Since the time sewing machine was invented, it has been synonymous with survival and liberation of women across cultures. A thread on few powerful images of women around the globe with her humble sewing machine - 1/n
#1 Refugee women in Peshawar carrying her sewing machine - 2/n
#2 A Mahafaly woman carrying a sewing machine on her head. Southern Madagascar - 3/n
#3 A Muslim woman carrying a sewing machine in Kuwait, 1955 - 4/n
#4 Woman with a sewing machine, Bassar, Togo. Remember, a cast iron sewing machine would weigh from anywhere between 20 and 30Lb (By DEA / M. BORCHI) - 5/n
#5 A Woman walking with her Sewing Machine on her head in the 1970s, fearing it might be damaged by potential attacks in Tripoli, Libya (By Keystone-France) - 6/n
#6 A woman makes her way through downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, carrying her sewing machine on her head, 2003 (By ROBERT SULLIVAN) - 7/n
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Kolkata’s iconic tram system, since 1873, is nearing its end as the Govt. plans to discontinue most routes. Kolkata—India’s last city with a functioning tram system—will now only keep one route operational. A thread of images from the golden days of #KolkataTram 1/18
Above: Car 205 was converted to normal layout in about 1970, and is seen here thus altered on 3 June 1977.
The car is on the roadside reservation on Kidderpore Road, and has just passed a "K" class car.
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"Sundari/De Luxe" class car 587 was the last of its type to be built (in 1976). It is seen here approaching Esplanade on 2 June 1977; the livery is two-tone blue with black and white trim.
(T. V. Runnacles) 3/18
Team India has just made history with a rare double gold at the #ChessOlympiad2024 in Budapest, dominating both the men's and women's events. This is the perfect time to look back at the fascinating story of India’s first chess superstar. Thread 1/16
Mir Sultan Khan was born in 1903 (alt. 1905) in Sargodha of present day Pakistan in a family of religious preachers. His initiation into the game of chess happened at the age of 9 through his father (2/16)
By the time he was 21, Mir Sultan was acknowledged as the best chess player in the entire Punjab province (3/16)
Every year, millions rely on a procedure that’s simple, non-invasive, and life-saving: Endoscopy. It's used to diagnose everything from stomach issues to cancer. But did you know its roots trace back to an ancient Indian circus art? Thread.
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Endoscopy—a flexible tube with a camera to look inside the body—has revolutionized healthcare. But what if I told you it was inspired by something as wild as sword swallowing? Don't miss the full deep dive into this incredible story in our latest YouTube video! Now read on. 2/9
Sword swallowing, a 4,000-year-old Indian art, was once a symbol of spiritual and physical mastery. Fakirs, or holy men, perfected the dangerous feat of sliding blades down their throats without injury. This skill spread across the world. 3/9
The image below depicts The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai a renowned artwork from Japan's Edo period. Hokusai used a vibrant dye known as Prussian blue to bring the waves to life. But what does this have to do with the color of your living room?Let us explain 1/17
The shade was created by accident in 1704 in Berlin by a dye maker Johann Jacob Diesbach. When the shade became popular in the mid-18th century a German chemist created his own formula for the Prussian blue and started selling it in London. 2/17
He was Louis Steigenberger, head of Louis Berger and Sons, a chemical company based out of England. Over time, the Berger Prussian Blue became popular and was coveted by fashionistas and was used for military uniforms in major countries like France and Germany. 3/17
Long before the cacophony reached the TV studios of ‘New India’, a newspaper in Bombay took sensationalism to a new high and defined a whole era of tabloid writing. But how is this related to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre? Let us explain. 1/22
On May 10, 1943, a notice was issued to the editor, publisher, and printer of a daily newspaper known as the "Bombay Sentinel" concerning a comment which appeared in its issue of April 28, 1943. The editor at the time was a man called Benjamin Guy Horniman. 2/22
Horniman, 67, at the time, had a unique disposition of getting on the nerves of the authorities. How? It all relates to a horrific incident that happened in Amritsar in 1919, which shook the very foundations of British India. 3/22
In these dark and desolate times, hope is in short supply. In the quest for light at the end of the tunnel, we were reminded of similar times when a common man rose among the ruins and made a positive difference to countless lives (1)
The story begins about 25 years ago in Sutia – a village in Gaighata block of N24 Parganas district of West Bengal. In the late 90s, a reign of terror pervaded Sutia and other adjacent villages (2)
A dastardly mob of goons did as they pleased with the women of the villages. Between 2000 and 2002, as per official records, 33 rapes and 12 murders were committed. Locals alleged the real number was much higher (3)