India

“For me, [Hanuman] was also a hero that lost faith in himself,” says director and star Dev Patel. “He didn’t have courage at one point and needed to be reminded of who he was.” 

How the Hindu Deity Hanuman Inspired Dev Patel's 'Monkey Man'

The story of the half-human, half-monkey god mirrors the journey of the protagonist in Patel's directorial debut

A reveler enjoys a playful and colorful water war in the streets of Jodhpur during the Holi festival.

Celebrate Holi With These 15 Vibrant Photos

Observed around the world, the Hindu Festival of Colors welcomes spring

A Neanderthal skull on display at the Natural History Museum, London. Many modern humans have inherited around 1 to 2 percent of their DNA from Neanderthals and their close relatives, Denisovans.

Modern Indian People Have a Wide Range of Neanderthal DNA, Study Finds

Genomes of Indian people today reveal links to a prehistoric migration and a group of Iranian farmers, as well as several new sequences from the Neanderthal genome

Asian elephants were observed burying calves between 3 months and 1 year old that had died after experiencing infections and malnutrition.

Asian Elephants Bury Their Dead, New Research Suggests

In India, five dead calves were found buried on their backs in irrigation ditches, with evidence that multiple herd members had participated in the burials

Verdun, Félix Edouard Vallotton, 1917

As Empires Clashed During World War I, a Global Media Industry Brought the Conflict's Horrors to the Public

An exhibition at LACMA traces the roots of modern media to the Great War, when propaganda mobilized the masses, and questions whether the brutal truths of the battlefield can ever really be communicated

Almost like an arrow, the somewhat triangular shape of the architectural framework points this pedestrian in the right direction.

Appreciate Awesome Architecture With These 15 Photos

No passport is needed for this virtual tour of beautiful buildings around the world

An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, India. The country has the highest rate of snakebite deaths in the world.

An Inside Look at the Effort to Curb Deadly Snakebites in India

With around 58,000 human deaths from snakebites each year in the country, a lot more must be done to save lives

Green tea's enduring popularity is reflected in the "teacup without handle" emoji (left). The "hot beverage" emoji (right) takes its cue from another tea tradition: black tea.

What Emoji Tell Us About the History of Tea

From ancient China to 20th-century America, the aromatic beverage has undergone a dramatic evolution

Boatmen off North Sentinel Island in 1998

A Century Before the Residents of a Remote Island Killed a Christian Missionary, Their Predecessors Resisted the British Empire

When a white clergyman tried to punish captive Andamanese for their supposed misdeeds, they slapped him back

Onlookers watch as a rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 spacecraft launches. The mission will study the sun's outer layers and the influence of solar activity on the solar system.

India Launches Mission to Study the Sun and Space Weather

The Aditya-L1 spacecraft will examine the star's outer layers and aim to shed light on its violent—and potentially damaging—storms

People in New Delhi celebrate India's successful landing of a spacecraft near the moon's south pole on Wednesday.

India Lands a Spacecraft Near the Moon's South Pole, a First in Lunar Exploration

No other mission has successfully touched down in this scientifically interesting moon region, which contains water ice in lunar craters

A video screenshot of a rocket carrying the Luna-25 spacecraft launching from Russia on August 11. The spacecraft aims to be the first to successfully land in the vicinity of the moon's south pole.

Russia Launches Its First Spacecraft to the Moon in Nearly 50 Years

The country now joins India in a race to make the first-ever successful soft landing near the lunar south pole

An aerial image of the banyan tree taken on August 10, 2023

Will Maui's Beloved 150-Year-Old Banyan Tree Survive the Scorching Wildfires?

Amidst the devastation of Lahaina, a coastal town in Maui, the tree is burned but still standing

The letter “x” often symbolizes something unknown, with an air of mystery that can be appealing.

A Brief History of the Letter 'X,' From Algebra to X-Mas to Elon Musk

A math historian explores how "x" came to stand in for an unknown quantity

Researchers found evidence of eight different spices on 12 stone tools at the Óc Eo archaeological complex in southern Vietnam.

Archaeologists Uncover Oldest Evidence of 'Curry' Outside of India

Ancient spice processing in Southeast Asia reveals an early trade of ingredients for dishes that Westerners often call “curry”

A woman drinking water on a hot day in Kolkata, India, in April 2023.

Extreme Heat Wave Hits India

In recent days, nearly 200 people have died across two of the country's most populous states

Natasha Poonawalla arrives on the red carpet in a sari for the Met Gala in May 2022.

The Evolution—and Reinvention—of the Sari

"The Offbeat Sari" explores the traditional garment's role in fashion, protest, sustainability and more

Examples of classical influences include Heracles' assimilation with Vajrapani, one of the Buddha's most faithful attendants, and illuminated manuscripts created in the Byzantine style by Christian monks in Ethiopia.

The Myth of the 'Dark Ages' Ignores How Classical Traditions Flourished Around the World

The author of a sweeping re-examination of Western history reveals the global reach of Greek and Roman antiquity

Researchers uncovered the two-foot-tall Buddha statue in Berenike.

Archaeologists Unearth Buddha Statue in Ancient Egyptian Port City

The new find sheds light on the rich trade relationship between Rome and India

The Smithsonian's podcast Sidedoor uncovers the climate change insights hidden in old paintings (above: Shivalal, Maharana Fateh Singh Crossing a River During the Monsoon (detail), c. 1893).

What Centuries-Old Indian Court Paintings Tell Us About Climate Change

This month’s Smithsonian podcasts include a deep dive into India’s monsoon weather patterns and discussion of animals in flight

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