Pakistan is set to bestow its highest civilian honour, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, upon two Mumbai-based Parsi doctors. The award recognises their crucial role in maintaining the secrecy surrounding Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness, a secret that a federal minister suggests was pivotal in the creation of Pakistan.
Had it been know that Jinnah suffered from tuberculosis and did not have much time to live, there is a possibility Partition could have been averted.
Gandhi's 1931 passport for his travel to London was issued in Bombay. It was the last time the Mahatma travelled abroad.
'Parsis are inclined towards people who work for the welfare of others.'
Israel has for more than two decades and several US presidencies worked to draw the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. Having finally achieved that, the last thing it wants is Trump declaring victory and going home, as he is prone to do. Ali Larijani was the figure most capable of handing Trump a negotiated exit with something to show for it. Without Larijani, the road to an exit gets considerably narrower. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Aseem Chhabra lists his top 10 films from this year's Sundance festival, a blend of narratives and documentaries made in the US and other parts of the world.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
From dating apps to events, the shrinking community is innovating ways to encourage the young to marry within the faith.
'They wanted the city to be a great business hub. They didn't like the fact that taxes collected in Bombay would go outside the city.'
On the 134th birth anniversary of the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, Utkarsh Mishra revisits three incidents from Dr B R Ambedkar's life that lay bare the deeply entrenched nature of caste prejudice.
Queenie Hallegua, who passed away at 89 in August, was almost the last of the Sephardi Jews in Fort Kochi. Her son Dr David Hallegua reflects on his mother's death and of his life growing up in Kerala.
'It was unfair to expect him to continue to keep on supplying vaccines without being given a firm commitment or a financial grant of any sort.'
Sam Bahadur is a mechanical summary of his life, ticking off one chapter after another without bothering to pause or ponder over their significance and influences, observes Sukanya Verma.
The last rites of Cyrus Mistry, former chairman of Tata Sons who was killed in a car crash, will be performed in Mumbai on Tuesday, his family said.
Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebs are tweeting.
Trade pundits and quick think piece experts can speculate all they like, but what works at the box-office is a mystery as always.
Mumbai is converting several of its iconic structures into quarantine facilities as it races to prepare for a predicted peaking of infections this month. With some projections suggesting the number of cases in Mumbai will touch 75,000 by the end of May, civic authorities are working overtime to add to the number of beds. There are around 7,500 hospital beds in the city. Another 5,000 have been identified in private hospitals. According to rough estimates, there are 750 ICU beds in Mumbai. As Mumbai races against time, here's some of the spots authorities have transformed in the fight against coronavirus.
'I was actually appointed captain for the West Indies tour (in 1971).' 'But Mr Vijay Merchant (the then chairman of the selectors) didn't like me nor did he like 'Tiger' Pataudi. He thought we were far too flamboyant.' 'He made Ajit Wadekar captain.'
'Ajay Devgn is perfect to slip into Idris Elba's shoes.' 'Taapsee can play any role under the sun.'
'That secularism in India is at risk is alarming for someone like me. I'm born secular,' Anjolie Ela Menon, the well-known painter, tells Pavan Lall.
'What you do today defines what you are going to be tomorrow.'
'The coronavirus has provided each one of us a chance to press the 'reset' button. I take this National Medical Emergency to announce a process of national healing.' 'As of midnight tonight, my government will drop all talk of NRC and NPR, and my Muslim brethren should sleep peacefully that this is as much their country as mine.'
'There were any number of Congress leaders who disliked Sonia Gandhi, but they were very close to Ahmed Bhai and he would listen, and give a shoulder to cry upon.'
God bless Ritesh Batra, raves Sukanya Verma.
It is the two women directors in Shuruaat Ka Twist who end up making the best films, feels Sreehari Nair.
'If the museum in his memory inspires and instils among Brahminical British Indians an attitude of equality towards Dalits, the edifice would be worth it,' reports Ashis Ray.
The Sindhis are a lesson in perseverance. Once uprooted, they've started all over, often reinventing themselves
Pakistan's dismal public health system is rife with mismanagement and a paucity of resources. Amidst this shambolic system, one hospital in Karachi has been providing specialised healthcare to millions. Free of charge. As the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation celebrated 40 years of successful service, Dr Sanjay Nagral visited the facility and met the man who helms it, armed with the simple philosophy that 'No person should die only because they are unable to afford medical expenses.'
Making her film debut with The Householder, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote more screenplays than novels, winning two Oscars -- for A Room with a View and Howards End. She kept her distance from the film crowd, seeking refuge in the 'protective' company of her two life-long collaborators, Director James Ivory and Producer Ismail Merchant.
'He deserved to be field marshal because he carried the air force and navy with him in '71. Remember we were fighting on two fronts -- east and west. He stood out.'
Mumbai's famous dabbawalas are reinventing themselves to meet the challenge posed by food delivery portals.
'He was believed to finish his own work in an hour and spend the remainder of the time walking from one office to another, sitting down with the harried junior staff and helping them sort out the problems they were working on.'
