What is the common thread running through the ingredients list in toothpaste and chocolates, shampoo and pet food, laundry detergents and ice creams? Palm oil. This vegetable oil forms the backbone of nearly all packaged food and household products and appears in a variety of forms in the ingredients list. Derivatives like ammonium lauryl sulphate…
Idea 1: Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) is Expensive Truth: It depends There are a variety of RWH structures. The simplest method brings rainwater from the rooftop towards a well or an underground sump. This will recharge underground aquifers and allow residents to access ground water through a pump. This should cost less than 10,000 Rupees, since…
The north-eastern part of the country gets cool breezes and overcast skies in May and June, when the rest of the country is in the middle of summer. So I was cushioned from the blazing oppressive heat. But when the vacations began, and I started to travel, I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I was longing…
I think a lot of about the food I buy and cook. I am interested in the source of my grains – I buy a local Assamese variety of rice and love its fragrance, even though there are other, more familiar hybrids in my supermarket. Our garden gives us delicious produce and, sometimes, I can…
This year, many parts of the country are again reeling under a drought. There are small farming communities in different regions that are adapting to low water availability. Some are changing cropping patterns, others are reverting to drought-resistant varieties, some are reviving traditional water harvesting structures like step wells, and most are learning to find…
Sometimes when I read about amazing people and their life’s work, or about desperate situations that seem beyond redemption, I wonder whether there is room for personal change. For example, when I saw about the doomsday list on BBC’s website about major urban centres that are about to run out of water, I was pleasantly…
The Deepavali week came to a close today. It has meant a lot of fire, fireworks, lights, lamps, sweets, sounds and celebrations. From this tiny corner of the country, in a campus that also becomes noisy and boisterous, here are images and videos of a different type of Deepavali. Traditionally, people here light lamps using…
More than two decades ago, I remember the first time that we splurged on buying Deepavali crackers. My mother took us to a place near her office that sold fireworks in bulk. And, I think, we spent about 1000 Rupees that day. Until then, there was a small bag that would house the entire collection…
Two years ago, my son was entering his terrible, tantrum-y toddler years. He was growing as a person, experimenting with vocabulary, learning new skills, but oh goodness, also dealing with big emotions that he couldn’t express. A broken toy or a change in routine could bring on extended bawling. And if he fell sick, the…
Each part of India rings in the nine days after the Mahalaya Amavasya in a different way. For some, it is the start of a fresh sowing season – the gap between the two types of monsoon winds. For others, it indicates a change in dietary patterns to signal the start of the cooler seasons.…