In the town of Jaisalmer in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Patwon Ki Haveli shimmers in the haze of the Thar Desert, not far from its famed golden fort. With intricately carved balconies, courtyards where shadows dance as light filters through latticed windows, and rooms that echo with history, this traditional sandstone house, or haveli, was built by a wealthy local trader in 1805.  “Growing up not far from this haveli, I was in awe of it, and it was one of the reasons I decided to become an architect,” 29-year-old Riya Bissa says.  But over the years, Bissa felt it had “lost its relevance for the people living around it.” To address this, she organized a series of community events as part of World Heritage Day last April — walks, art contests and an exhibition in one of the haveli’s exquisite courtyards. “I felt the old building come to life when it was used and enjoyed by the community,” she says. “It was wonderful.”  A passer-by walks through the gates of the Fort of St Jerome in Daman in western India. Photo courtesy of Amit Pasricha / India Lost and Found This wasn’t the first time Bissa had dedicated time to helping honor India’s historic buildings. For the last few years, she has volunteered with India Lost and Found (ILF), a crowdsourced photo project that celebrates India’s heritage. Looking beyond the country’s famous monuments like the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort, the initiative documents the country’s vast reserve of lesser-known but still charismatic old monuments. This is important, its founder Amit Pasricha says, not only to create a digital archive that will inform and drive conservation, but also because the crowdsourcing of this information is “creating a new generation of people passionate about history.” Pasricha is a professional photographer best known for his panoramic shots of Indian monuments. The idea of ILF came to him while he was working on his book India at Home. Travelling through India’s backroads, he found himself drawn not just to grand palaces and majestic tombs, but to what lay in their shadows: Weathered temples, ancient stepwells, crumbling havelis and more.  “The Archeological Survey of India has more than 2,500 historical monuments on its list, but barely a couple of hundred are visited,” Pasricha says. “They remain unvisited, undocumented, unseen […] and that’s a huge part of our heritage that we’re missing out on.”  Initially, Pasricha set out to photograph them himself. But it soon became clear that no single person could possibly capture them all. That’s when the idea of crowdsourcing emerged: What if citizens could help build a map of India’s forgotten past — and, in creating it, make the past a little more relevant to the present. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] Launched in 2018, ILF began as an archive of photographs that Pasricha had taken to which anyone with a camera phone who came across an interesting old ruin in their neighborhood could also contribute. The renowned photographer travelled to universities and colleges across the country to gain support for the project and recruit volunteers. He mentored students to express themselves through the camera, and provided them a platform to present their work in exhibitions throughout India. Additionally, the project collaborated with colleges to hold heritage walks and photo exhibitions, encouraging young people to explore the architecture around them.  But ILF’s biggest focus has been on social media. Its Instagram account (which has over 86.9k followers) posts photographs almost every day, sometimes more, and regularly hosts quizzes, exhibitions and photo competitions. Bissa is designated a “bird feeder” at ILF because she has been tasked with seeding its social media with posts that people from her generation might respond to. “For instance, I link monuments to popular films that were shot there as it always garners interest,” she says. “We’re constantly brainstorming about how to make [historical buildings] relevant to modern youth.” The Bara Imambara in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Photo courtesy of India Lost and Found The impact of ILF’s outreach can be gauged by the fact that, every month, 30 to 35 new volunteers sign up. At present, the project has about 500 people volunteering in different Indian cities and towns. Old Delhi-based lawyer Ishita Jain, the legal head of ILF who began volunteering after she too discovered the project on Instagram, says that volunteerism is crucial to their work and objectives. “Volunteers write stories about heritage structures, fact-check stories written by others and send them to our ILF experts to be vetted,” she says, adding that researching every new site needs over 10 days of sifting through archival records, historical research and more. Their experts include historians like Swapna Liddle and Rana Safvi, and a host of architects, craft and heritage activists, designers and even a cultural anthropologist. Once checked and edited, the stories and images are then added to ILF’s social handles and to the growing archive in the form of a digital map that Pasricha hopes to launch in 2026.  Documenting ancient structures is not just about nostalgia or art, which is what drew Pasricha’s lens to them in the first place. Globally, visual records have proven crucial in guiding restoration and conservation. In Syria, French start-up Iconem has used drones to take thousands of photographs of historically important sites like Palmyra and Aleppo that have been damaged or destroyed by the war, to create digital reconstructions. In Nepal, the Digital Archeology Foundation, which makes digital 3D models to aid future restoration work, has taken digital photos and videos of old structures that were damaged or destroyed by the 2015 earthquake.  The Serai Nurmahal 17th-century rest house, or inn, in Nurmahal, Punjab. Photo courtesy of India Lost and Found In India too, such visual archives are finding their way into official use for structural assessments and as templates for restoration.“They are a baseline record,” Pasricha says. “Once a structure is documented, it exists — digitally, visually — but you can’t protect what you don’t know exists.”  Consequently, the objective of ILF’s work is to help people living around historical structures to understand their value and be proud of them, as many are still in use as homes, temples, or community spaces. This is what Bissa was aiming to achieve when she organized the World Heritage Day celebrations inside Patwon Ki Haveli. “It’s not enough for tourists to appreciate a monument,” she says. “I was thinking of how to get the neighbors to enjoy the haveli and feel proud that something like this exists in their vicinity.”  But running a volunteer-driven project that ignites passion for dusty relics in the hearts of the young is challenging, especially as it often feels like a race against time.  Every day, Pasricha says, they hear of centuries-old structures collapsing from age, or because they are standing in the way of development. But ILF tries to train its lens on the monuments that remain, not the ones that have lost the inevitable battle with time. Like Bissa, he believes that if more volunteers work across the country to instill pride in old monuments, their objective has been fulfilled. “When young people really see and appreciate them, they will organically feel the need to preserve them,” he says.  The project, presently self-funded, would have progressed much faster if they had financial support. “The volunteer model has worked beautifully without funding,” Pasricha says. “But I’ve had to invest my own money into developing the app with the digital map.” ILF needs, but has not managed to find, institutional and philanthropic donors who, as Pasricha puts it, “are willing to support the project without wanting some stake in it.”  By this, he is referring to the growing politicization of history across the world, as evidenced in India as well as the United States. In an executive order issued in March 2025, President Trump decreed the reinstatement of public monuments, memorials, statues and other historical structures that — in the words of the order — “have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.” Only time will tell what this presidential order will mean for the architectural heritage of the United States.  Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime But Pasricha and ILF remain staunchly apolitical, driven purely by passion for built heritage. Jain, a busy lawyer who says she likes to “unwind after work by researching new monuments for ILF,” says that their aim is to make real history — not political or fictional renderings of it — come to life for Gen Z. On ILF’s Instagram page, mosques and temples, palaces and havelis, tombs and pleasure gardens all appear in no particular order, or any specific theme.  Jain says her biggest high comes from discovering an archaic gem hidden in plain sight. “And then I imagine how many such incredible places are waiting to be explored across India.” The post The Nationwide Photo Project Preserving India’s Architecture appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

Carol Burnett is Hollywood royalty and a comedic genius. She began her acting career in the 1950s and has given us some of the biggest laughs we’ve ever had. Her 1976 Went with the Wind sketch from The Carol Burnett Show is one of the funniest things to ever appear on network television. Carol’s love for entertaining and bringing characters to life helped her career sustain for decades. Carol recently joined comedian Kristen Wiig for the Palm Royale finale event and helped pull off a huge surprise. As 92-year-old Carol Burnett sat on stage, they brought out one of her most iconic co-stars as a huge surprise. @spillsesh Carol Burnett surprised with Bernadette Peters at the Palm Royale finale event #appletv #palmroyale #carolburnett ♬ original sound – Spill Sesh Carol Burnett Co-Stared with Bernadette Peters in Annie As Bernadette Peters walked on stage, Carol Burnett looked both stunned and delighted to see her former co-star. The pair appeared together in the classic 1982 musical Annie. Bernadette, who has an incredible voice, paid tribute to her dear friend by singing the theme to The Carol Burnett Show. Carol always ended her show with the song and the line, “I’m so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh or sing a song.” As Bernadette sang the classic song, it’s easy to see why anyone there would’ve become misty. But what she did at the very end made everyone emotional. Bernadette Peters turned to her former co-star and tugged on her ear, the same move Carol Burnett made after every episode of her show. That signature tug served as a message of love to Carol’s grandmother. A video of the sweet moment appeared on TikTok, and fans fell in love all over again. “I’m crying. The Carol Burnett show is on Pluto tv and I watched it on repeat during covid and it’s truly so amazing,” a fan shared. “Carol was absolutely gobsmacked! I’m so glad Bernadette did this for her,” another person shared. This story’s featured image can be found here.

An engagement is one of the most exciting times of a couple’s life. Sometimes, it happens spontaneously, and for others, the moment is months in the making and a huge secret. No matter how the proposal happens, everything becomes a blur when you ask, and they say, “Yes!” Sarah’s Gross’ boyfriend asked her out on a date during the holiday season in 2024. She put on her most festive snowman sweater vest. When Chris Robertson arrived to pick her up, he asked Sarah to change her clothes. In the moment, she was a bit heartbroken and offended, but that all changed later that day. Little did Sarah know that Chris had an elaborate proposal planned. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sarah Gross (@sarahgrossmusic) Chris Hired a Photographer for the Surprise Proposal Sarah shared a video on Instagram recently wearing the snowman vest. Text on the video reads, “1 year ago I told my boyfriend that he was ‘trying to dim my sparkle’ when he asked me to change out of this shirt before we went out for our date… he was proposing to me.” Then, Sarah showed off her gorgeous diamond engagement ring. She explained to People she had no idea what was about to happen. “In the nicest way possible Chris said, ‘Maybe you want to wear something a little nicer for when we go out to lunch?’” Sarah shared. “I was genuinely taken aback because he’s never suggested I change any of my silly clothes, and I have a lot of them! When Sarah and Chris finally got to the Montauk Lighthouse, and Chris got down on one knee, and she saw the photographer, it “clicked.” She said Chris knows her so well and that she would want “nice pictures of that moment, without the sweater overshadowing the moment itself.” People love Sarah and Chris’ proposal story, and many could relate. “Mine asked me if I wanted to wear ‘something nicer’ on a hike so I wore neon socks, a backwards cap, and a shirt with my bitmoji with a shirt on with his bitmoji,” someone wrote. “I got engaged in a bright orange sports bra showing for this exact same reason queen,” another person admitted. This comment made us laugh. “i’m learning from this….maybe sometimes it’s okay to listen to men,” a follower wrote. Congratulations to Chris and Sarah. We love your proposal story and hope you have the happiest life together. This story’s featured image can be found here.

So many of us have the desire to compartmentalize our personality traits into neat little boxes. "Oh, she's such an INFJ. Oh, he's such a Gemini." Some of it is rooted (well sort of) in psychology, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, based loosely on Jungian ideas. Others rely on arguably less scientific data like stars and "rising signs." Humans aren't usually that simple.That said, there's still value in understanding one's own personality and inclinations. Here's a confession: I've taken countless personality tests because I just couldn't figure out if I was an extrovert or an introvert. Neither description quite fit, and as someone constantly trying to understand what makes me tick, this has been frustrating.Turns out, there are other options. The term "ambivert" got popularized in the 1930s (after being coined by Edmund S. Conklin in 1923), and it refers to a person "who has features of both an introvert (someone who prefers to spend time alone) and an extrovert (someone who prefers to be with other people) in their personality." @tedtoks Replying to @Factura? now knowing what an ambivert is, how would you describe yourself? #ambivert #introvert #extrovert #adamgrant #psychology #TEDTalk #worklife But for those who still don't quite relate, meet the otrovert. Just recently, psychiatrist Rami Kaminski published The Gift of Not Belonging, in which he discusses his coined term to describe a whole new type of personality. In an Insta-reel captioned "What is an Otrovert?" Kaminski mentions the polarization of introverts and extroverts. "When Jung invented the terms extrovert and introvert, he saw them as two fundamental orientations of the personality. I see the otrovert in the same way. A personality trait that faces away from the group."He continues, "Extroverts and introverts are inherently communal, while the otrovert is an outsider to the group. In itself, it is not a problem or condition, nor is it a diagnostic label. It simply means that while most people learn to develop a sense of belonging to a specific group through social conditioning, otroverts remain social but not communal." See on Instagram In writer Sarjna Rai's piece, "Struggle to Fit the Mold? The 'Otrovert' Personality Explains Why" for Business Standard, they write: "Unlike introverts or extroverts, otroverts are not defined by where they draw their social energy. Instead, the concept captures people who constantly feel like outsiders, and tend to look in a different direction altogether, not necessarily aligned with the rest of the group."While it's impossible to group people into perfect categories, Rai explains that Kaminski claims the main thing that sets otroverts apart is their "reluctance to conform to group norms."Writer Avery White lists signs one might be an otrovert in the article "7 Signs You Might Be an Otrovert" for VegOut. Among them is preferring "high-signal conversations and low-maintenance relationships." They give this as an example: "You’ll happily spend three hours exploring one idea with one person—and then not speak for weeks without either of you taking it personally. In other words, low pressure, low expectations, high connection.Another on the list—and this is a big one according to Kaminski—is: "You can look extroverted in public—yet feel fundamentally 'other.'" This is actually the crux of the term, and in fact, what Kaminski formed The Otherness Institute for: as their website says, "those who feel they don't belong."The site also shares that recognizing aspects of this type in yourself and others (if it applies) will help "balance between your individuality and your function as part of the social matrix that determines your well-being. The experience of otherness in a togetherness-minded world can be emotionally bruising. Often misunderstood and misdiagnosed, otherness may lead individuals to feel strange, lonely, and unwelcome in groups. Left unidentified, otroverts' non-belonging can result in a frustrating, futile lifetime effort of trying to 'fit in.'" See on Instagram Some Redditors are scrambling to figure out if they fit into this category. In the subreddit r/INTP (referencing one of the Myers-Briggs personality types), the OP asks, "Maybe I am an 'otrovert?'" Under this, they write, "Dr. Kaminski described the otrovert child as 'neurotypical, friendly, curious, well-adjusted, and often popular' yet 'they resist being pressured into group activities.'"While this can seem inconsequential in childhood, joining the peer group "becomes critically important" in adolescence, said the psychiatrist, and teens "start to gauge their self-worth based on the group’s ranking of popularity (or unpopularity).'"Membership in a group, no matter how lowly, is better than being an outsider," he added. "Otroverts, however, are comfortable with being outsiders and find it impossible to feel like insiders, regardless of how welcome they are.'There are a handful of commenters who feel seen, but many push back, claiming the term could easily apply to other personality traits. One writes, "I think it's easy to resonate with this description... but as some warning noted, there aren't enough studies done about this term that people should be running to adopt it. I resonated with it after reading about it... But I have ADHD and persistent depressive disorder... both of which coincide with the descriptions of an otrovert."Time will tell if this new term sticks, but for now, it's helping a lot of people feel more understood. This article originally appeared last year.

When planning their wedding, most brides have elements they want included. Whether that’s the perfect dress, flowers, or music, they want their fairytale to come true. When Lizzie Dean’s father passed away unexpectedly, it broke her heart. Three years later, as she prepared to marry the man of her dreams, she wanted her dad to play a special part. Although he wasn’t there in body, she knew he’d be with her in spirit. But there was one more special touch that caught the attention of millions. Lizzie didn’t want anyone to walk her down the aisle except for her dad, so she made him part of the ceremony. @lizzieallyn love you Dad weddingaisle walkdowntheaisle weddingaislesong weddingvoicemails ♬ original sound – Lizzie Allyn Lizzie Dean Used Her Dad’s Voicemail As Music As Lizzie walked toward her husband-to-be, music from Interstellar played, along with a voicemail her dad left for her. “Hi, Lizzie, Dad here. I love and miss you, darling,” he said. “I hope you and Matt have a fantastic day, and I love you very much! That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I am so blessed. I love you so much.” Lizzie posted a video of her entrance on TikTok, and the moment brought tears to the eyes of total strangers. “The fact that interstellar was about the dad trying to communicate with his daughter!!!” Someone wrote. Others didn’t shy away from how much the video made them cry. “I need a significant amount of time to recover from this,” someone wrote. This person couldn’t even watch it. “Respectfully I am NOT going to watch this because the INSTANT I heard his voice I started sobbing!! I don’t think I can handle it!!” They wrote. Hear Lizzie’s dad on the voicemail got the dads crying, too. “As a father of two girls. I’m not crying, you’re crying,” a dad shared. This story is beautiful, and we love how Lizzie honored her father. He’d be so proud. This story’s  featured image can be found here.