The little known Thangarasu Natarajan's life changed in a matter of few minutes as Rs 10 lakh base price saw a quantum 30-time jump reaching Rs 3 crore.
Take a look at the famous faces who exercised their democratic right.
Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, 21, received the Mahavir Chakra in the 1962 War with China. Such was his valour that a temple and museum stands on the land he died defending in the icy valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
'Mucor is an environmental fungus, and it's much more prevalent in hot and humid areas.' 'The amount of fungus in the air is much higher in India than some other parts of the world.'
'It's the relationship that is important.'
Claude Arpi's fascinating account of the Dalai Lama's arrival in Tawang in March 1959.
Known for making controversial remarks, senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan outdid himself when he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met wanted underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Lahore at the residence of his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif last December. Sharat Pradhan/ Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
Kishore Singh on Jean-Michel Basquiat and his worth.
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya pays tribute to her aunt Sonali Dasgupta, who eloped with filmmaker Roberto Rossellini in 1956, and then made a life in Europe.
I Love NY is criminally unremarkable, says Nishi Tiwari.
'To me, this is true patriotism - not deciding who should and should not say 'Bharat Mata ki jai,' in what language, with what inflexion, at what time, etc, but the recognition that the Indians who protected our country and the military traditions that made those men, must be honoured,' says Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Rasheed Kidwai unearths little-known stories from the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee's past as Amitabh Bachchan celebrates 50 years in the movies this month.
Bhanu Athaiya on the films she has designed for, how Gandhi happened, and what it means to be a woman in a man's world.
Priyanka Chopra on stereotypes, movies and more.
More stars than they are in heaven were at the Sachin: A Billion Dreams premiere.
'Our network somehow saves 3,000 lives every year, but there's so much more to do, as every death due to shortage of blood is easily avoidable.'
Charles 'Biharilal' Thomson, an Australian who speaks fluent Hindi, on how India has bewitched him.
As politicians fast to score brownie points, they should know that not every fast has a desirable ending, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
The pilgrimage of a true GoT fan.
Bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi says that it is indeed possible to 'attract' good luck!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday quoted lines from Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan's iconic "The times they are a-changin'", a song which had apparently become an anthem of change, to make a veiled reference to the political situation in the country in the backdrop of the demonetisation move as he addressed the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai.
'We spoke of everything but politics.' 'She was well-versed in the Eng. Lit. canon of Dickens and Austen, but had also read Oscar Wilde's famous epistolary tract from jail, De Profundis.' Sunil Sethi recalls his memorable encounters with Jayalalithaa.
Singing the national anthem and watching patriotic movies on Doordarshan.
'Basuda welcomed viewers into a world that was instantly familiar and comfortable,' observes Sukanya Verma.
'Sakshi Maharaj hasn't kept a single promise... and we're fed up.' 'Annu Tandon is the only one whom we can turn to in distress.'
'May it be the guardian which calls for breaking down narrow walls of the mind.' 'May it continue to invite everyone to celebrate the possibilities of humanity's one-ness.' Claude Arpi salutes 50 years of Auroville, a Grand Experiment in Living.
In the shock after Nathuram Godse murdered Mahatma Gandhi that January evening 72 years ago today, a young American diplomat rushed to capture the assassin. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel traces the memorable life of Herbert Reiner, who History has sadly relegated to a footnote.
Commander Abhilash Tomy of the Indian Navy sailed the oceans and conquered likely death after a storm badly injured his spine and destroyed his boat. Archana Masih/Rediff.com met the decorated sailor who fought all odds to return home alive.
At Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas's nuptials, the Adil Manuel Collective played funk, jazz and R&B for longer than planned that evening at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. One of the couple's friends in the audience yelled: 'Are you guys even from India?' Adil Manuel offered to show her their passports.
Narendra Modi can pick up a tip from the Samajwadi Party ramlila. If he doesn't want L K Advani as President, he might anoint him Bharatiya Bhishma Pitamah, suggests Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
While stating that a strong government should be led by those who have expertise, motivation and integrity and can provide the needed public good, Rajan warned that "strong governments, may not, however, move in the right direction".
Right in the midst of bustling Kolkata lies what might be the most prominent population of Britons in India.
Sign the petition to award the Nobel Peace Prize to renowned yoga guru B K S Iyengar.
'Why exclude those who are curious about our faith but not born into it, to experience the temple?'
Voting was held in Maldives on Saturday for the second multi-party presidential elections with long queues of people outside polling stations in this Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a series of unsettling political events in the last eighteen months.
'Is this the message that India wants to send to Kashmir?'
Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army to its greatest military victory this month 46 years ago. Lieutenant Colonel A K Shinde (retd), the field marshal's doctor for 35 years, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih about the charming man behind the soldier's uniform.
The Congress chief, however, said he was not expecting any cooperation from the prime minister and the BJP-led central government for the development of Wayanad and Kerala.
'Madhubala told me that of all the addictions, the biggest addiction is make-up; once you put it on, you can never leave the limelight even if you want to,' Tabassum tells Patcy N.
