MUSO is more than a museum; it is a vibrant, innovative playground that fosters curiosity.
The rising tide of Indian nationalism meant that the people of princely states now were keen to become a part of a united and integrated India rather than remain subjects of a princely state. The Congress too supported the people's wish and it fell upon Patel to get the princes to agree. He did so magnificently, using every trick available, whether it was sweet talk or coercion; the rulers buckled and Patel earned the eternal gratitude of the entire nation.
'What governments have been doing -- in civil service, journalism, business, everywhere -- is making it difficult to do the right thing.' 'Media now ask themselves: "Is it feasible for us to do this story? Will this make our life difficult?"' 'The government should make it easier for people to do the right thing and harder to do the wrong thing. Right now, it's the opposite.'
Elihu Yale rose up the ranks of the East India Company to become governor of Madras and is the controversial benefactor after whom Yale University is named.
'I was a nobody when I came here, and now I've become something.'
'He knew the world's eyes were on him, and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'
'The Bhashini Mission has delivered a working technology at large scale, which is as good as or better than the one with MNC tech giants.'
'In 2014 the BJP built its campaign around 'jija ji' (brother-in-law) and corruption, shouting about Vadra, 2G and coal scams. Yet today, all those cases have quietly been shut. The people are not fools. They can see the reality--that Congress and BJP are in a hidden alliance'
'... had gone to South Africa from India over a hundred years ago.'
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
rediffGURU Kanchan Rai explains how to deal with an awkward situation and the emotional mess when your secret online relationship unexpectedly collides with your real life.
'He was not highly educated. He was Class 10 passed but his intelligence was high. He could impress any group of people.'
This isn't just a home for the elderly. It's a place where life stories, generations, and cultures weave themselves into something quietly extraordinary, discovers Nitin Sathe.
Shift from producing graduates proficient in analysis and strategy to producing graduates capable of initiating, executing, and scaling impactful actions in real-world environments, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
rediffGURU Kanchan Rai explains how to deal with conflicting emotions in a relationship with clarity and self-awareness.
'My life has been quite difficult. I felt I could see it in words. I thought if everyone else can write, then I can too.'
'Earlier, we used to talk about a deficit economy. There is a deficit in democracy' 'If you read superficially Gandhi and Ambedkar and Nehru, some misconceptions and misunderstanding come to mind, as if they were at loggerheads and they differed radically in their views' 'India is one nation. There is only one citizenship. No citizenship for South India and no citizenship for North India and another for the Northeast'
He was a storyteller who made me feel the pulse of history, the stakes of human ambition, and the thrill of a well-told tale. Prem Panicker recalls his debt to Frederick Forsyth, who passed away on Monday.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
Seventy years after Pather Panchali released on August 26, 1955, we finally get it. Shuttling between the village of Boral and a studio in Calcutta, caught between worrying about the next purse of funds and wondering which item to mortgage next, Satyajit Ray was explaining Indians to themselves, discovers Sreehari Nair.
'I always considered him as a director, never an actor. Do you know he always considered other actors for his films first?' 'For Pyaasa, he wanted to cast Dilip saab; only when Dilip saab refused did Guru Duttji decide to do the role himself.'
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
South Indian filmmakers have kept their focus on the single-screen cinemagoer. They have kept their finger on the pulse of the single-screen cinema fan, who goes to movies once a month or more, to forget his weekly chores, explains Ambi Parameswaran.
Chandragupta Maurya was the first king to establish an empire in India. He died a monk.
'I have saved your name on my phone, but I cannot read or pronounce it.' 'I am able to recognise my wife's name today because after seeing it for so long, it has been imprinted in my mind as a picture and not the letters.'
Rajbaris are a link to Bengal's rich past, of grand mansions, classical fine dining, and allow guests to be pretend zamindars for those few hours or days that they stay.
Maria Goretti and Arshad Warsi have beautifully restored a 150-year-old Portuguese home in the sleepy village of Saligao, Goa, and its unique interiors truly transport you to another world.
"Do you want to see real bunnies?" Parisa gasped in surprise. "Real ones?! Yes please!" So off they went, giggling, to the pet shelter behind one of the homes.
Because the aftermath of what happened before continues long after. War breeds hostility and hatred and creates mistrust and greed. It extinguishes humanity and breaks the human spirit, argues Aarti David.
Lok Sabha on Monday turned into a battleground for the Delhi assembly polls with Bharatiya Janata Party member Ramvir Singh Bidhuri launching an all-out attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government, alleging that they 'looted' the national capital and turned it into 'hell'.
'These characters have huge spirits and they are fighting something that is much bigger than them.' 'The attempt was to portray how they navigate their lives, to retain that spirit and not let it die.'
'Studying was never an important part of our life, surviving was.'
'You have to separate the concept of India as a nation State which is very young and the Upanishadic wisdom which is timeless.'
'We go through 18 years of school and college, but we lack many necessary skills.' 'The biggest lessons we need, to live life, are somehow not taught, and they are only learned on the job.' 'My intention, through my content, my books, and my start-ups, is to make college kids become life ready.'
'Thankfully, as Indians, we have a long history of trans people in our culture, in our religions, in our mythology.' 'It's not a fad which has suddenly come into existence, the way that a lot of Americans treat it.'
'It was the toughest of roles because he had to change quickly behind the sofa and come out in the next dress!'
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has called upon the West Bengal government to "act urgently" to address the grievances of the riot-hit people of Murshidabad district, particularly women. Rahatkar, who visited the riot-affected areas in Murshidabad and Malda over the weekend, said the commission is preparing a report which will be submitted soon to the Centre with copies to top state officials. The report will incorporate the views of women who narrated their ordeal during the violence, including demands for a Border Security Force (BSF) camp in the affected area. Rahatkar also expressed concern about the lack of action by the State Women's Commission in visiting the affected areas.
As Swades turns 20, Aseem Chhabra looks back at the film that spoke to him.
A young couple sharing a laugh - in the living room over a Polish joke book, on the beach, in the rain - with the tagline, "Made for each other", hung from billboards at prominent street corners from the 1960s to the 1990s. It was a campaign for one of the largest selling cigarette brands in India, Wills (Navy Cut) from the ITC stable, that resonated with a generation of smokers and non-smokers alike till the curtains came down on tobacco advertising in 2004. As we prepare to welcome 2024, ITC has metamorphosed from a tobacco giant into a conglomerate straddling multiple large-sized businesses. In the mind space of Gen Z or millennials, the company represents a gamut of branded products - from frozen food (ITC Master Chef), noodles (YiPPee!), and cookies (Sunfeast) to snacks (Bingo!) and notebooks (Classmate), and so on and so forth.
