What better way to know a place than to learn its cuisine? Learn the art of working with terracotta and stoneware clay... ...If it's textiles that turn you on, a holiday in Jaipur could be just the thing for you.... ...Add an extra dimension to a holiday in spiritual Dharamsala by immersing yourself in Tibetan art...
When China protested strongly over the August decision on J&K -- not once but twice -- we ignored it. And to compound matters, we simply turned our back and walked over to the 'Quad' alliance with the US, upgrading it to ministerial level, and thereafter began following the American footfalls on Taiwan and COVID-19 to taunt and humiliate Beijing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
After New York and Washington DC, Jaitley would head for California.
'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
Whether we flew aircraft or mastered plastic surgery is immaterial for modern India, what matters is if ancient Indians understood the science and art of settlement planning, architecture and governance of natural resources. This is the history we need to learn, says Sunita Narain
'The Mughals became completely Indian in every sense and united the vast Indian subcontinent, not only territorially, but also the hearts and minds of people with multiple religio-cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversities' 'The Mughals, arguably, made India an enviable superpower in the then world.' 'Are the Hindutva rulers of today scared of acknowledging Mughal accomplishments?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
But he has serious competition from Akshay Kumar, and Rustom.
'After it was finished, Shah Jahan visited the Taj only twice.' 'There is a letter from Aurangzeb to him after a visit, reporting that the dome was leaking and needed to be fixed.' 'Shah Jahan wasn't bothered: He had moved on to designing his next project, Shahjahanabad,' reveals Aakar Patel.
'Under National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and now Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, India began to actively work on Pakistani internal faultlines with a possibility of the break-up of Pakistan as the only solution,' observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'He was carrying his Indian passport. This seems like a very different sort of spy than the ones we see in movies, who carry fake passports and are highly trained,' says Aakar Patel.
Internet trolls kept the social media abuzz in 2016 and spared none -- be it Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, cricketer Mohammad Shami or even 'Saifeena' -- unleashing posts and memes that ranged from controversial to hilarious to bizarre.
'For years American academia has used the concerns about Hindutva in India to almost completely trash the concept of Hinduism.' 'In the American debate, Wendy Doniger's point of views perpetuated Hinduphobia.' 'Americans were willing to change... Indian intellectuals let us down badly.'
Ahead of the International Fleet Review being held in Vizag, Naval chief Admiral RK Dhowan spoke of the changing perception of the navy and the many challenges it faces.
"South Asian studies" academics in the US would do well to introspect how they wittingly or unwittingly become part of Pakistan's proxy war in wielding influence over academics and policy, says Sankrant Sanu.
'The benefits may not be visible immediately, but the general feeling of wellness, rejuvenation and relaxation is palpable.' 'A former President had the habit of undergoing Ayurveda treatment every year in Kerala and he remarked once that he felt ten years younger every time he took the treatment.'
All those of us who care about books should welcome the appointment, as head of the Indian Council of Historical Research, of Yellapragada Sudarshan Rao. This is not because Rao has so far distinguished himself as a writer about "history and tourism management", which is the department of Kakatiya University in Warangal he headed before retiring to head an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed project to "write history from a nationalist perspective and popularise Sanskrit", two aims which naturally go together for the RSS.
In an age of patents and intellectual property rights, it would be improper to deny that yoga comes from the Hindu tradition, says Sankrant Sanu.
The Indians felt that if they acceded to Chinese claims in Ladakh, Beijing would simply be emboldened to press for further concessions in the future. A revealing excerpt from India And The Cold War.
'You have to respect nature. You won't respect nature unless you see nature's fury.'
It was a common perception in the US that Indians didn't know how to lead a company or delegate authority.
A decade has seen many welcome changes in this hill district of Jammu and Kashmir, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Twenty-two British and French trekkers, stranded in high altitude Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir following heavy downpour, have been rescued by Indian Air Force personnel in the past two days.
'The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 kilometres ballistic missile. Its advantage is that it can cover all cities of north India, including New Delhi'
Pakistan perceives that if it had declared Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK or both, which are only a part of the territories of J&K, as legitimate provinces of Pakistan it would weaken its case for the entire J&K and lead to legal complications, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Pulwama must become the defining moment in our fight against terror, effecting a sea change in our mindset. The erratic, blow hot blow cold approach, the hallmark of our anti-terror-Pak-Kashmir policy must end. In its place is required a pragmatic, comprehensive, robust hard line course that is relentlessly pursued even in times of relative calm until the final objective is met, namely the eradication of separatism and the total annihilation of terror, says Vivek Gumaste.
'We are calling for democratic accountability even as we talk about Digital India.' 'We are not against Digital India and it is important for India, but the government should not see what is applicable just to entrepreneurs but also to the vast majority of Indians who do not have the kind of advantages that many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have.'
'Culture is our asset. Culture is our identity.' 'Wherever you go in India, every millimetre can be measured with culture.' 'There is so much to see that even one life is not enough.'
'That an Indian can lead the world's top software company is an important milestone for Indian Americans and for America. But the larger message is for India itself: Imagine what Indians can achieve at home if they put their differences aside and start helping one another,' says Vivek Wadhwa.
IIM Ahmedabad's CIIE signed a MoU with Tata Trust for founding partner for the Bharat Fund, which will provide seed funding to Indian entrepreneurs.
'A conventional war is not in fashion today and not seen as being able to deliver the objective.' 'Perhaps surgical strikes that are deeper, this time not on Pakistan's terrorist facilities, but on Pakistan army facilities.' 'The nation has to be prepared for losses.' 'War is not something that can be pussyfooted around.' 'If we go for limited number of posts in Kashmir, these are very difficult posts to capture and very difficult operations.' 'Be prepared for 200 to 300 killed.'
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
For teams that work on projects to make art, culture and travel accessible to the differently-abled, the experience of seeing faces light up is reward in itself.
In an interaction with rediff.com, various TiE members expressed hopes of revival in the Indian economy after the formation of the new government.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'The Pakistanis were lulled adequately to provide one of the fundamental prerequisites for successful execution of such an option: Surprise.' 'The other requisite: Deception in terms of selection of areas for launch/time of offensive action,' explains Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The towering face of Kailash reminded us that we were but insignificant participants in a pilgrimage ritual that has played out over millennia for people of four major religions -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon, notes Sonia Trikha Shukla.
'The lush green of Kashmir was exactly like the postcards and posters I had seen growing up.'
Gavin DSouza who scored 99.49 percentile in CAT 2013 tells us how he cracked the test.
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