How Colonial India Was Photographed, Classified and 'Typecast'
Through rare ethnographic photographs, the DAG exhibition Typecasting: Photographing the Peoples of India 1855–1920, examines how the British colonial project turned India’s immense diversity into rigid visual 'types'—and why those images continue to resonate today.
A Sitcom Writer's (Reluctant) Trip to the Titanic
In 2023, the submersible Titan imploded on its way to view the famous sunken ocean liner. A year earlier, our author—a sitcom writer—took the same trip. Here’s what he saw
The Case for Curiosity
Two trivia enthusiasts explore how wonder fades with age—and why asking questions might be the key to finding it again
The Strange Mathematics of Speaking Six Languages
A language lover gets put through the paces.
Narayani Basu's 10 Favourite Books of all Time
Historian and foreign policy analyst, Narayani Basu is the author of the critically acclaimed biography V. P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India (2020) and Allegiance: Azaadi and the End of Empire (2022). Her most recent release is A Man For All Seasons: The Life Of K. M. Panikkar.
The Cult of Amitabh, A Glimpse into the Making of an Indian Icon
An early-career profile of the India’s most beloved and enduring film actor whose following still verges on the incredible. From RD's April 1981 edition
Syros: Greece's Gift to the World
The Aegean island is eager to welcome visitors—but on its own terms.
Good News: Stepwell Revivals, The World is Smoking Less, and More
Heartwarming, world-shaking, awe-inspiring and straight-up happy-making reasons to smile
Adrift On An Endless Sea
When the current swept Nathan and Kim Maker far from their dive boat, all they had was each other.
Old Ben Franklin and His Miserable Maxims
This delightful—and virtually unknown—spoof was written by one of America’s greatest humorists. Can you guess who?
The Cat Who brought a Community Together
How one friendly feline turned a street of strangers into a family
Love Amid Danger: When Villagers Protected Five Indian POWs from German Soldiers during WWII
The little-known story of five Indian soldiers who escaped from a World War II German camp, and the strangers in an Italian village who risked their lives to keep them safe
Before the Camera: How Patna Qalam Captured Everyday India
Once carried to Britain as souvenirs, Patna Qalam paintings captured daily 18th-century life in India with rare tenderness. An recent exhibition in Patna revived this art tradition on home ground