PAYAL MOHANKA

All stories by PAYAL MOHANKA

Is the BJP inching closer to Bengal?

Is the BJP inching closer to Bengal?

Rediff.com17 Mar 2021

'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.

Appeasement politics boomeranged on Mamata

Appeasement politics boomeranged on Mamata

Rediff.com27 May 2019

'A hugely dangerous game which she thought she had mastered has now found a stronger opponent,' points out Payal Mohanka.

An encounter with Priyanka Gandhi!

An encounter with Priyanka Gandhi!

Rediff.com29 Dec 2018

In 1998, the Congress asked her mother to campaign. 'We had a family discussion. We explained to our mother that you will be used, you will be discarded once you are done with the campaign.' 'A few days later I got a call from my mother. She said, "I have decided to campaign".' 'We were stunned. Why was she doing this?' Payal Mohanka listens in.

Partition: Lest We Forget

Partition: Lest We Forget

Rediff.com14 Feb 2018

For Aanchal Malhotra, the stories of Partition were stories that needed to be told; they needed to be chronicled.

Has Mamata's politics of appeasement backfired?

Has Mamata's politics of appeasement backfired?

Rediff.com7 Jul 2017

Has Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee created a situation with dangerous overtones in Bengal? In the six years that she has been in power, her detractors feel she has overplayed the politics of appeasement.

'Koi Sardar hai? Goli se maar dalenge'

'Koi Sardar hai? Goli se maar dalenge'

Rediff.com31 Oct 2016

Jasmit Singh, 85, recalls a horrific train journey to New Delhi on the day Indira Gandhi was killed.

'Mother said her work was just a drop in the ocean'

'Mother said her work was just a drop in the ocean'

Rediff.com4 Sep 2016

'It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.' This is what Mother Teresa taught the nuns and her co-workers.

For Kolkata, Mother Teresa was always a saint

For Kolkata, Mother Teresa was always a saint

Rediff.com3 Sep 2016

When Pope Francis canonizes the late Mother Teresa at the Vatican on September 4, she will officially be recognised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. However, for her followers in Kolkata, the title is a mere formality.

Mamata transfers police officers for following EC's orders

Mamata transfers police officers for following EC's orders

Rediff.com8 Jun 2016

Several police officers who followed the Election Commission's orders during the recent West Bengal assembly polls get punishment transfers. Payal Mohanka reports.

'We need to plant trees in our head'

'We need to plant trees in our head'

Rediff.com31 May 2016

'Today it is not about seeking blessings, but seeking selfies.' Payal Mohanka listens to the 'uneducated guru' Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev explain the mysteries of life.

Mamata is more Left than the Left!

Mamata is more Left than the Left!

Rediff.com25 May 2016

With her trademark cotton sari and rubber slippers and her generous doles in rural Bengal, many describe Mamata Banerjee as "ultra left."

Why did the EC axe Bengal's biased babus?

Why did the EC axe Bengal's biased babus?

Rediff.com28 Apr 2016

Did the CPI-M and Congress' shrill campaign against 'tainted' officers prompt the Election Commission to respond with alacrity?

Once a boxing champ, he now cleans drains for a living

Once a boxing champ, he now cleans drains for a living

Rediff.com17 Aug 2015

Once a boxing champion, life has dealt Krishna Routh a severe blow.

'Sister Nirmala was a truly loving soul'

'Sister Nirmala was a truly loving soul'

Rediff.com24 Jun 2015

Kolkata-based artist and co-worker of the Missionaries of Charity, Ritu Singh, who has had a long association with the order, fondly remembers the gentle Sister Nirmala, who passed away on Tuesday, sharing anecdotes that truly uplift the spirit.

#VisitMorocco! You won't regret it

#VisitMorocco! You won't regret it

Rediff.com9 Jun 2015

Payal Mohanka travelled to Morocco, that magical place where the past and the present don't jostle but instead coexist rather beautifully.

'Scaling Everest was like a pilgrimage'

'Scaling Everest was like a pilgrimage'

Rediff.com29 May 2015

Exactly 50 years ago, the first Indian team, led by Manmohan Singh Kohli, reached the summit of Mount Everest. As Kohli and his team are felicitated to mark the anniversary, he reminisces on the event that continues to inspire generations of Indian mountaineers. Payal Mohanka reports

The king who made his own calendar

The king who made his own calendar

Rediff.com29 Apr 2015

Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was not just a poet, playwright, dancer and patron of the arts, says Payal Mohanka. He was a royal who hand-created his personal calendar.