Swati Sanyal Tarafdar

I covered the World TB Conference organised by The Union in Hyderabad for BMJ and this article discusses the developments towards a new TB vaccine and several prohibitory systems that were proving successful.

They say that a healthy body grows a healthy mind. However, for me, it was the right mind-set that pushed me toward developing a healthy body. In the face of a recent health crisis, I chose to think about a fitness goal that could eventually contribute to personal growth, both at work and home. And it was a CrossFit workout, I realized, that brought me back from the brink of collapse helping me thus to turn my life around.
The scene
Growing up, my mother would force me to put my books aside a...

Colonel Rangi is descending a footpath through the woods, but he's not on a relaxing woodland stroll. He is acting as the on-site production controller for a film in Rishikesh, and the forest is humming with activity.
Production assistants hustle by Col. Rangi and various crew members ask for things via his radio headset. Craft services is asking what should be laid out for lunch, lighting needs a different length power cord, Shivani the assistant director is following up on an earlier reques...

An extended bungee cord framed against the blue sky. A dizzying look down over the edge of a platform. An aerial shot of lush trees. A view of the valley from a car window.
Out of sequence, these images, though beautiful, don't mean a whole lot. It's when they're sewn together that a story unfolds before your eyes.
At the helm of dual computer screens in a darkened room, Tushar Ghogale settles into his swivel chair for a long night of story crafting.
Adjusting the Focus
Tushar is a creative a...

Diwali is a pretty well-rounded festival when it comes to celebrations. On Diwali, we usher in hope, prosperity, mindfulness and the best in family health.
This is also the time for new beginnings (specifically when it comes to family health). There's a little bit of everything, for everyone. There's pretty lights, delicious food and, best of all, GIFTS!!What better way to set your loved one on a healthier path than a gift? Gifting, if done right, is a pretty powerful channel when it comes to...

Imagine you're heading out for the day. Now, ordinarily, one would've packed the usual suspects — the hairbrush, face wipes, loose change and credit cards. However, if you are a diabetic, getting ready for a day on-the-move needs a little bit more. You'll need to learn how to control diabetes. For starters, they won't all be things you can pack up in a bag and run-off to take on the day. If you've just been diagnosed, you'll need to understand how to control diabetes hour-by-hour. Your sugar ...

KOLKATA, India—Sonia Das is three-fourths the height of her opponent, yet on a sweltering mid-morning at the APC Park in eastern Kolkata, she punched and kicked with all her might. The first-ever kickboxing championship for girls at the neighborhood level, the Meyeder Para Kickboxing Championship, was underway at nine venues all over Kolkata and across eight categories.
About 2,000 kickboxers fought it out in the 10-day event in May for top positions. The main participants were school-aged gi...

When I decided to travel out of Kolkata to spend a weekend in Berhampore with relatives, my prime motivation was to sneak in some time to explore neighbouring Murshidabad (11km away), the erstwhile capital of Bengal that features extensively in the history of the state. At the time, I had little idea that I would find it difficult to tear myself away from the irresistible allure of Berhampore and its surroundings.
Family obligations over, I set off to see the town with my uncle. Over the next...

As the sun descended hurriedly, hiding behind the Shivalik range, the chill in the air became palpable. Hours earlier, I had disdainfully packed away my sweater in a handbag in the back of the car, overlooking the fact that the weather in the mountains can often be unpredictable. Thankfully, it took just another hour to reach Kandaghat.
Five long-time school-mates, who are now settled in various parts of the country and had been planning a reunion for a long time, had finally agreed upon a da...

The sky was a riot of red, yellow and orange hues, similar to the clothing the people around me were wearing. The sun that had disappeared behind a distant grove of trees moments ago, now dipped beneath the horizon. A cool breeze washed over the gathering, and, as if on cue, the numerous wooden and metal musical instruments that had been playing since late afternoon, raised their volume a few notches, injecting a sense of urgency into the gathering. It was time! Time for the goddess to come o...

My first authentic Hungarian goulash experience was actually in Trondheim, Norway, in the winter of 2007. Back then, I was a student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Klaudia, a PhD scholar, had very generously invited my friends and me to her house for dinner. This was right after we had met for the first time and on hearing that she was from Hungary, I had asked rather presumptuously if she knew how to cook goulash, a dish that I have a particular affinity for. Thank...

The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh needs a new capital, and the government wants to build it on the banks of the Krishna river. One woman is leading the fight against the development, which is slated to occupy some of the most fertile lands in the country.
NIDAMARRU, India – Jayamma Bactulla cut a striking figure at the public meeting in Lingayapalem, a village in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The 52-year-old jasmine grower sat in a plastic chair, wiping away sweat from her for...

I read The God of Small Things in 2016, almost nineteen years after it was published and after it was confirmed that Arundhati Roy’s second novel was getting dressed to make an appearance the following year. I couldn’t delay reading it any further.
When The God of Small Things was first published and it won the Booker Prize in 1997, I was in my first year of college. Contemporary books in English, with their relatively exorbitant price tags, at that time of yet-to-appear online bookstores, mo...

Varudu Nagaraju pores over a bunch of stapled, stamped papers belonging to the men sitting on the other side of the table in his two-roomed office. They want to buy property and need Nagaraju’s help with the registration process.

Nagaraju’s office is in Vijayawada, in Andhra Pradesh. There are an estimated 150,000-200,000 self-proclaimed document writers in the south-eastern state.

The Indian Registration Act stipulates that anyone buying property must register the transaction and documents a...

We moved haltingly in Hyderabad’s chock-a-block traffic till we reached the city’s outskirts. And then, quite suddenly, we were on a thin ribbon of clear metallic road. Rolls of dust wafted with us. Beyond our windows, the gradient ranged from gentle to steep, the hilly slopes dotted with boulders; the trees wilted and burnt out. A dry, barren, rocky stretch as far as the eye could see, sheltered and consoled by a deep blue sky above.
We were just 30km from the concrete city of Hyderabad, nea...