Brahmastra is a work of star-struck ambition and high-octane energy whose razzle-dazzle hits many happy notes, observes Sukanya Verma.
'The most important priority for the next 25 years should be to strengthen our democracy so that it is supportive of social harmony, and to not just respect but to take pride in the diversity of Indian society in terms of the variety of languages, religion and religious practices and social norms,' explains Nitin Desai.
'William Mustoe, the director of horticulture during British rule, named the Presidential Palace garden after the Mughals.' 'He simply kept the name because it was made on the pattern of a Mughal garden.''He simply kept the name Mughal gardens because it was made on the pattern of Mughal garden.'
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which governs the ancient shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala here, on Wednesday announced that Lord Hanuman's birthplace was Anjanadri, a hillock at Japali Theertham located about 5 km from north of the hill temple.
The relative ranking of castes can vary across regions and localities and depends on a number of factors including control over land, wealth, and political power. Castes have often tried to 'upgrade' themselves (a process sociologists refer to as Sanskritization), and sometimes get 'downgraded'. A revealing excerpt from Upinder Singh's Ancient India: Culture Of Contradictions.
Within a few hours of Nitish Kumar leaving the NDA, entirely reasonable people were speculating as to how the CBI or ED could be used against him or his party, notes Mihir S Sharma.
India is ready, after battling the pandemic for two years, to travel once again.
Packed with groundbreaking technology, the Mars 2020 mission launched July 30, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Perseverance rover mission marks an ambitious first step in the effort to collect Mars samples and return them to Earth, according to an official statement.
The Hiroshima event is not just about the 10,000-odd lanterns that float down a river. It is about remembrance. It is about dignity. It is about respect. It is about love, observes Sandeep Goyal.
'Kalnirnay is like a bible for any family.'
Scientists, sci-fi, stand-up, suspense, take your pick of OTT this week. Sukanya Verma makes her recommendations:
A bit of economic reforms stalled and decisions delayed -- what Narayana Murthy spoke of -- don't hurt if a country's compassionate and inclusive social fabric has survived intact; if the country is happy, observes Shyam G Menon.
With the Tokyo Olympics set to start on July 23, here is some trivia from the first two editions of the modern Olympics held in 1896 and 1900.
Hyperbole by our ministers and a few saffronised scientists not only defames Newton and Einstein, but also mocks ancient India's achievements in mathematics, medicine and natural science, says Utkarsh Mishra.
Calling themselves 'Bnei Menashe', they claim descent from the tribe of Manaseh, one of 10 tribes exiled from the land of Israel by the Assyrians over 2,700 years ago.
'Partition was a two-sided story in a very big way.' 'We've oversimplified it, blamed the British, thought of ourselves only as victims.' 'We've been both victims and perpetrators.'
'It is a well-entrenched belief in the downtrodden, the deprived sections, that Modi cares for them. He has come to occupy their mindspace as their messiah.' 'And it is this deprived, dispossessed section that is powering his electoral performance, breaking ancient shibboleths and shackles like religion and caste and region and language,' argues Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of the Republic Day 2023.
'If I were to say, I had the best vegetarian food in my life in Vietnam, nobody would believe me.' 'When I proclaimed this to my friends, they didn't believe me. I had to show them the pictures and make them drool!!'
Modi lauded the civilisational heritage of Varanasi, and said many sultanates rose and collapsed but Benaras remained.
The ASI also said the fundamental right of the applicant cannot be availed in violation of the existing status of the land.
'Indian apathy towards our historical heritage is indeed amazing,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sukanya Verma looks at Bollywood's extravagant bling fetish.
Thousands lined the route to catch a glimpse as Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, seen in public for the first time, made its journey on Sunday from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire to arrive at the late monarch's official Scottish residence of Holyroodhouse Palace in the capital city of Edinburgh.
Uncle Pai, as he was fondly called, inculcated in Indian children a love for and interest in India's glorious past and its heroes.
'There is enough proof of science-driven research in the India of early centuries,' argues Kumar Abhishek.
Though a visual treat, the 10th instalment doesn't stand out in terms of gameplay.
In her lifetime, a woman might use 6,000 sanitary napkins and accumulation of dioxin in the body can cause serious health risks, warns gynaecologist Dr Archana Dhawan Bajaj.
The revocation comes a day after heads of 4 Shaivite maths called on Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai and following an outcry against the ban by devotees, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu outfits.
Claiming that the cultural values among children were taking a beating, the minister said many people have demanded that moral science should be introduced.
Players who join the LIV series that threatens to blow apart men's professional golf, are no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour events
UNESCO is looking at adding another Indian locale to its prestigious index of World Heritage Sites -- Meghalaya's Living Root-Bridges.
The prime minister started off his remarks at the meeting in Tamil, welcoming China to the talks, which were held right after one-on-one discussions between Modi and Xi at the Taj Fisherman's Cove Hotel.
Ekta Mohanani Kamra, travel enthusiast and founder, Hop & Bop, lists places and activities to add to your monsoon bucket list.
Ahmedabad is home to the strangest of cuisines and is a city of contrasts, if you look beyond the tourist places.
The plea, filed by a religious guru based in Mathura, Devkinandan Thakur, has challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, stating that it offends Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29 of the Indian constitution and violates the principles of secularism and the rule of law, which is an integral part of the Preamble and basic structure of the Constitution.
'During the making of the film, he (Rishi Kapoor) kept fighting with Ayan and me.' 'Who takes so long to make a film? Who spends so much money?' 'Ranbir, you are not making a penny on this film. Who will watch a VFX film in the country?'
If you are serious about countering the Chinese threat, then the best weapon is investing in real freedom, plurality, elections and democracy. Unfortunately, it isn't an approach all Indians currently seem to agree on, asserts Shyam G Menon.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics flame handover ceremony in Athens this week will be a scaled-down event with only a few Tokyo Games officials and torch bearers inside the stadium to protect everyone from the coronavirus, the Hellenic Olympic Committee said on Monday. The handover ceremony usually attracts thousand of spectators, officials and ceremony participants in the central Athens' Panathenaic Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
