Traditions6 min read
A Morning at the Ghats
A slow walk from Assi to Dashashwamedh at first light, with the boatmen, bathers, yoga teachers, and sweepers who make a Varanasi morning.
Anjali Rai·
The archive
The culture of Purvanchal, in six threads
Festivals and traditions, art and textiles, cuisine and music — the pillars of a layered, living cultural life.
2 stories
Festivals
Chhath, Dev Deepawali, Holi, and the regional calendars that shape the year.
3 stories
Traditions
Everyday customs, rites of passage, and community life.
0 stories
Art & Craft
Weaving, woodwork, metal craft, painting, and the artisans who carry them forward.
1 story
Cuisine
Litti-chokha, thekua, malaiyo, kachori-sabzi, and the seasonal kitchens of the region.
2 stories
Music
Kajri, Birha, Sohar, Nirgun — Bhojpuri traditions from courtyards to stages.
1 story
Textiles
Banarasi silk, regional weaves, dyes, and the weaver communities of the Ganges plain.
Across culture
Recent stories
Music6 min read
Kajri Season
Kajri is a song for the monsoon, and the monsoon is a song for women whose husbands have gone away. An essay on one of the great seasonal forms of Bhojpuri music.
Editorial Team·
Traditions6 min read
Sarnath: The First Turning
The Dhamek Stupa, Ashokan remains, and the modern-day monasteries of Sarnath — a visitor's guide that takes the site on its own terms.
Editorial Team·
Traditions7 min read
Jaunpur: Mosques and the Sharqi Century
Atala, Jama, and Lal Darwaza — the three great Sharqi mosques of Jaunpur, and a short history of the Sultanate that produced them.
Editorial Team·
Cuisine7 min read
Flavours of Purvanchal
Litti-chokha, thekua, kachori-sabzi, malaiyo — a walk through the kitchens and street carts of Purvanchal, dish by dish.
Kavita Singh·
Music8 min read
Bhojpuri Music: Roots and Rhythms
A primer on the song-forms of Purvanchal — Kajri, Birha, Sohar, Nirgun, Chaita — where they are sung, who sings them, and what they are really about.
Editorial Team·