'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.
Satvik food is de rigueur this time of the year in most Western and Northern Indian homes, say chefs and food historians Arundhuti Dasgupta and Shally Seth Mohile.
Ajit Pal Singh tells us how and why he fell in love with Gujarati food.
The best recipes will be featured on Rediff.com
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
When the BJP forms government in Bengal, the chief minister will be a son of the soil, he said at the rally amid loud cheers from his supporters.
With the holy month of Ramadan coming to a close, we ask you, dear readers which is the most delectable biryani you ever had.
In rural Bengal, people still believed that widows were simply biding their time on earth after their lord and master had departed from it, says Geetanjali Krishna.
The good old days... Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan's is a bonding that is special and rare in an industry where friendships are ephemeral. Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani is their sixth film together, after Guddi, Samadhi, Phagun, Chupke Chupke and Sholay.
In this excerpt from a conversation with Samik Bandopadhyay, Mrinalda discusses three legendary actors he has worked with.
'It is extremely important to take back the domain of both religion from the religious bigots and nationalism from the chauvinists, who are spreading hatred.' Sugata Bose, the Harvard historian-turned-MP, who is Netaji's great-nephew, tells Anjali Puri why it is imperative to speak up for India's students.
Aseem Chhabra looks at the year's best Non-Hindi Indian movies.
'The power of love is the greatest power in the world.' 'Add a smile and you can conquer the world,' Bengali actor June Maliah, the Trinamool Congress's candidate for the Medinipur constituency, tells Swarupa Dutt/Rediff.com.
Most of the apps have been developed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and other regional languages
Every home across India makes khichdi and it still isn't as celebrated as it should be.
Indra Narayan Das tells us how he went from 95 kg to weighing 73 kg with the right diet and exercise.
The very best of Indian cuisine was served to the Obamas at the presidential banquet
Anisha Banerjee shares her amazing weight loss story with us.
Girgaum, once a thriving neighbourhood of Maharashtrians in south Mumbai, who loved their seafood and meat, has slowly been taken over by vegetarians, forcing eateries serving non-vegetarian food to shut down, says Neeta Kolhatkar
'Mamata has used minorities only as her vote bank.' 'In her entire election campaign Mamata did not utter a single sentence against the RSS.'
Bengali film Asha Jaoar Majhe is a must watch, a once in the lifetime kind of work that should be supported by film lovers and experienced on the big screen, writes Aseem Chhabra.
Keya Sarkar outlines some of the challenges faced by a low-income father determined to educate his daughter.
'If Mr Modi and Mr Shah have made a poisonous, polarising campaign their brahmastra for 2019, Mamata Banerjee is showing them its limitations,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'Kumbalangi Nights is a movie that respects women, but most importantly, it's a movie that loves them,' says Sreehari Nair.
'I would get a rejection everyday. I used to give five-six auditions sometimes and would get disheartened. After so many rejections, I have finally managed to do what I like.' Meet Ek Aastha Aisi Bhi's Tina Phillip.
'Do you think Indian voters are so immature that they can be impressed or won over by such freebies before the elections?' Election Commissioner Sunil Arora asks A K Bhattacharya.
Dad had sneaked into East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) well before the war had started for reconnaissance of the terrain on the other side. He had disguised himself as a driver of a truck laden with goods and traveled into East Pakistan to be received by the underground fighters of the Mukti Bahini.
PepsiCo India's new CEO admits to being an ardent follower of the world's management gurus and they clearly mould his outlook.
From Dudhwa to Veppathur and Havelock Island, the Indian tourism market is booming like never before.
'The BJP and RSS may realise it is much easier for the ICHR to rewrite textbooks and for the ICSSR to float its bizarre interpretations on social themes than to keep people away from their favourite dishes.'
Over Dosas in Mumbai, Oscar winner Megan Mylan tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel why she chose India and girls empowerment as the subject of her new documentary.
'Our only child. A Communist.' 'There was an encounter by the police inside this room, five years ago. He was shot in one arm, but managed to escape.' 'Missing since then. May Jesus keep him alive.' A revealing excerpt from Asim Mukhopadhyay's Half Man: A Novel On The Naxal Movement.
'More and more young chefs, instead of inventing new things, are exploring more deeply inside India,' Indian Accent's Manish Mehrotra tells Rahul Jacob.
'Patriotism is a sentiment, a feeling of belonging to a place.' 'Nationalism is an ideology, and like all ideologies, it is absolute and restrictive in nature,' Ashis Nandy, arguably India's leading social thinker, tells Geetanjali Krishna.
'Many tourists are keen to break the law and see the tribals. But what difference would it make? They are humans like us. We do not like intruders, neither do they. Very little of their homes is left, so we might as well let them be,' says Chintan Purohit.
Though many fishermen were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves and seeing death face-to-face.
Bharati Dutt witnessed life-changing events that shaped India on the threshold of freedom. Her memories are an account of how ordinary Indians saw India change.
'The present government's greatest weakness is its intolerance. Tolerance is the key tenet of democracy. How can any government stop someone from speaking one's mind?'
