Jayant Narlikar wrote alternative what-if histories, explained difficult scientific theories with funny analogies, and leavened his lectures with jokes and humorous asides.
Engineer-turned-philanthropist Sudha Murty on Thursday took oath as Rajya Sabha MP in the presence of her husband N R Narayana Murthy.
'Today, Bengaluru is here because of hardworking people from other states who put in all the effort to develop this city. Don't forget that! Now that everything is built, do you want others to leave? Shame on Kannada people and the government of Karnataka for sitting idly by (sic)'
The great literary figure of Malayalam and Jnanpith Award winner M T Vasudevan Nair, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital here following heart failure, has died, hospital sources said on Wednesday.
Nagarkar, a Sahitya Akademi Award winner, had been ailing for some time and was admitted to a hospital in south Mumbai where he died at night, hospital sources said.
"I have decided to return the award. The minorities in the country are feeling unsafe and threatened. They feel their future is bleak," Khayal said.
The noted writer said the space for dissent has vanished and dissenters are now being attacked with sticks, stones, black paint and even murder.
Gulzar said communal harmony is being harmed to such a level that people are not allowed to even talk with freedom.
Eminent Punjabi writer and Padma Shri winner Dalip Kaur Tiwana decided to return her award protesting "recurrent atrocities" on Muslims in the country, as another Kannada writer joined authors giving up their Sahitya Akademi Awards against "growing intolerance".
The noted writer, who was awarded D.Lit (Doctor of Letters, honoris causa) by the Central University of Hyderabad few years ago, said the institution has "acted against human dignity and knowledge."
Facing heat over a long list of writers who have returned Sahitya Akademi awards or resigned from their posts in the literary body, Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday denied that it was being soft on the issue of "intolerance" and said the ideological inclinations of the writers should be looked into.
'Dadri was an extension of the cultural fascism that was happening in the country.' 'All the people in the country suffered under the Emergency, but now we see one community trying to crush the other community. Do they know what is brewing in the minds of the other side? What is happening today can lead to a very dangerous situation in the country.' 'We have lost religious tolerance in today's India.' Writer Sarah Joseph on why she returned her Sahitya Akademi Award.
'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
Noted poet K Satchidanandan has alleged that he was restrained by Facebook from liking, commenting and sharing posts for 24-hours after he tried to upload online a satire video on the Bharatiya Janata Party's defeat in the recently concluded Kerala assembly polls.
Novelists are speaking for millions across India who are alarmed at where this country is headed.
'Listen to the voice in your head and keep your inner sanctum safe.'
The author was flooded with a barrage of hate messages following his tweet in support of writers who returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.
A former IAS officer, historian and novelist, Vishwas Patil makes his debut as a director with Kangana Ranaut starrer Rajjo.
A prolific novelist and storyteller, Gangopadhyay remained a dedicated servant of poetry and declared poetry to be his 'first love'.
He also wrote the lyrics of Hosh waalon ko khabar kya from Sarfarosh.
Poet, artist and award-winning diplomat Abhay K whose sixth book Candling the Light was released recently at the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi tells Rediff about his life in the Indian Foreign Service and how he maintains a balance between his career and creative life.
Shrilal Shukla, author of the iconic Raag Darbari and a winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, passed away last week. In a touching tribute, Sidharth Monga revisits Shukla's most famous work, in which he created a "world inhabited by 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' on crack, minus the momentary optimism"
Leading writers Nayantara Sahgal and Shashi Deshpande on Wednesday sought a strong condemnation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Dadri lynching incident and opposition to Ghulam Ali's concert.
For Kiran Desai, her 70-year-old mother is much than an inspiration and mentor. It is her mother's humanity and example as a writer without vanity that have made the biggest difference in Kiran's life.
All you need to do is answer a few simple questions and you could be one of the lucky winners of this contest.
All you need to do is answer a few simple questions.
As we move through the sharp, precise details of Anita Desai's Clear Light Of Day, we pass through the boundaries between what is real and what is imagined. It is the greatest gift a novelist can give us, says Kamila Shamsie.
Kamleshwar, who was ailing for sometime, died around 8.30 pm following a heart attack, his family sources said.
Thayil, the author of 'Narcopolis' and winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, will join his fellow judges to look for the best works of translated fiction, selected from entries published in the UK and Ireland between May 2019 and April 2020.
Poet Ashok Vajpeyi on Friday said he won't participate in a cultural festival as he was scheduled to because the organisers asked him not to read poems critical of the government. A spokesperson from the Rekhta Foundation, which is co-organiser of the session, denied his claim that he was being censored.
The 91-year-old went beyond her role as a writer to help tribals in organising themselves in groups so that they could take up development activities in their own areas.
Ahead of the state assembly elections due this year-end, Baghel made as many as 15 announcements in his address during the state-level Independence Day function at the Police Parade ground in Raipur.
Professor TJ Joseph, whose hand was chopped off by activists of the Popular Front of India for alleged blasphemy 12 years ago, on Wednesday declined to respond to the Centre's ban on the radical Islamic outfit, saying observing silence was better at times than always talking.
He was known for his work in Mumbai Dinank, which was his first novel, and the book Simhasan, which was adapted into a Marathi film.
Nadda also met Chandrashekar Kambar, a Jnanpith award recipient as part of the BJP's ongoing nationwide campaign on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
'I don't feel like going back to India, to the old Delhi that I grew up in. Because the place doesn't exist anymore.'
Devi, who had been undergoing treatment at Kolkata's Belle Vue Clinic, passed away at 3.16 pm following a cardiac arrest and multi-organ failure, the doctor said.
Tamil writer D Jayakanthan, who charted a new course in Tamil literature, died on Wednesday night following a prolonged illness.
'I am not in favour of the hijab myself.' 'I personally think it wrong to make women shut themselves out of the world, where there is so much to see.' 'But I can't dictate to others about what they should wear.'
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