'We have been getting e-mails for assignments and events. People from random islands, like Seychelles, called us to perform for India's independence day. It's crazy to see how the internet affects the world. We feel blessed that so many people recognise us. We have even got mails from low-budget feature film makers in the South -- like they want us to be the heroines!' Twins Poonam and Priyanka Shah give us a jhalak into their lives!
In October 2007 Raja Sen visited Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's village in Punjab to find out how its residents, and relatives, feel about their oddest export. His report was published in India Abroad, a weekly newspaper published in the US and owned by Rediff.com.
'We eat first, they later; we sit on chairs and they on the floor; we call them by their names and they address us by titles,' writes Tripti Lahiri, author of Maid in India.
'The more I lived in India, the more I realised that America was my home too.'
'For showing us a shining vision of how even a ceremonial role can be infused with life by a patriot, a scientist and a humble man of the people, representing the best of India's pluralist ethos, we will remember Dr Kalam.'
'I wondered what mistakes I made in my life to be a businessman. Deep down, I still have doubts about it.' Shobha Warrier meets the amazing Dilip Kapur who built a Rs 160 crore business with just Rs 25,000.
'The sadhus and sanyasis of UP are not for any economics.' 'They only know the religious agenda and the RSS will support them.' 'Modi does not have full control of the party at the ground level like Indira Gandhi had.'
Naomi Mihara reports from Bungamati, which used to be one of the prettiest parts of the Kathmandu valley before the quake.
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
The year 2014 is coming to an end. It was the year of conflict, the year of strife. Year 2014 will be remembered for several reasons -- the rise and threat of the Islamic State, the downing of two Malayasia Airlines aircraft and the sudden and effective way of using hastags on social media to generate a buzz about the event. After all, who can forget #theicebucket challenge and the phenomenon it grew into. Read on as we bring you an overview of international news and events of 2014.
Amitabh: "There is a very famous limerick that aptly describes my presence tonight, ladies and gentleman: A funny young man from Clyde In a funeral carriage was spied; When asked, "Who is dead?" He giggled and said, "I don't know; I just came for the ride."
Auroville just turned 50. Aurovilians who grew up in The experimental city speak of how their childhood was marked by a sense of openness and possibility.
'If the Indian economy formalises, industrialises, urbanises and develops human capital, 10 lakh youngsters will join the labour force every month in the next 10 years.' 'It's not a bulb that will go off; it is a sunrise.'
Leading think tank discusses a likely Narendra Modi government and America's engagement with the man US once scorned. Aziz Haniffa reports
With the launch of the first indigenous aircraft today, India will join a club of nations like the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France that possess nuclear-powered submarines
In his address to the Harvard class of 2017, Thursday, he shared his Harvard memories and spoke about finding purpose and meaning in one's life.
India Inc has few leaders who are likely to grab headlines in 2015.
While India is pushed to keep a tight lid on its own carbon emissions, slow and low emission reduction by major polluters will cause an acceleration of climate change, says Rajni Bakshi.
Shanoo Sharma -- the woman responsible for launching the careers of Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Alia Bhatt among others -- tells Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff.com what casting is all about.
'Anything that is anti-growth is demonised because growth is the biggest religion.' 'Growth is synonymous with progress. In fact, it is the opposite.' 'Exponential growth is cancer.'
Bhakti Sharma set a world record on January 10 this year.
'India had nothing to gain by the talks except for some brownie points from the US for being reasonable. Pakistan desperately needed the talks to get arms and money from the Americans,' says T P Sreenivasan.
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
Priyanka Chopra on stereotypes, movies and more.
For starters, Mad Max: Fury Road is gloriously nuts, says Raja Sen.
Investors also appreciate the role being played by the founders; analysts, too, remain unperturbed.
'There are a lot of positive things these reforms are bringing about and it is only a matter of some quarters before the growth rate picks up momentum.' 'Until then we need to be a little bit patient.'
Jayapur, with a population of a little over 4,200, was like most other villages before Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted it on November 7.
'The real problem that has affected Tarantino's films is not their amorality. On the contrary, it's their misplaced morality.' 'The basic pitches for his movies, off late, tackle such pre-resolved issues, that they don't quite allow his pop-culture sensibilities to hit a crescendo and instead reduces them to trinkets in service of broad movie prototypes.' 'Which means that neither history nor cinema triumphs.'
'One of the director's primary jobs is to make sure that all the actors perform as if they are in the same movie, playing in the same band -- one is not acting in a different band than the other.'
Young, ambitious workforce learns skill degrees come with no guarantees.
And no, the list doesn't start and stop with Boman Irani!
'There are so many dimensions to history that we need to attend to: We need more space for local and regional histories; we need to delve into the histories of particular communities; we need to emphasise gender history and environmental history.' 'We need to think about India's history beyond India's current borders.'
Do you have the courage to look through failures and unexpected pitfalls?
Charles Darwin found his passion playing with rocks halfway around the world.
Kainchi, near Nainital, attracts devotees from near and far, 42 years after the death of its spiritual leader, Neem Karoli Baba.
The blockchain, the public ledger that tracks every bitcoin transaction, is changing commerce as we know it, says Devangshu Datta.
How did the Kwid become an Indian success story?
In the pitch dark of the African night, a herd of cape buffaloes gather at the watering hole for a drink, taking care to stay by the edge to avoid the crocodiles lurking in the depths. In Gangiova, a village in Romania, a doctor places her stethoscope to the chest of a newborn baby, listening intently for the beating of his tiny heart. These are just some of the moments that have been picked by the judges for the Sony World Photography Awards. For the 2017 competition, photographers entered 227,596 images across the awards' Professional, Open and Youth categories. The Open competition winner will receive $5,000 (Rs 3.3 lakh), Sony digital imaging equipment and flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony at Somerset House in London. Sony World Photography Awards has been kind enough to share some of their shortlisted pieces with us.
