'As we were setting up our base camp, one of the women with professionally used brooms squatting in a corner and having chai approached us, with a grin. "Namaste Saheb, Acche Din to aahi gaye. From which party?"' Ambassador B S Prakash and a group of retired bureaucrats join the Swach Bharat Abhiyan.
'In 2015 I watched films in so many places. I attended several film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Telluride, Toronto, Zurich, Mumbai, Dharamsala and Goa,' says Aseem Chhabra, author of a forthcoming book on Shashi Kapoor.
As returns from fiction fall, broadcasters are experimenting with high-cost programming and new genres to grab more eyeballs. But can production houses rise to the challenge?
Donald Trump, Hardik Patel, Kangana Ranuat... The year 2017 wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for these personalities and many more. As we herald in 2018, here's a look at the faces and stories which left an indelible mark on us.
Raja Sen confesses to not being able to stop raving about the spectacular La La Land.
26/11 survivor Anamika Gupta on her unforgettable encounters with the terrorists.
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
'Women want a man with a sense of humour, but refuse to see the funny side when they show it' ...whines the male protagonist of Madhuri Banerjee's fourth novel My Clingy Girlfriend
Two years after a midday meal took the lives of 23 children in Gandaman, Archana Masih sits down to have lunch at the same government school and discovers that much has changed and much remains the same.
The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.
'Because of the impact the movement has had, people will think twice before misbehaving because you don't know who will turn out to be another Tanushree Dutta.'
'Promise less, exceed expectations' should be the lesson for the Modi government
Meet the cleanliness warrior from Nagaland who is cleaning up the holy ghats of Varanasi...
'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'
'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.' 'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.' 'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'
In the documentary The World Before Her, a young girl has to submit to the will of her father for a most gut-wrenching reason: 'He let me live... I am a girl... but he let me live.' Is that reason enough, asks Suparn Verma.
'Indrani gave a mirthless laugh on spying The Suitcase, from the accused enclosure and, in sign language, gestured the impossibility of anyone fitting in such a small bag.'
Dhoom 3 is a children's film made for children who've never seen a film, writes Raja Sen.
In Sukanya Verma's special series re-visiting great Hindi film classics, we look back at 1960's Parakh, starring Sadhana, Motilal, Nazir Hussain and Durga Khote.
Back in September 2002, Shakti Bhatt/Rediff.com located the former Union Carbide chairman's luxury home in New York, declared unknown by the American and Indian governments. Rediff.com reproduces the feature about his life in hiding.
Mumbai-based CA Prince Tiwari is educating and empowering the underprivileged since 2011. This is his heart-warming story.
'We have the political will to take this to the very end.' 'But what eventually happens depends on the effectiveness, honesty and missionary zeal of the officialdom in the frontline of the battle against corruption,' says S Muralidharan.
Team Menstrupedia is inspiring young girls to break taboos and speak about their problems related to menstruation and instilling confidence in them.
'It was only relatively recently that Subhash Kapoor was able to secure the sources in India, Afghanistan and Cambodia, that allowed him to get the really highest level objects, and that helped propel him in recent years up the ranks.'
'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
From Boyhood to The Grand Budapest Hotel, we've seen some brilliant cinema this year.