The Indian Labourers Who Crossed an Ocean to Mauritius
In September 1834, thirty-six people pressed their thumbs to a Bengali contract in Calcutta and sailed for a sugar estate...
The Indian Nannies Who Were Left Behind in London
Indian ayahs nursed British children across the oceans, and some were dismissed the day the ship docked. A house in...
The Ship That Took India’s First Girmit Workers to Fiji
In 1879 the sailing ship Leonidas left Calcutta with 498 people bound for Fiji. Their emigration passes are numbered 1...
The Indian Sailors Who Reached Britain but Couldn’t Get Home
In October 1840, twenty-five sailors from a Calcutta ship were carried aboard a hospital hulk at Greenwich, many with scurvy....
The Ship That Brought India’s Workers to Trinidad in 1845
On 30 May 1845 a teak ship from Calcutta anchored off Port of Spain. A clerk in Trinidad numbered its...
How Mumbai’s Dabbawalas Delivered Lunch Without GPS
A lunchbox in Mumbai carries no name and no address, only a few painted letters and numbers. For more than...
Before Mobile Phones, India Waited at a Yellow STD Booth
In 1988 the government let ordinary shopkeepers sell long-distance calls, and a small meter with a paper receipt made it...
How Udupi Restaurants Became Part of India’s City Life
In the 1920s a young man from a village near Udupi was grinding idli batter in a Madras eating house....
Why India’s One-Rupee Note Has a Different Signature
Every Indian banknote is signed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank, except one. The one-rupee note says Government of...
Why India Put Six Numbers After Every Address
India had two Bilaspurs, two Kotas and letters addressed in a dozen scripts. On 15 August 1972 the post office...
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Explore the soul of India, that is Bharat with Curious Indian. A definitive guide to Indian history, arts, culture, biographies, and the events that defined our present.