A tiny, dark-red, terracotta urn containing ashes of indeterminate origin and deemed too fragile to leave the cloistered hush of the Lord's ground museum is the focus of one of the world's great sporting rivalries.
'Nowhere amidst the efflorescence of 13 military bands, 16 marching contingents and 22 tableaux was there any hint that far from being a rich country of poor people, the closely guarded secret is that India is a poor country of extremely rich people,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The local version of soccer is dubbed 'lapotball'. 'Lapot' in Russian refers to the traditional shoes made of vine which Mordovian residents used to wear in olden days.
'The Muslim community is disappointed with this judgment.'
'Modi's initial forays into foreign policy had the flavour of Aswamedha Yagas launched by ancient kings to conquer the world.' 'He overcame the hesitations of history and explored unconventional ways to win friends and influence people.' A fascinating excerpt from Ambassador T P Sreenivasan's new book, Modiplomacy -- Through a Shakespearean Prism.
Celebrities across the world have been turning to yoga to keep themselves in shape. Here are some of the hottest stars who swear by the ancient Indian practice.
'The situation has improved because oxygen tankers are now coming.' 'Before this it was chaotic.'
'The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 kilometres ballistic missile. Its advantage is that it can cover all cities of north India, including New Delhi'
'Through his conversation with Yama, Nachiketa helped society grapple with a bunch of knotty issues, just as many of the ongoing conflicts could do today,' says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Resurgent China opened the Olympics on Friday with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony that celebrated ancient Chinese history and aimed to draw a line under months of political controversy.
The attempt failed as other member countries felt Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.
Cairo, Egypt's sprawling capital, is a maelstrom of sights, sounds and smells.
Waterfalls, lakes, oceans -- our readers send in their favourite travel photographs. Share yours!
We bring you a presentation of the best photos in the last 48 hours from around the world.
'By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself.' 'A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se has the wit of a goat, fumes Sukanya Verma.
If we value India, we must not only 'Make in India', but defend the idea of India, too.
The person has described himself as 'Abhinav Tripathi, a social worker' and asked PM Modi to 'acknowledge that your visit to Kashi is being opposed'.
The one-time BJP stalwart, who for some years spearheaded the Ayodhya movement and was at the helm of UP affairs, when the 16th century Babri mosque was pulled down by Hindu 'karsewaks' on December 6, 1992, failed to mobilise support of more than 40-50 people .
What would happen if the home minister chose to go to the movies, and watched the current science-fiction hit, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar
Belgians tasted bitterness in their beer on Tuesday after their dreams of a first World Cup final were ended by the narrowest of margins by their bigger French neighbours.
"We stumbled on the erotic figure during a scientific clearance work by the Ranchi circle of ASI recently," Superintendent Archaeologist, T J Baidya, told PTI in Ranchi. The statue, which could date back to the 12th century, was found at the Benisagar, which is close to the Orissa border, he said.
Cinema Paradise's Sandai, starring Sundar C and Nadia, is a complete, illogical and fun entertainer that sells old wine in a new bottle. Just leave logic and reason behind before settling for this age-old mother-in-law/son-in-law battle movies on the lines of Poova Thalaiya and Mappillai.
The top court, which had earlier fixed August 31 as the deadline for completion of proceedings including pronouncement of the verdict, took note of the report filed by special judge S K Yadav in the high-profile case.
While Hindus claimed the land to be the site of the birthplace of their most revered Lord Ram, Muslims asserted their right over the same as the site of a 16th century mosque claimed to have been built by the first Mughal emperor Babur in the ancient town of Ayodhya, about 120 km from Lucknow.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dig up the perceived past of the DMK rival, now under a new leader in M K Stalin, may not gel with the voters, both old and new. If they are still going to vote for the AIADMK-BJP combine, it will be for entirely different reasons, and despite Modi's poll speeches, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the nation on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day. Here's the text of what he said:
Flowing from an inadequate understanding of Tamil history and politics is an urban elitist mindset that does not seem to be able to touch and feel the real angst of the larger Tamil-speaking masses, cutting across the social and economic status of the individual, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ancient temples are a huge part of our cultural and architectural heritage. Here we present some of the photographs readers sent in of the temples they visited.
Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is nominated for a Grammy Award in the Traditional World Music category for his album Ancient Sounds. He talks about what the award means to him.
South Korea's First Lady Kim Yoon-ok's descendants had royal origin in Ayodhya. Kim, wife of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, is a descendant of one of royal families in Ayodhya dating back two thousand years, The Korea Times has reported quoting the presidential office.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Led by a team of scientists of Indian-origin, NASA's Curiosity rover has found new evidence of water on Mars, indicating that the planet most like Earth in the solar system was suitable for microbial life.
Be it the name, the design and communication campaign and the engagement processes being imagined between the brand and its buyers, the company is casting its cars in a new mould, reports T E Narasimhan.
Government sources also said there was no question of any discussion on the issue as it is India's sovereign matter but added that Modi will update the Chinese President on the matter if there is a query.
Ahead of the India-China summit, Mahabalipuram, the ancient coastal town near Chennai, has been virtually turned into a fortress with unprecedented security arrangements while the beautification and other preparations touched a feverish pitch on Wednesday.
India's largest companies are making inroads into one of the country's most ancient businesses - the purchase of gold by the nation's hundreds of millions of women for weddings, festivals and savings.
These trips will fill you with wanderlust.
Scientists believe the unique geological locations where they are situated makes them worthy of veneration.
Munna Master, who has been singing bhajans for 30 years, earnestly believes the Padma Shri is a result of his devotion to gau mata.
