Dasgupta's book narrates the story of Ulrich -- a blind, reclusive 100-year-old man from Bulgaria -- embarks on an epic armchair journey through a century of violent politics, forbidden music, lost love and failed chemistry.
Dr Subhash Kashyap not only enhanced Parliament's image in India and abroad, but also the position of Lok Sabha secretary-general which succeeding secretary-generals have upheld thorough neutrality, objectivity and high degree of professionalism, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Three Indian authors are among the 12 candidates short-listed for the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize, it was announced on Monday.
While Hema Raman won the prize for the Asia region, Zambian Ellen Banda-Aaku's 'Sozi's Box' won the overall prize.
Two Nobel Laureates, four listed writers of this year's Man Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists, winners of Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Crossword Prize and film stars will be the attraction at the most sought after literary event in India -- the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Six Indian writers, including Jahnavi Barua and Rahul Bhattacharya, figure in the shortlists of the 2012 Commonwealth Book and Short Story Prizes.
In Murr's book, Rajiv Travers, the child of an Indian mother and English father is abandoned, first to relatives in London and later to the care of his uncle's mistress, Ruth Winters, who lives in a small American town.
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
Kabir Khan's next venture, Chandu Champion, is based on a true story and stars Kartik Aaryan.
'There's this one scene in Gulmohar that belongs to Manojji and everyone was excited for him.' 'The evening before we were to shoot it, everyone, from Sharmilaji to the junior most actor, wished him luck.'
'He was suddenly nervous.'
'The next day, 14 actors, from Sharmilaji and Amol Palekar to Suraj Sharma, all watched him perform.' 'It was like being back in film school.'
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no 'quockerwodger' -- a word he introduced into our lexicon which means someone acting on the instructions of an influential third party.
As India observes state mourning on Sunday over Queen Elizabeth II's death, many people questioned the decision after the government's attempts to remove 'symbols of slavery' by rechristening Rajpath and unveiling a new naval ensign drawing inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Dubai-based Indian-origin writer Doshi, who was shortlisted among the final six authors for her debut novel Burnt Sugar, lost out on the top prize.
'Much as I feel on top of the world after being a part of a special series like Jubilee, I would say my biggest achievement so far has been spreading happiness around.'
If we have not been world beaters in cricket for the longest time, here is the reason: We look down on our bowlers and deify batsmen, argues Aakar Patel.
She quit her career in financial services to pursue her passion for writing.
Karachi is not reputed as a sub-continental beauty spot. Jihadist battles, gang wars and gunfire are familiar street sights and sounds, drug trafficking in its vast slums, kidnappings and political violence between Sindhi nationalists and MQM, the muhajir party of immigrants from UP and Bihar, are the stuff of everyday life.
'The gold medal that slipped out of my hand at the Rome Olympics must come to us.'
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
Harper Lee to publish sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird more than five decades after it was first published.
'It is astonishing that such a serious issue be handled in so casual and cavalier a fashion, but this has become what is expected of this government,' observes Aakar Patel.
Count among The Light of Asia's many, many admirers over 132 years: Gandhi, Tagore, Vivekananda, Nehru and Ambedkar, Tolstoy and Kipling, Yeats and Eliot, Alfred Nobel, Dmitri Mendeleev and C V Raman. Jairam Ramesh reveals why he decided to write a book on Edwin Arnold, who wrote The Light of Asia.
Cameron is the second British PM to visit Kolkata after John Major about 16 years ago.
Kolkata-born British author Neel Mukherjee's latest novel The Lives of Others, set in troubled Bengal of the 1960s and centres around a dysfunctional family, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize 2014, in its debut as a global literary award.
A towering figure in the world of letters, Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy, who died in Bangalore on Friday, was modern in his sensibilities and intellectual underpinnings in his literary works questioned many deeply-held beliefs.
Kailash Avhad told Rediff.com that when he appeared before DCP Sandeep Palve, the police officer expressed anger at his RTI applications, caught him by the collar, banged his head against the wall and rained blows behind his ear. He then forced Avhad to touch his feet in apology.
Scotland will vote on whether it will be an independent country or will remain a part of the United Kingdom on September 18. With the vote coming up next week, a look at ten famous Scots.
R K Narayan's house has been preserved as a simple museum with his memorabilia, thanks to the imagination of a commissioner of Mysore, who stopped its sale by RKN's successors to a property developer and purchased it for the government.
Intensive training and meticulous planning have gone into the making of Dangal.
Banning meat is cruel demonetisation. It is stealing from the poor, nothing less, writes Sunita Narain.
>There's still hope and plenty to play for, says Rediff.com's Aruneel Sadadekar.
The disagreements over what needs to be done on floodplains allows for illegal takeover by land mafia till nothing is left, observes Sunita Narain
Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan welcomed the apex court's order and urged people to abide by the SC guidelines and 'give green Diwali and our environment a chance'
Farhan Akhtar's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag does not offer anything new
Five years ago, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani spoke to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com on the Emergency. On the 40th anniversary of Indian democracy's darkest hour, we reproduce the interview.
It would be unfair to expect India to bedazzle crowds with eye-catching football. This team is built around stability, writes Dhruv Munjal
'His negotiations with Idi Amin and his men for compensation for the Indians, who left Uganda, were particularly tough. Apparently, Amin warned him that the body of the British negotiator, who came earlier, was found in a roadside gutter... As Jagat Mehta's special assistant during the last two years of his tenure as foreign secretary, I saw for myself how his conviction, courage and patriotism enabled him to fight against heavy odds, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
