An ensemble of musicians, some of whom played sursingar, mohan veena, dilruba and other rare instruments, regaled G20 world leaders during the ceremonial dinner hosted for them by President Droupadi Murmu.
The idea of the University was first mooted in the late 1990s, but it was Kalam's initiative in early 2006 that gave shape to the project at the ancient site of Buddhist learning.
"Buddhism is more relevant today than ever," said President Pratibha Patil after visiting Bodh Gaya and Nalanda
Stealing the limelight at the Jaipur Literature Festival the Dalai Lama on Thursday spoke about India's immense contribution to learning since ancient days beginning with the Nalanda University, in his talk on the Buddha's influence on the literary world.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his team, including a powerful former bureaucrat in New Delhi, have failed in their efforts to persuade former president A P J Abdul Kalam to continue as visitor of the upcoming Nalanda International University in the state.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told rediff.com in Patna on Tuesday that the Dalai Lama promised to back and fully support the setting up of the university in Nalanda.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday faced angry farmers in Nalanda, who pelted stones while demanding compensation from the state government for land acquisition for a proposed international university.
Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen on Tuesday expressed scepticism about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of secularism, asserting he would like to see "more action" in reaching out to the minorities.
'Over the years, India has taken great strides in many fields, especially in the context of science and technology. Yet even as external disarmament is necessary, inner disarmament is no less important'
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's letter, which he sent to Foreign Minister S M Krishna in last July, has now come into public domain, slamming Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen for forcing him out of his brainchild project of the Nalanda University in Bihar as its first visitor.
Nationhood is constituted by people who share a "common sense of their history" and a "common vision of their future", National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said as he released an 11-volume book series that charts different phases of the history of ancient India and its accomplishments.
Hundred centrally-protected monuments, including UNESCO world heritage sites spread across the country, will be lit up for a week and bear the G20 logo starting December 1 when India will assume the Presidency of influential group, officials said on Wednesday.
'And Joshimath has already shown the dangers ahead.' 'We have to acknowledge that our mountains are still young babies.' 'You don't put an extra load on the back of a growing child!'
According to data collated by think-tank PRS Legislative Research, productivity of Parliament during the session was the 'third lowest' in the 16th Lok Sabha.
'The world is reeling under violence, often in the name of religion. This must not happen and humanistic values must be promoted'
Right now there are five Hindus occupying the top job in the world. Rishi Sunak will be the sixth.
It was clear in Brunei at the 8th East Asia Summit that China doesn't want the South China Sea issue to even dominate the discussion, reports Sheela Bhatt, who is part of the prime minister's media contingent to the summit
Terming his just-concluded state visit to Bhutan as very successful and his "most memorable", President Pranab Mukherjee hoped that bilateral relations between the two countries would continue to grow from strength to strength.
The statement comes in the midst of countrywide protests against the new citizenship law.
The Janata Dal-United supremo was replying to queries from journalists in Darbhanga district which he visited as part of his state-wide mass outreach programme 'Samadhan Yatra'.
Is it just the glamour?
'Communalism and communal riots happened in India only during and due to colonialism. Pre-colonial India didn't have this problem of communal conflicts and religious strife.'
The internet services giant wanted to cover most of the Indian territory through the Google Street View.
Dr Kalam did not specify about the duration of his stay in the university.
Away from limelight, Jeevika Didis are silently fighting the coronavirus in rural Bihar.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
Aiming to give fillip to India's Look East policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to announce new initiatives to take forward ties with the ASEAN by setting up a mission and appointing an ambassador for the 10-member grouping.
The first meeting of the Nalanda Mentor Group headed by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen to oversee the opening of the university will be held in Singapore on July 13 and 14, N K Singh, deputy chairman, Bihar State Planning, said.
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
Addressing the students of the Royal University of Bhutan in Thimphu, Modi asked them to work hard and take the Himalayan nation to great heights.
Major opposition parties met President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and put forth their concerns over recent incidents of violence, including attacks by cow vigilantes, and attempts to "muzzle voices of dissent".
Vardhan, however, parried questions on the source of the information.
While addressing the 14th ASEAN-India summit, the PM noted that growing radicalism and spread of extreme violence are the other security threats.
Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday did an hour-long session of yoga exercises in the open air as he led corporate India to join the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Several public and private sector companies held yoga sessions at their offices to promote the adoption of exercise in daily routines to stay fit and healthy. Adani, chairman of logistics-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, and his wife Priti, who heads the Adani Foundation, "participated with more than 1,000 members of the Adani Parivaar team to celebrate health, mindfulness and meditation," the group said in a statement. The session was held at a football ground at Adani Shantigram in Ahmedabad. Several other business leaders tweeted pictures of their yoga sessions.
'Indian apathy towards our historical heritage is indeed amazing,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Rights activist Kailash Satyarthi is the eight Indian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Rediff.com takes a look at other Indians or Indian-origin people, who have been awarded the honour.
The ISRO team is expected to commence the mapping operations in February, Mishra told rediff.com.
Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had criticised Manmohan Singh's policy towards China and promised a more strong-willed policy. Those claims are now under a cloud.
The Common Law Admission Test will now be held on Sunday, May 31, 2009 from 3 pm to 5 pm.
"We often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia Summit.
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