An encounter with movie veteran Chandrashekhar.
The venom and contemptuous sarcasm evident on the army's tweet on the Yeti and my reply has something to do with the intrinsic hatred that a section of the media nurses against the right wing, says Tarun Vijay.
Driven by hardship, adventurous souls mortgage their homesteads in Punjab or Haryana, pawn the family jewellery and borrow heavily to satisfy the greed of the criminal traffickers who organise their trips, points out Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
Key economies like India and China are rapidly becoming the biggest trading partners of the Gulf countries as compared to other regions, a new study has said.
'Initially, Gift City was just another real estate project, but all that changed with Modi moving to New Delhi,' notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'Keeping its financial interests in mind, China wants no enmity with the Nepalese government.'
The CBI on Wednesday registered a case against social activist Teesta Setalvad and her organisation for alleged violation of FCRA in recieving funds from abroad without taking prior permission from the home ministry.
Under the watchful eyes of five wise men, who know the industry well, banks will not find it easy to hoodwink the system, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The recently released poster Mental Hai Kya is like an abuse aimed at those who are fighting a disorder that demands support and social understanding, says Tarun Vijay, the former BJP MP.
'This confrontation could have been avoided by a less arrogant administration that initially listened, used whatever negotiating skills they had and tried to be more credible,' observes Ramesh Menon.
'When the lockdown grounded a billion people, nothing had been planned well: Testing, masks, face shields, protective gear, medical equipment, contact tracing ... nothing.' 'Before COVID, if you didn't know that the state had neither the money, nor the intent, nor the capacity to govern wisely and humanely, you were simply blind.' 'After COVID, if we continue to look to the State, look forward to a financial package or ask "What is the government doing" when faced with a calamity, the joke is on us, says Debashis Basu.
To an award show that's famous for honouring artists belatedly, we have sent as our official entry one of our major film-makers's weakest work yet, feels Sreehari Nair.
At 89th, India is the lowest-ranked among the BRICS.
'James Crabtree ignores the emergence of a nexus between business and politics going back to the 1920s and talks of it as a new child of 21st century India,' says Shivanand Kanavi.
'Much of the Socialism that we attribute to him actually came during Indira Gandhi's time,' says M J Akbar who believes that Nehru's convictions helped shape modern India.
The US election campaign has provided plenty of ammunition for the CCP to make its case that its political system is superior.
Shambhavi, who was invited by President A P J Abdul Kalam to Rashtrapati Bhavan as a 13 year old, remembers the meeting with awe and pays tribute to the man who inspired her.
With the frontline Indian benchmark indices trading near all-time highs ahead of the general elections that begin later this week, Marc Faber, Editor and Publisher of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report" tells Puneet Wadhwa that the Indian stock market is relatively expensive, especially the index (large-cap) stocks.
'Common sense says if one can afford, servicing the loans during this period is a better bet than postponing it by three months,' says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'And Sir, you are at fault if they don't like you. 'You don't boast of your government's efforts to be the first one to bring in thousands of Indians back home without thinking for a second about their race, religion, language, orientation, or even citizenship,' says Sarang, a reader of Rediff.com.
In an online chat with readers overseas consultant NNS Chandra offered advice.
'Learning to learn should be given more importance than what is actually being learnt,' recommends Zaki Ansari.
From the standoff with China to the government's response to the farmers' protest, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds a freewheeling talk.
'Which path should Muslims take politically as they have been completely marginalised?'
'The Supreme Court has laid out some very important principles.' 'Let us see if the government will try to circumvent it and subvert the very essence of these principles or if it will comply with the order in the right spirit.'
The Budget will indicate where the Modi government stands on reforms, growth and development.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tennis star Sania Mirza and actor Priyanka Chopra are among the probable contenders named by the Time magazine for its annual list of the most influential people in the world.
She lamented that Africa despite being the largest continent in terms of number of the countries and India, which has has one-sixth of the world's population, still don't have permanent membership of the UNSC.
Ajit Balakrishnan reflects on pariahs, small businesses, and blockchains.
When BJP leaders, including Mr Modi's number two, Amit Shah, use the pandemic to launch an assault on state governments run by opposition parties, or to topple them, they are exploiting a grave crisis in cynical political self-interest, notes Shekhar Gupta.
No new ideas, please, we are Indian. Seventeen years into the 21st century, we are still fixated by the ideas of the 20th century.
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
As Afghans head to the polling booths to elect a new president, a contested and fraud-marred elections could potentially throw Afghanistan into a renewed cycle of violence and instability, says Dr Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
'Put the assets of PMC Bank and the personal assets of the HDIL promoters and head of PMC Bank in an escrow account and ring-fence it from the ad hoc action of the revenue departments and creditors,' recommends Debashis Basu.
India is in the midst of its biggest crisis since Independence. It is a national emergency and begs to be dealt with. Politics can wait. Lives need to be saved. We need to vaccinate India at a pace faster than any country in the world, asserts Ramesh Menon.
In a bid to further deepen ties with India, Australia is looking forward to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he is expected to attend the G20 Summit in Brisbane.
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
For its development, India needs a movement akin to the freedom movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.
Fix India's real estate sector. Fix India's public sector banks, advises Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
