There's a lot more to the festival than just five days of celebration; that is something you can only experience when you live in Kolkata. And that's what every Bengali living outside the state misses, notes Chitrangada Datta Chaudhuri.
The stars Rediff.com Contributing Photographer Pradeep Bandekar sighted on Tuesday.
...close to the 2024 general election. The BJP calling the Congress 'seasonal Hindu' is as laughable as the saffron party sparing itself the title of 'seasonal extreme Hindu.'
How else should one describe its election campaigns of the past years?
It was typically obsessive religion and personality cult with economic development for fig leaf, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Animal's violence isn't for the fainted-hearted unless you have an appetite for Korean style mayhem, like Sukanya Verma.
Social media influencer Sapna Gill's allegation that Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw had molested her at a pub in suburban Andheri in Mumbai is "false and unfounded", the police told a court.
Police escorted the rally all the way, at one point standing in a row to prevent the rallyists from entering a side road where stood a huge mosque. Across the road, an old Muslim woman asked her Hindu neighbour what the rally was all about. The latter shrugged her ignorance, looking on in bewilderment at the young men with their saffron flags, all of them wearing Bajrang Dal T-shirts.
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
The twisted variety of the skirt looks like a glamourised version of a lungi; soft, luxurious satin and malmal fabric draped around the waist in cascading pleats.
Kunal Kemmu's default mode performing comedy is overacting. When surrounded by much more competent theatre-trained actors, he falls consistently short. (In the past, this role would have been tailor-made for Govinda), observes Deepa Gahlot.
Salman Khan is so neck deep in his formulaic rut that the only way he knows out is to dole out some more of the bunk. Except now, the swagger has traded places with desperation, notes Sukanya Verma.
Set yourself up for the day with a lovely breakfast that's filling and delicious as well.
'We want to send Indians on the moon and create history, but we don't want to accept the reality that is happening on earth.'
Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews tweeted: 'Take a bow @imVkohli. Form is temporary class is permanent! Fabulous knock. Keep shining.'
Aseem Chhabra lists his favorite 2023 films -- a healthy blend of Bollywood, Hindi indies and some of the best work that is being done in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali cinema.
'40 years later, the world is still singing I Am A Disco Dancer.'
'Society deals with you the way they do, or forms an opinion, depending on if your family is with you every step of the way.'
'I had lied to Yashji about my age. I was only 13-and-a-half, but I told him I was 18.' 'When the time came to travel to Yashji's famous Swiss shoots, I had to get a school leaving certificate.' 'When I gave Yashji the certificate, he almost fell off the chair.'
'Comedy and humour are important tools and open the hearts of people.' 'Anything that brings a smile on somebody's face has merit.'
Bollywood has often celebrated Lord Krishna with lovely songs over the years. On the festive occasion of Janmashtami, Subhash K Jha picks his favourite Kanha songs.
Ayushmann Khurrana is ready to repeat the flirtatious woman deed second time around in Dream Girl 2.
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'It feels extremely painful when you tell a contestant that your journey ends here or that you have to go back home.' 'My heart breaks at that point because each one of them is an exceptional talent.'
Questioning the team's authority headed by a former Patna high court judge, Banerjee pointed out that Ram Navami processions organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party had carried arms and driven tractors and deliberately taken routes where 'Namaz' was being offered.
Congress President Kharge likened Modi to a venomous snake on Thursday at a public meeting, which had triggered a row, prompting the BJP to seek an apology from Kharge. Kharge later sought to clarify his remarks were not aimed at the PM but instead at his party, the BJP.
A village gets electricity after 75 years. A rare bird rescued. Why Kashmiris love Harisa. Do watch these interesting videos.
'There is a popular forward doing the rounds in Bangalore now, about Appu, that says, 'Kaanadanthe Mayavaadanu Namma Shiva, Kailasa Serikondanu' (our Shiva disappeared from sight and reached heaven.)' 'These are the words of a popular Kannada song that Appu sang as a child.' 'Nobody expected that he would actually live out the words of his song some day.'
Indrani is in a buoyant and energetic frame of mind these days -- in a full-on Mood Positive. She has a tell-all book titled Unbroken out, that she terms as an 'eet ka jawab kalam se' and appears in media interviews all over the place, when she is not kick-boxing, doing yoga, or travelling, visiting temples, or floating in shikaras on Srinagar's Dal Lake.
Thousands of euphoric Ecuadoreans celebrated on Sunday in various cities around the South American nation after the country's historic victory against host nation Qatar in the opening game of the soccer World Cup.
Jubilee's irresistible celebration of cinema and all its good, bad, ugly ways lives up to its title, applauds Sukanya Verma.
Sukanya Verma raises a toast to the man and his movie magic.
Known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll for her blistering performances and powerfully gritty vocals, Tina Turner died on May 24 after a long illness. She was 83.
The issue of denial of permission to Mansiya V P to perform Bharatanatyam at Koodalmanikyam temple, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district has become a matter of debate in the state.
Lungi Ngidi was full of praise for the Pune surface where he wrecked Kings XI Punjab on Sunday in a stellar display of pace bowling in the batsman-dominated format.
Violence had rocked West Bengal's rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.
rediffGURU Shalini Singh, dating coach and founder of andwemet, an online matchmaking service, offers advice on issues relating to love and compatibility in marriage, dating and more.
Days after Nick Jonas shared pictures of Priyanka Chopra's 40th birthday celebrations on July 18 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, comes many more pictures, this time, shared by PeeCee's cousin, Parineeti Chopra.
'I have learnt to say no.' 'I would never say no to anybody before, even when my friends asked for money.' 'Learning to say no is priceless.'
It is critical to think seriously about how to provide opportunities for children to not only learn but also imagine, dream, ponder and create, notes Chintan Girish Modi.
