Society, Culture, Religion and History

Madurai, Tamil Nadu's second largest city, is now filled with buildings and roads which are eating into its age old network of tanks and canals. This change did not happen overnight. It began in the late 19th century by the British when they merged several hamlets to establish their headquarters in the region.

In partnership with the Government of Karnataka, Arghyam ran a communication campaign aimed at creating a demand for improved sanitation. 

With over 620 million defecating in the open in India, do we need a new approach to curb this practice? The force of habit is such that even households with toilets have around forty percent of adults defecating in the open. But, does curbing open defecation necessarily lead to significant improvements in child health outcomes like diarrhoea, anaemia, parasite infection and growth?

Culture, recreation, and geology are some of the reasons people cite for visiting the Himalayas. You can literally get drenched in these topics in some of the waterfalls that the Northern Himalayas are home to. Read on to get the full scoop on places you can (and should!) visit. For the geeks among you, we have also explored a bit of the history and science behind it.

Vibrio cholerae is responsible for 100,000 -120,000 deaths annually, worldwide. [1] Commonly found in ponds, rivers and brackish areas, the bacterium finds its way into humans through contaminated food and water. And the result?

Mahananda, a major River of north Bihar rises in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It meets the Ganga after a journey of 376 km through the flat lands of Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh. It would spill its banks because of the flat slopes, causing deluge and waterlogging in the Katihar district of Bihar.

Santosh Gavale, a resident of Manyali village in Umarkhed tehsil of Yavatmal district, is a happy man now. The village, which has faced an increasing water crisis over the years, is now water sufficient because it manages its water resources well and shares it equitably. Santosh managed to do this for his village. 

Rapid urbanisation in various forms is set to transform the coastline of Tamil Nadu as real estate, infrastructure, tourism, and urban beautification plans are in full swing. Fisherfolk, whose everyday life and survival is rooted in the commons, are at the centre of these processes of coastal urbanisation.

Muneswar and more than 170 farmers in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh have no regrets after shifting over from traditional agricultural methods of farming to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method. Why would they? Most of them have been overwhelmed by the kind of returns they have got compared to their investments.