After a few exciting days in Nepal, a land of alluring stupas, Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera, on a tri-nation drive, heads east via India into mysterious Bhutan.
On the eve of Winter session of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that the Congress "strongly" believed that the government should reach out to the Opposition on certain issues.
The city is waging a war against garbage, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Kabali has nothing new to say or offer, besides Rajinikanth playing his age, feels Raja Sen.
Its newly-built Jigani kitchen in Bengaluru is piloting the use of technologies such as data analytics, blockchain and Internet of Things to speed up the huge volume of its operations while ensuring strict quality control, reports Samreen Ahmad.
'My definition of a true star is when they enter a room, the energy of the room changes.' 'She has the aura of a true star.'
'Nowhere in the country, except perhaps Jammu and Kashmir, do extremist groups enjoy political patronage as they do in Kerala. Terrorists are exported from Kerala to Afghanistan, Syria.'
Sherin Mathew left her hometown in Bihar in late 2015 for a new home in America.
'I always used to say ignore the trolls and move on and focus on your fans and friends,' Sreenath Sreenivasan tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar. 'That was easy for me to say. But now when I say it, I really mean it.'
'The conception of Make-in-India, Skill India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padao and so on show a visionary breadth of mind, and Modi is almost the first political leader in India to put them into effect with single-minded zeal,' notes B S Raghavan, the former civil servant.
There's more to this country than just the Northern Lights.
Weekly digest of the craziest stories from around the world.
This week's collection of stories that prove we live in a truly mad, mad world
'There are three issues related to beef consumption and cow slaughter. One is the British origin of cow slaughter. Two, if slaughter of cows is sanctioned by Islamic scriptures and three, the environmental impact of beef consumption.'
Sukanya Verma lists her favourite episodes from Koffee With Karan over the years.
'When I first started, frivolous plot points would interest me. Today, they have to be issue-based. Like Dishoom.' 'I am playing a boy, but by the end of the film, people will feel I am a man.' Macho-talk from Varun Dhawan.
Significantly, reveals Rajeev Sharma, the MEA was not even consulted on the Dolkun Isa issue.
Seeing Indrani in court with her perpetually sunny demeanour and beaming face is sometimes as unreal an experience as making sense of court delays.
Here's your weekly digest of the most weird, true and funny news from the across the world.
Alicia Kom, a Melbourne girl who made her LFW debut last year, talks about the struggles in her modelling career and how she made it despite 45 rejections in three years.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Parinda, 1942: A LOve Story, Devdas, Kareeb, Mission Kashmir, Munnabhai MBBS, Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6, Bhag Milkha Bhag, Kalank... all bear the visual stamp of Binod Pradhan's genius.
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest and funniest stories from around the world
'As the burkha-clad beauty Husna in Mere Mehboob, she inspired Shakeel Badayuni to compose Mere Mehboob Tujhe Meri Mohabbat Ki Kasam/Phir Mujhe Un Nargisi Aankhon Ka Sahara De De. Hasrat Jaipuri showered epithets like Nargis-e-Mastaana and Phoolon Ki Rani, Baharon Ki Malika on her in Arzoo.'
On the occasion of Chinese New Year, we bring you a look at what 2015, the Year of the Sheep has in store for you!
The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners of this year's contest, with France's Gabriel Barathieu being named Underwater Photographer of the Year for an image of a hunting octopus. UPY was kind enough to share some of this year's honorees with us below.
If an FIR had been registered by the Pen police -- instead of a mere entry in the station diary -- an investigation could have taken place and the body might have been identified as Sheena's, leading to the case being cracked much earlier.
Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India's poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai.
'It was very scary to attempt this role (in Udta Punjab), when I have no way of understanding what it is like to be on a high. I wondered whether I would make a fool of myself or whether I would be able to push my boundaries.' Shahid Kapoor comes clean.
Sarmesh Kumar is the first in his family, that comes from the community of rat eaters, to go to college. Archana Masih/Rediff.com met the young man and traveled to his village -- which Bill Gates visited a few years ago -- as Rediff.com looks at Bihar through the stories of its people.
'People on both sides of the Hindutva debate need to read and understand the texts first,' Bibek Debroy, translator of the unabridged Mahabharata, tells Kanika Datta as he gets started on a similar project for the Ramayana.
Bikash Mohapatra salutes boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Orchha in Madhya Pradesh is among the many, many places in India where history comes alive. Lakshmi Sharath recollects her recent visit to the former princely state in Bundelkhand.
Moushumi Chatterjee, one of the biggest stars of her time, gives us a peek into her life.
Amazing stories about some of our best loved movies from Bhavani Iyer who wrote them.
'Mahesh Bhavana is a young man who is beaten up in the town's marketplace and who consequently pledges that he won't wear his slippers again, till he avenges the beating.' 'But Mahesh can't get his revenge that easily -- his punisher is off to a distant land. So what does Mahesh do? He waits. And the town waits with him. And we wait with him.' 'Maheshinte Prathikaram is one of those movies where I didn't know what hit me. I don't remember another movie -- at least in recent times -- that I surrendered to with such happiness,' says Sreehari Nair.
'Murders happen every day. Some get correctly solved, some get incorrectly solved and some never get solved. Most of the time, nobody bothers. But if the murdered person is someone big or related to someone big, then it becomes a problem...'
'One one hand, the BJP puts Uniform Civil Code as a goal in its manifesto, and on the other, it pushes massive discrimination against Hindus.' 'This is not sabka saath, sabka vikas. Rather it is "Haj ka saath, church ka vikas",' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'Article 15 is not the work of a hack, or of someone merely scooping a plot out of newspaper headlines.' 'It is a well-researched, clear-headed movie; but its findings have a purpose,' says Sreehari Nair.
Udta Punjab truly soars when being its own madcap beast, profane and powerful and preening.
