During the lunch or tea breaks, Maharajji, Manikda, Amjad Khan and I often sat together as Maharajji sang old compositions or recited some bols. Amjad Khan had a great music sense and sang very well.
As of now, there is no restriction on the number of people entering the iconic monument complex at any point of time. The average footfall at the monument has increased at a rate of 10-15 per cent per annum.
In a setback to the main opposition Samajwadi Party, the BJP wrested both Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Three students were on Wednesday taken into custody in Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot attack.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that the family members of Navreet Singh, who died in an accident during the farmers' tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day want a judicial inquiry into farmer's death.
Bajirao Mastani has the potential to do for Maratha 'history' what Mughal-e-Azam did for Mughal 'history', says Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.
The Congress leader from Maharashtra said that the party of Mahatma Gandhi that once saw Maulana Azad become its president at the age of 35 years "is now the proprietorship of a Shehzada.
This spell is most likely to give good snow/rain in the Pirpanjal area Gulmarg, Ramban-Banihal, Shopian, Poonch-Rajouri and Zojila especially during November 24-25 and decrease thereafter significantly.
Suggesting an alliance with ruling Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress in Maharashtra, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Imtiaz Jaleel has said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) can become a 'comfortable car' from the three-wheeled autorickshaw which can prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power.
Dense toxic smoke from burning sewing machines, plastic toys and boxes, rexin rolls, plastic wrappers, card boards, packaging material and garments had engulfed the building, making it difficult to conduct rescue operations, firefighters said.
'The margin of victory or loss would make both camps rethink their strategies for the 2024 assembly election in Maharashtra.'
Sukanya Verma looks at Bollywood's extravagant bling fetish.
Nitin Singh, tourist guide, spent 75 minutes with Donald and Melania Trump at the Taj Mahal. 'They were very down to earth and listening to me intently as I told them the story of the Taj and the Mughals.'
Bollywood's stars have understandably consulted them and transformed into their favourite movie characters for Halloween.
'If we were to change the name of our country officially and become a Hindu Rashtra, will the treatment of Muslims change?' asks Aakar Patel.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday condoled the death of Indian cinema icon Dilip Kumar, saying he can never forget his generosity in helping to raise funds for a trust to set up cancer hospitals in his mother's memory.
Hindu women plaintiffs who have filed a civil suit before the Varanasi court seeking declaration and asserting the right to darshan and worship Hindu deities whose idols are located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi has referred to stand taken by the British government in a 1936 suit seeking it to be declared as Waqf property.
'Melania Trump asked about the mud-pack treatment and was amazed when she got to know the details of the process'
The vision document was submitted after an angry apex court on July 11 lashed out the state government for its apathy towards the 17th century Mughal era monument
'If you can come with some arrangement with the Pakistanis that Pakistan ceases to stop creating trouble in Kashmir in return for the Indians not arming Afghanistan, everyone wins.' William Dalrymple discusses his new book Return of a King, Afghanistan, the Mughals and, of course, India with Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'I admire the discipline with which she trained for the action scenes.' 'I admire her for the dedication with which she managed to lose all the weight she had put on for Thalaivi, physically transforming herself before coming into this film.'
Check out which monuments make the most money for the government.
Several avalanches and landslides hit the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Friday even as the death toll in the series of snow slides that have hit Jammu and Kashmir crossed 20 with the recovery of the bodies of four soldiers.
Sporting stars joined the country in mourning the demise of iconic actor Dilip Kumar
The newly-inaugurated Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi is being largely hailed as a symbol of resurrection of India's spiritual consciousness but a section of people here claims that the mega project is being showcased so that the ruling party gets a "political edge" in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
Cities, roads, stations rechristened in the time of Modi.
US President Trump and the First Lady held hands as they strolled at the Taj complex and later wrote in the visitors' book. They were also briefed about the history and importance of the monument.
From playing to the Sikh vote bank because Punjab elections are round the corner, to ensuring that a discordant 'us versus them' note was struck, whatever could be done to exploit every last drop of communal appeal, was done, observes Jyoti Punwani.
Ataturk and Nehru, two liberal secular modernisers, are in peril of being disowned by their successors, says Sunanda K-Datta Ray.
Over 14,000 policemen were deployed across the city for the security of Adityanath.
Why eat simple when you can try something royal?
Anti-sabotage checks are being carried out and patrolling has been intensified across the city, including on the Yamuna river where patrolling is being conducted on motor boats by the Delhi Police. Anti-terrorist measures are being carried out in view of threat perception and intelligence inputs, they said.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
A staple in Bengali households, Maachher Kaalia is a rich fish curry made with sweet-water fish.
'Indian apathy towards our historical heritage is indeed amazing,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Dr Kalam never felt or behaved like a President during his entire tenure of five years as the President.' 'Not even a single day, he felt he was the first citizen of India, or someone different from the others, or the President of India.'
This burst of flavours is as much a delight to eat as for the chefs to dish out a perfect pot of biryani.
'You will see more laws that treat Hindus and non-Hindus, especially Muslims, quite unequally.' 'Once you see this kind of erosion of secularism, it will be very hard to get it back.'
'The way discrimination against Muslims has become almost normalised is very upsetting.'
Extending his support to the farmers agitating in the national capital against the three farm laws, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party workers of perpetrating the violence that took place on Republic Day at Red Fort during farmers' tractor rally.