'In one mansion we visited, I was told the doors in the back courtyard had to be kept closed because to have the front and back doors open at the same time would result in Chettiar wealth flowing away,' notes Rahul Jacob after a memorable visit to Karaikudi.
Against the backdrop of the West Indies team's withdrawal from its tour of India, Rediff.com takes a look at instances when cricket tours have been called off midway through a series.
Ram Gopal Varma's Veerapan to hit the screens this Friday.
These women surely know how to get your heart racing in their intimate apparels!
Parliament on Wednesday saw a washout as the Opposition aggressively pressed for ouster of Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, rejecting the government's offer for a debate.
Iron-willed Czech Tomas Berdych ended eight years of tyranny under nemesis Rafa Nadal to storm into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday before his next opponent Andy Murray restored British colonial rule to the floodlit centre court.
The year 2014 is coming to an end. It was the year of conflict, the year of strife. Year 2014 will be remembered for several reasons -- the rise and threat of the Islamic State, the downing of two Malayasia Airlines aircraft and the sudden and effective way of using hastags on social media to generate a buzz about the event. After all, who can forget #theicebucket challenge and the phenomenon it grew into. Read on as we bring you an overview of international news and events of 2014.
Get the best deal for your loved one(s) :-)
India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed the top batting spot, while Australia's pace ace Josh Hazlewood has achieved the number-one position in the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings.
Audi India launched the second generation 2016 Audi R8 at the show.
Saltwater crocodiles are the world's largest reptiles, and these had already disappeared from the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh by the 1970s. In all of Bhitarkanika, there were only 96 of them left. The census this January noted their count at 1,682.
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest stories from around the world.
What China's market crash means for India
The Cuban government has announced nine days of mourning and has set Castro's funeral for December 4.
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.
'Who is the right Mekhail? Mekhail I or Mekhail II?'
Greece awoke with a political hangover on Thursday after parliament approved a stringent bailout programme, thanks to the votes of the pro-European opposition, amid the worst protest violence this year.
'Some of the good wrestlers are making really good money.' 'If you look at their lifestyles, they are no less compared to our cricketers.'
Rediff reader Subin Mohan from Dubai, talks about owning a Royal Enfield.
'I want to know, how can any God become impure if woman enters the temple?'
'The year in pictures' treks across the globe, looking back on the moments that shaped 2016. From the United States presidential race, to demonetisation in India to the refugee crisis, the news has kept pouring in. Here are our top 50 moments from the world.
'Britain always had a very special relationship with the EU -- it always was an on/off relationship. It retained its own currency and visa.' 'Britain always had what you call in EU lingo 'opt out clauses', which other countries don't have.'
'The farmer is furious because the MP government is trying to crush their agitation violently.' 'Such actions will have nation-wide repercussions.' 'Why this drama (Shivraj Chouhan's fast) after violently crushing the farmers' agitation?' 'He should resign immediately.'
Mohandas Pai took part in an hour-long chat on rediff.com
We present to you a blow-by-blow account on what happened on the night of May 1, 2011, when the terror mastermind was killed
'Make cash available now, don't put people into suffering.' 'You should not come to a situation where the operation was successful and the patient is dying.' 'What did not happen in India for several years, you cannot do in 50 days.' 'This is agony and pain.'
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series,rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
Are they missing or have they been intentionally removed? A huge uproar has broken out after whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka has revealed that two important pages of a file pertaining to DLF-Robert Vadra land deal, containing notings, are missing.
The successful effort to combat Cyclone Phailin threatens to put disaster mitigation, and a fundamental overhaul of how disaster management in India is structured, on the back-burner, says Anand Sarkar.
Stunning photos have revealed incredible secrets of the underwater world, with the winners of the 2018 Underwater Photographer of the Year award announced. German photographer Tobias Friedrich has been named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018. More than 5,000 images were submitted this year by photographers from around the world. UPY was once again kind enough to share some of this year's honourees with us below, with captions written by the photographers.
'Professor C Y Bayly was undoubtedly the tallest of his generation. For so many of his students who were privileged to be taught by him he was much more than the rarest of rare scholar.' Professor Seema Alavi remembers a teacher who left an indelible imprint on India history.
Both Houses were adjourned multiple times as Opposition members kept on shouting slogans against the PM.
Jaitley said the Opposition has been using the zero hour to raise the issue for 'getting footage on TV'.
'It is the government's most important duty to ensure that when war breaks out, the armed forces are absolutely ready to face the adversary -- well equipped, well trained and in high spirits,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'We are completely engaged in fighting poverty; alas, our neighbour Pakistan seems only engaged in fighting us.'
'The standing ovation in Cannes was a rare moment where I felt patriotic. I realised that the audience was not clapping for an individual but for the team that came from India with such a beautiful film.' Masaan's leading man Vicky Kaushal takes us through its making.
The Question hour in the Lok Sabha was also washed out for the second consecutive day as an aggressive opposition stalled the proceedings over the same controversy.
Tension had been brewing between Maharashtra MPs of the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party. Shiv Sena MPs believe they have been sidelined and treated shabbily at the Sadan. Dhanya Rajendran reports
Gangster Chhota Rajan, arrested in Bali on Monday and who is likely to be extradited to India, was not one to forgive or forget easily. Mumbai's foremost crime writer S Hussain Zaidi recalls the time when Rajan was almost killed in an attack by his rival Chhota Shakeel, and how Rajan extracted revenge across continents.
