You could be fined Rs 2,000 for drinking beer on a Goa beach, but thanks to an innovative green initiative, 10 beer bottle caps or 20 used cigarette butts can fetch you a beer in Goa, if you exchange them at a pop-up waste-bar. The idea is to engage beach visitors in activities that create awareness about environment and conservation, while also cleaning the beaches.


To clean Goa beaches, this 'waste-bar' exchanges cigarette butts, used straws for beer (IANS Special Series)


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Located in the heart of the capital of Rajasthan, this all-girls school, started by an erstwhile queen, began a silent revolution in 1943 when the region was steeped in the claustrophobic orthodoxy of the 'purdah' system for women.


A school that challenged the claustrophobic orthodoxy of 'purdah' (IANS Special Series)


With winter in full bloom, Rajasthan's historic capital city is all set to embrace the festive feel as the much anticipated Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) draws near. Having already hosted nearly 2,000 speakers and over a million book lovers at its 11 previous editions, the "Pink City" bears testimony to the strong cultural impact the festival has had on its self-image and social consciousness.


How five days a year transformed Jaipur's cultural landscape over the past decade


Chennai, Jan 11 (IANS/Mongabay) "When some visitors ask, 'How do the birds know this lake is full?', I simply tell them that I telephone the migratory birds and inform them," said Ramesh mockingly as he sits at the tip of a lake in south India.


Vaduvoor: A tiny village luring and feeding global birds (Feature)


In the land of contrasts that Kutch is, winter is the lean feeding season for its unique breed of Kharai camels. These camels, unlike the kind most of us are familiar with, are typically dependent on the mangroves for their food, and during monsoons, they swim to the mangrove islands in hordes and stay there for days altogether.


Swimming camels, mangrove islands of Kutch face mounting challenges (Feature)


Bengaluru, Jan 9 (IANS/Mongabay) Woodlands in agricultural fields surrounding a protected area maintain functionality of a wintering bird community, according to a recent study.


'Woodland buffers help maintain bird communities in forest edges' (Feature)


Youngsters who are looking for an easy-on-the-pocket place to eat, drink and groove can have it all at House of Commons (HOC), a British-inspired gastropub that offers a vast menu comprising Continental, Mediterranean and Indian cuisines, coupled with rejuvenating drinks and live music -- ideal for a fun evening.


Eat, drink and make merry at pocket-friendly House Of Commons (Foodie Trail - Delhi)


Shillong, Jan 8 (IANS/Mongabay) In Meghalayas tough hill terrains that limit field visits, space technology is aiding the selection of areas that are suited for growing and expanding cultivation of boro rice which is sown in winter and harvested in spring/summer, officials said.


Eye in the sky: Space technology aiding Meghalaya to expand boro rice cultivation (Agricultural Feature)


Some years ago, at a South Delhi eatery that grandly announced it served "Chinese, Japanese, Mughlai" cuisine, I came upon a young Oriental couple and their two small children with the man muttering and gesticulating at the order-taker, who too was doing the same. Sensing help was needed, I walked up to him and asked if I could be of assistance.


Sakura re-emerges in a heightened pan-Asian avatar (Foodie Trail-Delhi)


Theatre has been so much a part of Indian culture that it's where some of the renowned Bollywood names have cut their teeth. However, it is struggling to keep its identity alive in the present-day, tech-driven frenzy, prompting some of the veterans to suggest it be given a cinematic and digital feel to make it more relatable and reachable to the young.


Televising theatre may be the next big step in entertainment (Arts Feature)


Have you been yearning to visit Purani Dilli to gorge on authentic kebabs, nihari, phirni and the like -- but the fear of large crowds and congested areas is holding you back? Then head to Radisson Blu's "Made In India" fine-dining restaurant, which, besides excelling in Avadhi and Lucknowi cuisines, has now added Delhi 6 "tadka" to its menu to entice and appease the palate of its patrons.


Made In India: A regal feast with Delhi 6 'tadka' (Foodie Trail - Noida)


Turning the spotlight on Indias rich tradition of music, dance, theatre, culinary arts, crafts, and visual arts through 90 diverse projects, the third edition of the Serendipity Arts Festival will open on Saturday with the participation of over 1,500 artistes.


'Bigger and better', Serendipity Arts Festival opens Saturday


A gathering of book lovers here celebrated the art of book cover designing and recognised the foremost practitioners of the craft. Cutting across genres and languages, the longlist of Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize was unveiled  over the weekend and also saw experts throw light on the subject -- with some fine wine and country music to keep one company.


Into the heart of the art of a book cover


Six-year-old Vinannya Uikey wakes up excited every morning to go to school where she can not only learn new things about the world but also play with fascinating toys. What's different about Vinannya compared to the millions of other school children in India is that she belongs to the adivasi (aboriginal) Baiga tribe for whom playschools are an unknown concept. And what's different about the school is that it is situated bang in the middle of a famous tiger reserve in central India and its students comprise children of both indigenous tribes and forest officers.


Returning the favour: A unique educational experiment in Madhya Pradesh's tiger country (IANS Special Series)


Chowrangi (West Bengal), Dec 7 (IANS/Mongabay) Over 30 women have gathered to deliver milk at a one-room milk collection centre here. It's a daily rendezvous for this clique belonging to a women-run dairy cooperative in the Sundarbans delta in south Asia that is inching its way to becoming 100 percent organic.


Sundarbans women lead the way in making dairy farms organic (Environmental Feature)


Read a biography charting Mamata Banerjee's rise from a student leader to the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal and how she could be a possible "kingmaker" after the 2019 general elections; take in a novel set against the backdrop of old Punjab, early California and revolution-torn Mexico; read a fictional tale that pits debt-laden farmers against the political forces at work; and finally, get a peek into the world of start-ups in India.


Of a kingmaker, farmland fiction and start-ups (IANS Books This Weekend)


Thanks to new digital platforms and the rising popularity of YouTube channels, Braj folk songs and classical singing traditions, which were threatened by loss of patronage, are back in demand and are witnessing a happy revival.


Content-starved digital platforms help revive interest in Braj sangeet (Feature)


It's the last month of 2018, a year that saw the release of several impressive novels and nonfiction works on subjects of contemporary interest. December will ring the final bell before the arrival of literary festivals, and these new offerings across various subjects and tastes will keep you company.


Five books to look forward to in December 2018


A tiny coronation bridge over the swift Beas river connects the Manali-Leh highway to a pristine and quaint village caught in a time warp. Barely a hundred-odd houses and a handful of home-stays comprise Shanag village, a hidden destination in the Himalayas where the residents live in the lap of nature, meditate and reflect upon life amid all its grandeur.


A family affair: Winter falls on a Himalayan village (Travelogue)


Read through the delightful tale of a young couple who learn how to find meaning in "a little love, a little togetherness and a little happiness"; flick through an amusing journey of accidental parenthood making life topsy-turvy for a mother who did not expect to be expecting; dive into an anthology of graphic narratives; and finally, relish some fresh poems by a young novelist-poet.


Of little things, accidental parenthood, graphic narratives and some poems (IANS Books This Weekend)


New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS/Mongabay) India, which has "great expertise" in the conservation of genetic resources of crop plants through seed banking, is now "rapidly" working to extend the safeguards to difficult-to-conserve (recalcitrant) seeds of wild species, threatened species, forestry and agroforestry trees.

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