A hot water spring, also known as a thermal spring, is a natural discharge of hot water from the earth.

The festival has its origins in the combination of two different medieval events. Commercial secular fairs were held at the beginning of the summer.

A hippie, especially one advocating universal peace and love as antidotes to social or political ills, is called a flower child.

Gross spread refers to the difference between the underwriting price received by a stocks-issuing company, and the real price at which the stock is placed on the market.

Many Asian martial arts trace their origins to the fifth century and the supposed arrival of an Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidarma, at the Shoalin temple in southern China.

There exists no evidence to support the popular view that pirates wore a black patch over one eye.

Simply known as Paleo, the Paleo Festival de Nyon started out small in 1976. It was known as the Nyon Folk Festival then.

A non-profit, open source initiative, FOSS stands for Free and Open Source Software. It is an alternative model of software development, one the non-profit sector is beginning to embrace.

The helicopter shot is an unorthodox cricket shot, reportedly invented by Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The SoHo effect is a term used to describe artist-led gentrification. Homes occupied by artists turn an area into a safe residential neighbourhood for affluent people to move into.

Covid-19 lockdown: Migrant workers, family walk back from Ahmedabad to their native place in UP's Lalitpur

Desi jugad: How to pluck mangoes without letting them fall

Google celebrates Mother's Day with a Doodle

Forces have to get rid of their dependence on foreign weapon systems: General Bipin Rawat

Vande Bharat Mission: Indians in US ready to be rescued

After slamming door on Air India crews, Noida Authority takes back order

Scuffle breaks out between Indian and Chinese army near Naku La in Sikkim

When 'Beta', the movie, was released in 1992, it catapulted Madhuri Dixit to fame as the 'dhak-dhak' girl. But it also raised an old and important question about why men appear to be blind to the fact that their mothers can ever be wrong.

If you really think about it, it all boils down to money. Twenty- seven-year-old Sheena Jog, a product designer based in New Delhi, says at least two of the last three fights she had with her husband were over their "hard-earned" money.

Rakesh Gauria, 21, and his wife Saroj, 21, are living happily ever after. It could easily have been otherwise. Both of them belong to Chautala village, in the badlands of Haryana, where khaps or self-styled courts hound and kill couples that dare to marry within the same village.

Blame it on the British. When India names its children, the mother's side of the family is all but forgotten. The children are given the father's surname.

Women at war is part of Indian history, from Jhansi Ki Rani to Rani Durgawati to Razia Sultan. But they weren’t part of modern India's war strategy till very recently. Independent India’s Army restricted women to the medical corps, dental corps and the nursing service.

Israel believes it is constantly at war, facing an existential crisis in a sea of hatred. The national narrative is clear and society's expectations of the young are rigid.

Poonam Malik is a typical 'Haryanvi bahu', head demurely covered with a dupatta, a shy introvert woman, busy with household chores in her joint family of 15. She covers her face with a 'ghunghat' if elders come visiting.

The room is crowded, there's loud music and the liquor is flowing freely. One face catches the eye. Her hair falls onto, barely offering a glimpse of come-hither brown eyes.

There are stories. And there are remarkable stories. And then there are people who write remarkable stories. Perhaps Pulitzer-prize winning writer Geeta Anand belongs to the third category.

"Cause we are living in a material world and I am a material girl" crooned Madonna in the Eighties. Fast forward to the 21st century, and we all know there is more to a marriage than love. Today's woman has become assertive about more than her rights. She also makes known her likes and dislikes with the result that society labels her as materialistic.

Parliament recently amended the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act to give it more teeth and enable the ASI to effectively protect and develop the 4000 monuments it looks after. Conservationists have raised a cheer. But more is required to enforce the law.

Photographs get morphed; contact numbers from stolen mobiles are used to stalk; confidential emails and text messages become grounds for bullying.

When Fatima Chhipa leaves home, in the congested by-lanes of the Belan Market area, she carries her work trousers and shirt in a plastic bag.

The typical family drama in the TV soap or the Bollywood flick revolves around weddings and property disputes.

Oncologists say the awareness of breast cancer is limited to cities. And when women are aware, the stigma attached to it prevents them from speaking out openly.

Is the Punjabi kudi as brash as some make her out to be? What lies beyond the Kashmiri’s serene beauty?

It’s not just us. Women in every country are defined by stereotype

There is little to distinguish Kamalasagar, a sleepy hamlet in Tripura's Sipahijala district, from the hundreds of villages that line the state's border with Bangladesh. But it is no ordinary village.

It all started with an honest Facebook post.

In 1994-95, as part of a national campaign, I travelled through hundreds of Indian villages, mofussil towns and cities, explaining how miracle-mongers make sly use of chemicals and herbs and exploit the ignorance of common people about certain natural phenomena to fool the gullible and win their unquestioning devotion.

All over the country, bookshops are closing down. And all over the country, litfests are springing up. So there is a paradox for you.

Along the TN and Kerala coast, fishermen turned surf instructors are helping local boys stay in school and off drugs.