Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday offered worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara in the wee hours near Tirupati.
Bharati Dutt witnessed life-changing events that shaped India on the threshold of freedom. Her memories are an account of how ordinary Indians saw India change.
Modi's arrival has changed the optics of the visit. There is a different demonstration of the confidence level in the Indian leadership, but not much has changed beyond that, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Indian fashion, mostly, has been either inexpensive streetwear or wedding wear lacking elegance Varana brings. Kishore Singh drops by the brand's flagship store on London's iconic Dover Street.
Right from conducting nuclear deterrence patrols in 2015 to its destructive space programme, from its back-tracking on economic commitments to its hardened positions on Sino-India border deal -- its approach with India spells Adversarial with a capital A, says Shehzad Poonawalla
There's something quite serene about an endless stretch of barren land discovers Abhishek Mande Bhot/Rediff.com
Without a moment of hesitation, Rai jumped up on his rickety wooden stool in the witness box. He then drew his legs close to his body and wrapped his arms around his knees and finally tucked his head into his knees demonstrating the fetal position.
Kanti Bhatt, respected Gujarati author and journalist, passed into the ages on August 4, 2019, at the age of 88. In tribute, we reproduce an article his wife Sheela Bhatt wrote about him 19 years ago.
The winners of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest have been announced. The winning shot was taken by Turkish Associated Press photographer called Burhan Ozbilici, with an image he has simply titled An Assassination in Turkey. Showing Mevlut Mert Altintas shouting after shooting Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey, on December 19 2016.
Like the Vietnamese, maybe we too will survive bombs and disasters to see a better day.
Traveller and trekker Amit Tyagi writes about the hidden gems of Kashmir. You won't regret including them in your next itinerary.
The charm of Kolkata is still alive says Sumit Ganguli.
Once again an Indian prime minister has realised that with Pakistan and China, things will not move as he wishes.
A first-of-its-kind travel show explores the special bond a father and daughter share.
Beijing is clearly rattled by the Dalai Lama's visit. Unlike the 2009 visit, which was a four-day religious tour, the current visit is a high-decibel, 10-day affair, without the fig leaf of a "religious event", reports Ajai Shukla.
When Meenakshi Arvind and Mookambika Rathinam took an epic car journey from Coimbatore to London, they encountered a world that was more good than bad. In the cry for freedom in a dark corner of the globe, they discovered that The Mahatma remained India's greatest icon.
Mark Tully on the India he loves.
Mumbai-based designer Nachiket Barve talks about his favourite things.
'India is a huge market for Chinese goods. I don't think a war stands to logic when you have economic compulsions, but then Chinese are known to do illogical things.'
'My wife has done everything... She has had to give up a lot,' HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar tells Sahil Makkar.
Twenty two years before Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army streams on Amazon Prime on January 24, 2020, his documentary of the same name was telecast on Doordarshan. On that occasion, Kabir Khan spoke to Amberish K Diwanji/Rediff.com about Netaji's Azad Hind Fauj and its many battles for India's freedom.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a special interaction with Chinese media persons in New Delhi on the eve of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping where he summarized the possibilities of Sino-India bilateral ties.
Gone are the days of over-the-top Diwali parties, says Kishore Singh. This year round, the taxman is the invisible -- and unwanted -- guest at these once extravagant affairs.
The ancient Jordanian city and its immense faades were lost for almost 1,000 years!
How many of the 319 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2018 have you seen?
Ever since Mekhail had first entered the courtroom, he had, it would seem, never once looked at his mother, though they were a few metres away from each other. Curiosity, residual regard, memories, anger, none of it, could make him even look at the woman who gave birth to him. Was his hatred so overpowering?
The Mukerjeas' former driver could remember every detail of Sheena Bora's alleged murder five years ago, including on what day he took Indrani to the beauty parlour, and the brands of liquor he bought, but was unable to recall anything subsequently or more recently...
'As we were setting up our base camp, one of the women with professionally used brooms squatting in a corner and having chai approached us, with a grin. "Namaste Saheb, Acche Din to aahi gaye. From which party?"' Ambassador B S Prakash and a group of retired bureaucrats join the Swach Bharat Abhiyan.
If you have the cash, the big fat Indian wedding just got bigger. (Psst! And the good folks at TripHobo.com have a few ideas!)
'It is a pattern of behaviour of the Chinese that whenever a Chinese leader visits India or an Indian leader visits China, some incidents take place.' 'When Modi visits China, we should look out for some similar demonstration by the Chinese.'
How many of the 354 films Aseem Chhabra watched in 2017 have you seen?
If the aim is to become a player with some strategic space of its own, not just in the Indian Ocean region but also in the adjoining region, then greater interaction with China is desirable, even necessary.
'The BJP politics of appropriating icons from its ideological adversaries could only be a desperate attempt to extend the Jat-Muslim divide in Uttar Pradesh. Why this desperation when it can comfortably get votes on the plank of economic development?'
"Our only solace is that Modi will win Varanasi, but there will be a by-election here. Modi will not be able to cobble 272 seats to become prime minister so he will remain the chief minister of Gujarat. He will resign from Varanasi and then we will ensure Kerjiwal's handsome win." Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reports on how Varanasi's 300,000 Muslim voters are strategising their vote.
Priya Bala of Folomojo.com hits the road!
'In 2015 I watched films in so many places. I attended several film festivals around the world -- Berlin, Tribeca (New York), Telluride, Toronto, Zurich, Mumbai, Dharamsala and Goa,' says Aseem Chhabra, author of a forthcoming book on Shashi Kapoor.
'Whether it's investments in Kashmir, building naval facilities, or selling top-of-the-range military equipment, Pakistan could well benefit more under Xi's watch.' 'Do Chinese concerns about the 'Islamisation' of Pakistan give it pause about how quickly to move forward with security and economic projects? At the moment the indication is quite the opposite: China is doubling down on its support to Pakistan, partly because of its fears about where the country is headed.'
Moving ahead with their new mantra -- Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability and people's livelihoods over the next ten years.
Rahul Bhattacharya recounts the anxiety of being in the labour room and the joy that follows.
'The Modi-Xi and Modi-Obama meetings, with an interval of just 12 days, are juxtaposed superbly at a crucial point in the prime minister's life. Can Modi carve out a win-win situation with the superpower and the emerging superpower at the same time?'