MEHER MARFATIA, MINNIE VAID, PAYAL SINGH MOHANKA

Is Didi now the tallest Opposition leader?

'For the first time one single party is getting 49% which is a record of its own.'

'TMC intolerance no match for BJP vindictiveness'

'The BJP's modus operandi is not just to be intolerant of dissent, it is to create mistrust and doubt between communities and the electoral process itself.'

Will Prashant Kishor fail Didi?

If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.

'Mamata knows her defeat is certain'

'If the chief minister says there are areas in her home state where she cannot enter, where has she driven the state to!'

Will Swapan Dasgupta be Bengal's BJP CM?

'I am as Bengali as they come in my cultural and personal orientation and I think probably all the BJP candidates who are contesting are pretty non-vegetarian in their food and as Bengali in their cultural orientation.'

Will Bengal give Didi a third term?

Will appeasement, rising unemployment and her dictatorial style become major obstacles in her path? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.

'Modi has been a friend since the nineties'

'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'

'Modi and Shah are gluttons'

'They have a voracious appetite.' 'But there are many places where they go and they lose.'

'If BJP comes to power, Muslims will be in trouble'

'I have interacted with Muslim women in rural Bengal, they are scared of the BJP.'

New York Gurdwaras's HEARTENING Langar Story

It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.

'Biden will play it safe'

'It will be normal, regular, everyday politics whether you like it or not.' That's what this country needs,' a New Yorker tells Payal Singh Mohanka.

Trump-Biden tear desi families apart

What startles a visitor like me from India is how the 2020 US presidential election has divided families, husband and wife, parents and children, observes Payal Mohanka.

Will Modi help the light-makers of Chandernagor?

2020 has dimmed the animated bulbs that create magical images and transform Kolkata into a mesmerising fairyland during Durga Puja.

ISRO scientists will leave their imprint on the universe

'The unflappable temperament and nerves of steel under extreme pressure -- essential ingredients in space research -- were on full display in the rows occupied by the scientists still engrossed in their monitor screens,' says Minnie Vaid, author of Those Magnificent Women And Their Flying Machines, ISRO's Mission to Mars.

'Mars was something new for all of us...'

'ISRO provides a very positive atmosphere. What matters here is your talent, not your gender,' says Ritu Karidhal, Deputy Operations Director, India's Mars orbital mission, Mangalyaan. A fascinating excerpt from Minnie Vaid's Those Magnificent Women And Their Flying Machines, Isro's Mission To Mars.

'Mother was above religion'

The constitution of the Missionaries of Charity that declares, 'We shall not impose our Catholic faith on anyone, but have profound respect for all religions.'

How a Sikh family survived a massacre 30 years ago

'Koi Sardar hai? Goli se maar dalenge...' 'The only sardars who were spared in the train were the six with us. And the credit goes to the innate goodness of the passengers in our coach.' Payal Singh Mohanka remembers that horrifying train journey in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The clock has turned full circle

The mayhem after the assassination

That horror 21 years ago