The desert is not a no man’s land but the land of nomads. The best known among these are the Tuareg, also called the ‘blue people’, in reference to the colour of the veil (tagelmust) with which the men cover their faces, or ‘desert warriors’, in reference to the sword (takuba) they carry. A glance…

In the south of Madagascar live the Bara, a cluster of 18 ethnic groups that share language and culture. They live in an arid land, where agriculture cannot thrive, and so they developed an economy based on husbandry. They also developed an interesting relationship with death and the deceased. The Bara claim that death is…

It is an herbaceous food legume belonging to the plant family Fabaceae. It can either be short and bushy or a vine climbing along supports or trailing along the ground. It shows considerable adaptation to warm climates with adequate rainfall and is cultivated across Southeast Asia, Africa, Southern United States and Latin America. The plant…