The country needs to build 2.3 million (23 lakh) toilets every month – or a formidable 56 toilets every minute – to meet the government’s target, the report said. Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mega Swachchagraha campaign, that aims at building a toilet for every home till by 2019, lagging far behind its target? A survey carried out by Down to Earth Hindi magazine claims even Modi’s own Varanasi constituency […]

He has already played God onscreen so it was only natural that he would be the man to explore “The Story of God” and Hollywood superstar Morgan Freeman, who traveled to seven countries for the documentary, says he found his stay in Varanasi “extremely fascinating”. Being one of the prominent religious and spiritual centres of India for centuries, Varanasi was one of the key destinations for Freeman. “I found Varanasi […]

Picture this: It’s modern day Varanasi. Sunny Deol plays a pious Sanskrit teacher, Sakshi Tanwar his motor-mouth wife, and Ravi Kissen, a tour guide specifically for foreigners. Deol still considers Varanasi a holy city and is bitter about the people who flock to the city to smoke ganja, turn the ghats into a ‘picnic spot’ and Ganga into a ‘swimming pool’. Punctuate this with heaps of gaalis, a comedy of […]

 Varanasi  A retired cobbler from northern India, Mahashta Mûrasi, claims he was born in January 1835, making him not only the oldest man on earth, but the oldest to have ever lived, according to the Guiness World Records. According to indian officials, the man was born at home in the city of Bangalore on January 6th 1835, and is recorded to have lived in Vârânasî since 1903. He worked as […]

In Pic :Mua Kuvar Tiwari lies on a wooden cot in an incense-filled room at a home for the dying in the holy city of Varanasi. Her family brought her here to attain salvation for her soul. Varanasi, India A10-hour journey on Indian roads can be difficult and this one, fueled by faith, was more so. Dinesh Chandra Mishra packed moth-eaten woolen blankets for the trip along with muslin and […]