'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.'
To begin, the Budget has no doubt attempted to address uncertainty.
'Chinese leaders rarely receive their foreign guests in cities other than Beijing. Such respect for India!' 'Does it mean that Modi could replicate "the warmth and unconventional way" by sending Indian troops into Tibet, as Xi did in Chumur (Ladakh) when he arrived in India? Of course, Indians are far too polite to do so,' says Claude Arpi.
'Amartya Sen is a citizen of the country who has every right to criticise or give his opinion on a policy decision.' 'Get back at him! Why get back at Harvard?'
Sectors throw up a wishlist for the Finance Minister.
Full transcript of President Obama's speech at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.
The Sharif group's website claims they are worth $300 million in business and $100 million in real estate holdings
With Beijing having had a profound rethink on India's admission as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the tectonic plates of the geopolitics of a massive swathe of the planet stretching from the Asia-Pacific to West Asia are dramatically shifting. That grating noise in the Central Asian steppes will be heard far and wide -- as far as North America, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A majority of India's billionaires gained wealth in the last one year in spite of the stock market decline.
After Pyongyang tests a missile potentially capable of reaching the US, Dr Rajaram Panda explores the realistic -- and peaceful -- options before Donald Trump and the international community at large.
'Both Modi and Xi know that if all that there is to show for Modi's visit -- barely eight months after Xi's India trip -- is a repeat of the same old declarations, there will be a terrible sense of letdown in the public mood resulting in future summits losing credibility. Only the possibility of new ground being broken can justify Modi's trip at this time,' says B S Raghavan.
From odd to heartwarming, the best of Twitter conversations in 2014.
Olga Tellis, a legend in Indian journalism, completes 50 years as a reporter this year. A no-nonsense journalist whom politicians and officialdom took on at their peril, Ms Tellis has always been known as a hard-as-nails scribe who would ferret out the truth at any cost.
Sahara relied on a letter from bank saying the funds were there.
Ashok Soota of Happiest Minds shares the secret recipe with us.
'In Chinese perception, India is strategically getting closer to United States and some Chinese analysts fear perhaps one day it may become a part of American arrangements against China.'
'Prashant has left us and it is really tragic. But I want to hold on to those little moments of happiness that he shared with me and with others whose lives he touched. That is how I want to remember him.' Aseem Chhabra pays tribute to Patang director Prashant Bhargava, who passed away on May 16. He was only 42.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to South Korea is considered essential in strengthening defence ties, enhancing economic cooperation and forging cultural ties between the two countries, says Dr Rahul Mishra
Those who know Shiv Shankar Menon will vouch that he did lots of things, substantial in the immediate neighbourhood and widespread in South Asia, but without making things public. Twenty per cent of Menon's job was visible, while 80 per cemt of his job was not known to the public, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday disagreed with those in the Congress who were dismissive of the challenge posed by Narendra Modi but asserted that the party would approach the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with self-confidence, irrespective of the results of the just concluded elections in five states.
'India is going to maintain its ties to China, India is going to develop a strong relationship with the United States. It means that India is going to have the flexibility to pick and choose its friends.' 'That's traditional Indian foreign policy, and it's smart.' Former US ambassador to India Frank Wisner, one of America's sharpest minds on South Asia, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com what Washington can expect from Narendra Modi's visit.
The prime minister made the reference about the functioning of the Parliament against the backdrop of the virtual washout of its Monsoon session over various issues.
PM Modi addressed a crowded UNESCO gathering, speaking of the importance of culture.
The government has provided a long-term vision.
The external affairs ministry's files, as distinct from those of the ministry of defence or the agencies, at least from before 1974 should be declassified. And if select files that are more than 40 years old are not to be declassified, the ministry should follow explicit guidelines to justify taking such a view, says Jaimini Bhagwat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special interaction with Chinese media persons in New Delhi on the eve of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping where he summarized the possibilities of Sino-India bilateral ties.
'If the dimensions of the strategic partnership worked out by India and the US seem like a grand alliance targeted at you-know-who, China had better realise that it has fathered it,' says B S Raghavan, a long time observer of China.
ITC is one of those few enterprises in the world that has traversed a 100 year journey and has yet managed to remain contemporary, relevant and competitive.
While even the Opposition doesn't believe that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is personally involved in the solar scam, the Congress leaders reputation has been tainted. And while he tells Indulekha Aravind that it is only a conspiracy, it may have a bearing on the coming general elections
'I am doing all this for the students of Kerala, and when they come and hit me, it is very frustrating.' 'My regret is that something that could set off for the future has been thwarted.' 'We have not changed the syllabus for decades, we have not accepted norms in education and technology is hardly used. Today's students are studying what I studied decades ago.'
PM Modi addressed the Sri Lanka Parliament on Friday.
The compulsions of domestic politics notwithstanding, India and Bangladesh script a new story in bilateral relations, say Nayanima Basu and Aditi Phadnis
'Modi is likely to make more announcements to win or retain popularity, and put himself at the centre of things even more than now,' says T N Ninan.
'Clearly, from the Indian viewpoint, the US retrenchment from Asia cannot be happening as good news.' 'The abandonment of the US' pivot to Asia exposes the US-Indian partnership to be a mere transactional relationship,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances