Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh's capital city recently launched India's first fully-automated bicycle-sharing system as part of its second anniversary of the Smart Cities programme. This development comes just three weeks after Mysuru, Karnataka launched the country's first city-level bicycle-sharing project.


Bhopal's bike sharing sets a new trend


IANS Automatic

In a video gone viral, she looks helpless and uncomfortable as she tries to hide her face and turns around to escape shutterbugs who go clickety-click while she waits for the doors of an elevator to open at a theatre's basement.


Celebrity kids: Growing up in glare of shutterbugs (Entertainment Feature)


The current trend in Indian publishing space, as also globally, shows a phenomenal rise of nonfiction while the number of fiction titles have dipped significantly over the past couple of years.


Five books to look forward to in July 2017


What is the best way to relive an unforgettable past? Perhaps, cherishing the old memories. And this recent collection of short stories is an apt reminder of the impact that memories tend to have on our lives.


Of sorrow and penance: Short story writer examines facets of melancholy


Once a favourite spot for learners and scholars, most of the 70,000 plus public libraries in India have now turned into haunted houses with few visitors to grace their premises.


Catch 'em young: The new 'mantra' to revitalise public libraries


With Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing yoga on the global stage, the ages-old vedic practice is now gaining international recognition. However, there are many who want to practice yoga but aren't sure how to go about it.


How the author saved herself with ten-minute yoga routine (Book Review) (June 21 is International Yoga Day)


Undisturbed by his silent neighbours in the capital's Nicholson Cemetery, this leading author has penned numerous works of fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children in a career spanning several decades.


Writer who finds inspiration for writing near a cemetery (Feature)


Full of strange facts and objects, our museums and history books carry some very interesting stories from bygone times. But one peculiar piece that doesn't find space anywhere is about a French monarch's struggle with constipation that led him to have a commode built under his throne.


Museum with a difference: Tracing 4,500-year history of toilets


Art is not a commodity but an experience, say connoisseurs, and this experience can take an entirely new form when it interacts with its surroundings -- walls, lights, music, furniture and other artwork around it -- or even moves beyond it.


A small Himachal village that's taking art to nature


You know that movie where someone jumps out of a building and lands safely on a passing truck? I think it was called Pretty Much Every Movie Ever.


Four recent examples which show real life is imitating the movies (The Funny Side)


Almost a hundred Chinese cities now have bike-sharing schemes. The bikes, in various colours, have GPS trackers and can be unlocked simply by scanning a barcode on the frame with your phone. China may be creating a new model of transportation that could be adopted globally.


Bike-sharing schemes: Flourishing or running riot?


Biryani may be Hyderabad's signature dish, but even the world-famous delicacy takes a back seat during the holy month of Ramadan in favour of haleem, a porridge-like dish made of wheat, lentils and meat.


Hyderabad's 'haleem' a favourite during Ramadan


Commuters look out in surprise from windows of cars and buses. Some passersby occasionally stop to click pictures. The subject of their interest is a man who literally makes managing busy traffic on a bustling east Kolkata road a song and a dance.


Kolkata's dancing cop who makes people smile 


The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that this year's monsoon rainfall will be around 98 per cent of the long-period average, which is good news in this drought-prone era. But another study by the same IMD shows a more worrying trend. It has found that rain-bearing clouds have been thinning out across the country over the last 50 years.


Why rain-bearing clouds are thinning out over India


The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi), which is now ranked among the top 200 universities in the latest QS World University Rankings, can well be among the top 50 if it improves on parametres such as "perception", "international faculty" and "international students", according to its Director V. Ramgopal Rao.


Top 50 ranking not difficult if we improve on perception: IIT-D Director (IANS Interview)


The holy month of Ramdan is as much about fasting as it is about feasts -- and what better way to spice up your evening gatherings than this exclusive recipe from one of Dubai's top chefs.


Chicken Kabasa from Dubai to spice up your Ramadan feasts


Himachal Pradesh's octogenarian Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has taken it upon himself to restoring, and sometimes even reconstructing, the state's beautiful ancient temples to preserve as he says its rich religious and cultural traditions for posterity.


Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh in temple restoration drive


India's first open access platform for academic authors to publish their works and make them available in over 100 countries has just been launched -- and the man behind the idea says that this concept is the future of publishing.


'Open Access publishing is the way forward'


With a legacy of 75 years, United Coffee House (UCH) has been witness to the changing landscape and food culture of Delhi. Many food outlets came and went, but this iconic restaurant in the heart of the capital still stands tall and continues to draw patrons of all ages.


United Coffee House: Food and conversation destination for 75 years (Lifestyle Feature) 


It was born in an era of protests. As young people took to the streets across Europe and the United States in the 1960s, challenging the norms set for generations, a little-known genre of music was getting ready to make waves, emphatically.


The sound of Metal is turning into a requiem (Music Trends)


Almost a quarter century after the historic Supreme Court judgement to shift or shut factories polluting the Taj Mahal, the environment in Agra continues to pollute the 17th century monument of love.

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