'I was very wary about stepping into the limelight and the populist role like Sherlock Holmes, but the minute I saw who was involved and read the script and the quality of it I thought: I've got to do this.' Benedict Cumberbatch tells CNN International why he nearly turned down the chance to play Sherlock Homes.
Once a bountiful water body, years of neglect, rampant encroachment and dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waster has virtually turned Bellandur lake into a large septic tank.
Narendra Modi on Friday accused Congress and its chief Sonia Gandhi for resorting to "low-level" politics and raising issues from his personal life to his caste in their bid to prevent him from coming to power.
'There were no singers like Lata, Kishore, Rafi or Mukesh. And until now, there is nobody. Nobody with that kind of voice, nobody with that kind of brain to learn. Not only to learn, but to improvise. We improvised music, we improvised the songs. Nowadays, they just listen and copy.'
Darjeeling born Ekom Mamik found her true calling in life in Kenya, when she least expected it.
Modi said this university has been built with the contribution of millions of pilgrims, many of whom came from far away places.
'India has to understand that the permanent state of war that exists between India and Pakistan has to be expected,,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). 'The only way to ensure peace or absence of war is to maintain a militarily-dominant position over Pakistan.'
Rohini Bhajibhakare won't waste a moment on this statistic because she has far more important things to do.
Do you have the courage to look through failures and unexpected pitfalls?
As the teachers began gaining confidence, it also drew the attention of other women in the community, leading to greater demand for teaching jobs.
Known for his clean image, Harsh Vardhan will face a stiff challenge of uniting the faction-ridden Bharatiya Janata Party as his nomination to the chief ministerial post comes after a bitter internal squabble that had threatened to derail the party's campaign to wrest power after 15 years in the capital.
Days after his public criticism of the government over ordinance on convicted lawmakers, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sought to mollify Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying he is "my guru" and "a man with good intent".
Indians all over the US are going beyond being human and are learning to be humanitarian and expand their philanthropy activities finds Ajailiu Niumai.
Two Indian-Americans returned to India from the US to contest the elections from the AAP. They may have lost the elections but Deelip Mhaske and Dr Prabhat Ranjan Das have no regrets and speak of their experiences. George Joseph reports.
Yoga, wellness, meditation, Ayurveda, software and ... toothpaste - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has successfully merged business with spirituality
Meet Mona Patel, one of CNN's Top 10 Heroes of the Year.
Rescued from slavery at age 7 by Kailash Satyarthi's Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Om Prakash Gurjar is today one of the world's 7 top influential youngsters.
Auroville just turned 50. Aurovilians who grew up in The experimental city speak of how their childhood was marked by a sense of openness and possibility.
US president was unaware that the son of a manual labourer had to abandon studies
'Our Indian culture system is very family oriented.' 'We value and respect the decisions of our parents to a great extent.' 'That can be a pro or con.' 'It's up to the parents to gauge how much motivation, pressure or space a child needs.' 'Every child is different.' 'We are all unique and that is what I intend to drive home to parents.'
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel glances at the life and political career of Alexey Navalny who has been banned from challenging Vladimir Putin in Russia's presidential election.
On a field trip to Bharatpur at the peak of the summer, author realises that every season has its own charm
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'Both resisted cruel white rule through non-violence. But Mandela's is a singular story. He never lost faith in his ideals and goal even when he was in prison for many years,' Anant Singh, who produced the Mandela biopic, tells Rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.
A daughter's ode to her mother.
In 2002, at 13 she lost both her hands and severely damaged her legs in a freak accident. Today she is a dedicated social worker, a motivational speaker and model for accessible clothing in India.
'Studying History, we come close to all of the messiness of human life -- we understand what motivates people, what makes them get along or go to war, what dreams they had for themselves and their futures.'
Categorising the original settlements of gaothans and koliwadas as slums, the authorities in Mumbai are keen to develop them into commercial complexes. The residents are unwilling to cede their rights. Ranjita Ganesan reports
Following is the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day.
At 17, Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel laureate. She was conferred the joint Peace Prize along with India's Kailash Satyarthi at Oslo on Wednesday. Here is the full transcript of her speech.
The futures of thousands of undocumented Indians who were taken to the US as children are in danger after Donald Trump's repeal of the DACA program.
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Expressing happiness over the turnout at his concert in Srinagar's Shalimar Bagh, renowned music conductor Zubin Mehta said performing in Kashmir was a dream come true for him. The Mumbai-born music conductor and German Ambassador Michael Steiner, who organised the concert, spoke to CNN-IBN over what motivated them to come to Kashmir.
For a start this award has a history of having less to do with actual contributions and more to do with some part of a larger agenda. Some pretty dubious people have received this. Many more were patently undeserving, says Mohan Guruswamy.
Lupita Nyong'o's speech at the 2014 Academy Awards is a classic example of a brilliant speech says Rakesh Godhwani, author of What to Say and When to Shut Up!
By removing Avinash Chander last week, the government has chosen to sacrifice the organisation's most potent symbol of success
Anup Raaj, 23, describes how Super 30, a free IIT-JEE coaching institute located in Patna, Bihar, changed his life.
Sheela Bhatt meets Bharti Patel, a truly exceptional mother of our times whose son Dr Vikram Patel was recently ranked among Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2015, to find out her recipe for a remarkable upbringing.
Have you tasted Besan ke ladoo cookies?
Read the full transcript of President Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday at the US Capitol in Washington.
