'I was fortunate to have served as India's ambassador to Indonesia and witnessed on several occasions, the incredible performances of the Ramayana and episodes from the Mahabharata in Jogjakarta and in Bali,' recalls former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
Praising Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, party president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the country needs a single dose of a drug, called "Modicine", to treat all its ills.
Ranbir's daku aspirations, Alia's magical transformation, Aishwarya's mommy love and more in Sukanya Verma's Super Filmi Week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the BJP has emerged as the "third force" in Kerala that will replace the two fronts in the next year's assembly elections.
'When a woman gets married, she leaves her village, her friends and family.' 'In her new home, she will make friends, but they can never replace those she left behind.'
In the 2012 election, the BJP's performance was the poorest in Purvanchal, winning only 12 of the region's 112 seats. Will 2017 be different? Will the party ride on Varanasi MP Narendra Modi's charisma?
P Murugesan has been sending telegrams for 33 years in rural Tamil Nadu. He remembers hectic marriage seasons, many moons ago, when everyone sent telegrams. And days when even 15 Morse machines could not handle the load...
'If the audiences will accept me, it's well and good. Otherwise maybe we will recast Siddharth as Ashoka's son!' Mohit Raina may be 'boring' but the humour is all there.
A look at licensed distilleries shows that many have connections with politicians and influential business families. Among politicians, a minister owns a distillery. Two others are owned by ex-Congressman Venod Sharma and ex-Akali MLA Deep Malhotra.
'Comparing a men-only pilgrimage with past blots like sati or untouchability is propelled by politics, mischief and malevolence,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
'Bateshwar is a rare temple where Shiva is depicted in his human form (and not his symbol, the Lingam).'
Terrorists on Monday night killed seven Amarnath pilgrims, including six women, and injured 19 others as they struck at a bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district, in the worst attack on the annual pilgrimage since the year 2001. Five of those killed were from Gujarat and two from Maharashtra. Here are the latest updates:
'Mulk questions the very principle, of good-Muslim exceptionalism.' 'That, of course, we adore Abdul Hamid, A P J Abdul Kalam and Bismillah Khan and if only more Muslims were like them.' 'Anubhav Sinha sticks his neck out to say that these are no exceptions.' 'Most Muslims are like them. It is the terrorists who are exceptions,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Looking at some of Bollywood's coldest film locations.
There are several other famous temples across India that disallow non-Hindus to enter their place of worship, Rediff.com lists some of them.
A weekend in the beautiful sleepy town of Mukteshwar is just what you need to bust your stress, says Suchismita Banerjee.
From Lord Ram's birthplace to where Sita was held captive by Ravana, this trip will be full of mythical stories.
As Mumbaities bids adieu to Lord Ganesha on the final day of the festival, Rediff's Hitesh Harisinghani and Satish Bordes speak to lifeguards of city's beaches.
Temple priest performed a 'purification' ritual for an hour before the doors were opened again.
Not having launched a political party, Rajni now has his fans spread across various political parties in the state. They vote for different political parties and candidates, depending on issues and factors such as ideology, caste and community, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
While political observers are unable to make head or tail of the US President, those moving in high business and industry circles tell B S Raghavan that Trump's style is exactly that of an aggressive and successful businessman.
'How better can we depict the Mughal heritage?'
The strong Modi wave, disillusionment with the Akhilesh Yadav-led government in the state and the division of the anti-Modi vote will help the BJP leader edge closer to the PM's chair, observes Sharat Pradhan.
According to the New York Times, Tamil Nadu has a 'rich and undiscovered history'.
If the wave has become a tsunami, why is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate playing safe by polarising voters along communal lines, asks Bharat Bhushan.
The Lord Ayyappa shrine will re-open for the two-month-long Madala-Makkarvilakku puja on Saturday.
'The Pakistan government, we were told, has a plan to renovate several Hindu temples and Buddhist sites, which over the years have fallen into disrepair. The aim is to create a pilgrimage circuit to attract visitors from all over the subcontinent.'
Everyone wants a piece of the Taj Mahal, but do they care about the deteriorating condition of India's best-loved monument
'Given the growing animus against the Mughals in the Sangh Parivar, only a brave person will be ready to bet that no harm will ever be done by Hindutva storm-troopers to the Taj,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'The idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' only emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.' 'The context at that time was the clear British attempt at 'divide and rule' between Hindus and Muslims and within Hindus on caste lines,' argues military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Trupti Desai's fight earned women the right to enter the inner sanctums of the Shani Shingnapur Temple, the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple and the Haji Ali Dargah. Her next target is Sabarimala in Kerala. Aditi Phadnis reports.
We've already presented some of the stunning early entries to the 2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest in the Nature category and now, here are incredible portraits and action shots of people from around the world that have been submitted in the People category. As mentioned earlier, the grand-prize winner will be awarded $10,000 (Rs 6.67 lakh), will have their photo posted on the @NatGeoTravel Instagram account, as well as the bragging rights. Take a look and be amazed!
The Congress president questioned the government over unfulfilled promises and questioned the Rafale deal.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Fresh off the success of his newest film, Aamir Khan warns his fans about controversies surrounding his new film PK.
'From where prime ministers sit, it makes no difference at all who occupies the governor's post.' 'Literally anyone with a decent education or work experience can be appointed to the job, which is basically a managerial one with little room for manoeuvre,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'When you are returning your award you are commenting on the country and not the government.' 'Can we actually say that a vast majority of Indians have become communal? The data shows actually no. That is not true.' 'In religious terms India has a lot to teach the world because we are genuinely liberal, but in gender terms we have to learn lot from the West. In gender terms, we are terrible.'
Here's a look at the shows coming up!
Shashi Tharoor says the British Museum should change its name to Chor Bazaar because whatever it has within its portals is the result of 200 years of theft. The museum is once again in the eye of a storm for the possession of a statue of a god Hindus, across the world, worship as the Supreme Being.
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