Indian Barber Cuts Hair Holding the Scissors in His Mouth
Ansar Ahmad, a young barber from Varanasi, has become somewhat of a national celebrity after a video of him cutting hair with the scissors in his mouth recently went viral online. From barbers using samurai swords and hot metal tongs to cut hair, to others practicing their trade blindfolded or sitting on their heads, we’ve […]
Manipur’s All-Women Market – Over 4000 Shopkeepers and Not One Man Among Them
Literally translating to ‘Mother’s Market’, Ima Keithel is Asia’s largest all-women market, where all the stalls are run exclusively by women. Located in the heart of Imphal, in the Indian state of Manipur, the 500-year-old vibrant bazaar has 4,000-odd local women trading with thousands of customers each day. The market also serves as a meeting […]
Krishna’s Butter Ball – A Precariously Perched 250-Ton Boulder Defying the Laws of Physics
For over 1,300 years, this large rock has been confounding the locals of Mahabalipuram, a beach town near Chennai, in Southern India. The mysterious landmark is perched on hill at a 45-degree angle, balancing off an extremely small surface area without slipping or even budging an inch. Men and even elephants have tried moving it from […]
Restaurant Owner Installs Outdoor Fridge for the Homeless to Pick Up Free Food From
Minu Pauline, a restaurant owner from Kochi, in southern India, recently made news headlines not for her culinary expertise but her awe-inspiring generosity. She maintains a fully stocked, unlocked refrigerator outside her restaurant, filled with free fresh meals for the homeless. Minu, whose popular food joint Pappadavada has been operating since 2013, was struck by the sight of […]
Roadside Education – Indian Factory Worker Opens Street School to Teach Slum Kids
For the past 15 years, factory owner Kamal Parmar has been running an after-school program for slum kids in Ahmedabad, India, helping them with basic skills like reading and writing and even preparing for their school tests. Parmar’s story begins one afternoon 15 years ago. He was standing outside his metal fabrication workshop, near the […]
How India’s “Menstruation Man” Changed the Lives of Millions of Women
Meet Arunachalam Muruganantham, an award-winning social entrepreneur from Coimbatore, India, better known as the nation’s ‘Menstruation Man’. Deeply disturbed by the unhygienic menstruation practices among women in rural India, Muruganantham took it upon himself to find a solution to the problem. After several years of hard work, he invented a machine that women can use […]
Indian Army Applicants Take Exam in Underwear to Prevent Cheating
In an extreme attempt to prevent cheating during a written exam, Indian Army in the state of Bihar has asked over 1,000 applicants to strip to their underwear and take the test outdoors. Images published by Indian media show the naked men in an open field trying to complete the test by holding the sheets of […]
World’s Cheapest Smartphone – Indian Company Launches $3.67 Handheld
Indian company Ringing Bells is making waves in the tech industry with its latest product, the ridiculously cheap ‘Freedom 251’ smartphone priced at an unbelievable 251 rupees ($3.67). Despite the phone’s low price, the company is promising a host of swanky features like 8GB storage, 8MP and 3.2MP primary and secondary cameras, pattern lock with face detection, […]
Indian Police to Use Slingshots and Chilli Balls as Crowd Control Weapons
In a bid to better control unruly crowds that gather during protests, police in northern India have decided to replace their modern arsenal with rudimentary weapons like slingshots and chili powder balls. The decision was made after they realised that these “non-lethal” options might prove to be more effective than water cannons or tear gas. “It […]
Indian Girl Has Ants Crawling Out of Her Ears Every Day
12-year-old Shreya Darji, from the state of Gujarat in western India, is suffering from a bizarre case of ants. Giant ants crawl out of her ears every single day, much to the bafflement of her parents and doctors. They have no idea where the ants are coming from or how to make them stop. The […]
India’s Love Commandos – The Vigilantes Protecting Young Couples Against Prejudice
Marrying for love is still taboo in many parts of India, especially outside the boundaries of caste or religion. But there are people who do sympathize with young couples, like the Love Commandos, a four-man activist organisation based in the nation’s capital, New Delhi. Their mission is to help couples elope and start a new […]
Meet India’s Moonwalking Traffic Cop
Kunwar Ranjeet Singh, a self-confessed Michael Jackson fan, is also India’s most fascinating traffic cop. Drawing inspiration from his idol, he ‘moonwalks’ his way through his daily duties in one of the busiest intersections of the city of Indore, in central India. The ‘dancing cop of Indore’ has actually come up with several routines to help […]
Hiware Bazar – India’s Miracle Village
The residents of Hiware Bazar, a remote village in the Ahmednagar district of the state of Maharashtra, India have managed to turn their fortune around in the span of just a few years – they’ve gone from being a drought-stricken populace in the mid-1990s to the richest village in the nation today. Their story is a […]
The Indian Village That Took Up Chess as an Alternative to Drinking
The people of Marottichal, a sleepy little village in the state of Kerala in southern India, have a rather unusual passion for chess. Believe it or not, they’re all chess enthusiasts. Their love for the game is such that even when they’re not playing, they’re talking strategy all the time. But villagers weren’t always interested in the checkered […]
The Artistic Water Tanks of Punjab
The state of Punjab, in northern India, is well known for its rich, vibrant culture, including great food, music, and dance. But what most people don’t know is that the Indian state is also home to some of the most extravagant water tanks in the world. The concrete structures that the people of Punjab use to […]