 1506, Francisco de Almeida, the Portuguese viceroy, was allowed to build a Christian church. Ten years later, the church was completed and was dedicated to Saint Anthony. Continue reading
Organikos 