Art

When Maria Josephine’s 5-month-old daughter Priya was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, this mother took on the challenge of giving her daughter an independent life. But that is not all she did – over the years she became a certified special educator to help other kids with this condition and created awareness among hundreds of parents, hospitals, anganwadi workers, and more.

From a Heritage Festival in Pune, to the Guwahati Queer Pride and an Indo-Turkish Festival, there's so much to do this week.

Tigers, treetops and a girl with flowing tresses -- all these and more greet commuters embarking on trains at the Govindpuri Metro Station in Delhi these days. The man behind the colourful makeover is artist Agostino Iacurci from Rome.

Here is a list of websites that engage artisans and are also a treasure trove of knowledge on the various handicrafts and arts in India.

Kishore Pratim Biswas, a Mumbai-based artist, is working on several paintings for a series called the 'Nostalgia of Steam Locomotives'. It is based on his childhood memories from the time when he used to watch steam locomotives near his house every day, and was awed by their beauty. Here are 10 brilliant pictures from his collection.

A sofa made out of the discarded portion of an Ambassador car, a table made with the help of a tractor, rugs made of old gunny bags, and so many other handmade products – welcome to the super creative workshop of PRiti International. Started by a Jodhpur-based couple in 2005, it is a company that takes waste material and turns it into something very useful and unique. Have a look at their brilliant work.

Meet the Jangid family – the woodcarving artists of Jaipur who specialise in sandalwood miniature carvings. Mahesh Jangid, and his sons, Rohit and Mohit Jangid, use the simplest tools like small iron sticks, knives, and chisels to carve with extreme precision on very small objects. For this family, it is a tradition that has been passed from one generation to another, and something that they highly honour.

Ramesh, a graduate of IIT Madras, has designed an innovative Music Chakra to help anyone, with or without music knowledge, to very easily learn and play music – be it Carnatic, Hindustani or Western music.

Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, introduced the Persian craft of wooden toy making to the small town of Channapatna, around 200 years ago. Today, when the survival of many Indian arts and crafts is bleak, this small town is seeing the revival of this art form – with a touch of modernity.

Bored of going to the same concerts and events everyone else is attending? We present to you a list of 10 offbeat and mesmerising Indian music festivals that you simply cannot miss. Pack your bags and plan your travel to these festivals now!