People Archives

Those Kicks Are Fast as Lightning: The Life of a Kung Fu Nun in Ladakh

Most people are not used to the idea of peaceful Buddhist nuns practising a martial art popularised by Jackie Chan. But the Kung Fu Nuns are anything but ordinary. They teach self-defence to the women in Ladakh, and go on cycling treks, spreading the word on environmental conservation.

Faisul Yaseen April 29, 2016

People

Clay vs Ali

The devotee and the deity are joined by a feeling of smallness felt by the former in the latter’s presence. Muhammad Ali, however, made his disciples feel larger and stronger.

Ambarish Ray April 29, 2016

People

Jim Corbett: The Shikari Who Gave India a Lesson in Jungle Lore

Jim Corbett was haunted by jungles. When he was in the forest, he transformed into a gyaan yogi. And it was where he drew his life force from.

Rudy Singh April 28, 2016

People

Breaking Bad in Delhi’s Azadpur

Asia’s biggest vegetable mandi is at the centre of a sprawling drug trade. It’s a natural match, considering the market’s life of hard knocks and harder labour requires some relief.

Parthshri Arora April 27, 2016

People

The Demented Pursuit of Happiness

The happiness industry is booming. Miserable people worldwide ensure that Art of Living Happiness Programmes rake in billions, and self-help books fly off the shelves all year.

Tanya Vasundharan April 27, 2016

People

The Heroes of India’s Black Money Economy

Angadias are the nucleus of India’s rural and urban cash economy. You'd think the demonetisation drive would've rendered them jobless. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

Damian D'souza April 26, 2016

People

To Afterlife and Back: Tales from the Operating Table

My surgeon father told me that operations were frightening, because some people lived, some died, and some dangled in between. The ones that almost died were downright terrifying.

Karishma Pandey April 26, 2016

People

The Boy Who Lived

Prashant and Nisha Jain, parents of Maharashtra’s youngest paediatric cadaver organ donor, have become torchbearers of the cause. The gift of four lives is Darsh’s legacy.

Saadia S April 26, 2016

People

Sons of the Spiritual Soil

As India faced its worst drought in recent history, some farmers in Karnataka reported an excellent cotton crop. Their secret: Sanjeevani shakti.

Hemant Gairola April 26, 2016

People

The Menaka Guruswamy-Arundhati Katju Romance is the Love Story We Need in 2019

In July, ten months after helping to strike down Section 377, lawyers Dr Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju shed new light on why the historic legal victory was also a personal one for them. They boldly came out as the lesbian power couple who carried the LGBTQIA+ rights movement on their shoulders.

Kahini Iyer April 25, 2016