Former editor of Femina magazine, Sathya Saran looks back at the Miss India pageant that changed the lives of two young women.
The rift between Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his party colleague Azam Khan, who also happens to be a prominent minister in the state cabinet, appears to be widening.
Image Alert: Too much hotness ahead! You might need to switch on the air-conditioner.
Oh the possibilities!
With no state leaders worth projecting, the BJP is left with no option but to focus on Modi for the Maharashtra assembly poll and harp on the importance on smooth Centra-state relations, says N Suresh.
The Beatles came to Rishikesh to experience Indian spiritualism in 1968. The ashram where they stayed is now a 'Beatles museum'.
Significantly, reveals Rajeev Sharma, the MEA was not even consulted on the Dolkun Isa issue.
The Imitation Game is an unsubtle film that delivers exactly what you expect in the most predictable way, laments Raja Sen.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel glances at the life and political career of Alexey Navalny who has been banned from challenging Vladimir Putin in Russia's presidential election.
Deepika Kumari seeks to bury London ghosts with Asian Games medal.
These women surely know how to get your heart racing in their intimate apparels!
A red fox in a derelict schoolroom, a Bengal Tiger in the forests of Bhutan and walruses are just a few of animals featured in the photos shortlisted for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year. While we wait for the results to be announced, here are some of the contenders in the contest.
Yesteryear's heart-throb Shashi Kapoor will get the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to Indian cinema. On this occasion, we reproduce Dinesh Raheja's nostalgia piece on the actor here:
As Sound of Music turns 50 today, here's a look at its beloved Von Trapp family and what they're doing today.
Khoobsurat offers up the expected -- only it does so with a smirk, says Raja Sen.
Before finding their 'happily-ever-after', some Kapoors have endured and inflicted heartbreak.
25 years on, we see how these actors have fared.
These models have inherited their celebrity parents' good looks and genes.
'After General Raheel Sharif took on the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, some sections of the military establishment may have felt unease as to whether the crackdown could be extended against friendlier 'non-State' actors like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.'
P B Chandra reports from Kabul on the Afghan presidential election, that has entered a run-off stage for the first time. The battle now is between the two frontrunners Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, with Abdullah holding the edge.
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Virender Kapoor, author of A Wonderful Boss: Great People to Work With, lists out 11 things that bad bosses do wrong.
It is imperative that we deconstruct the current narrative and rewrite the storyline. To this end we need to alter the basic premise of the controversy, eliminate the obstructionists, home in on the true stakeholders and redefine the rules of engagement, says Vivek Gumaste.
'A P Venkateswaran left an indelible impression on Indian diplomacy and made an incredible number of friends, who kept remembering him, more than other Indian diplomats, who served at those posts.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes a legend of the Indian Foreign Service who passed into the ages.
Meet Cassie de Pecol, a 27-year-old traveller from Connecticut, United States, who visited 196 countries in 18-and-a-half months, making her the fastest person to visit every country in the world.
'I was very wary about stepping into the limelight and the populist role like Sherlock Holmes, but the minute I saw who was involved and read the script and the quality of it I thought: I've got to do this.' Benedict Cumberbatch tells CNN International why he nearly turned down the chance to play Sherlock Homes.
'They must bow their head before the people's might and start their work immediately. Now nothing can help them, but a show of sincerity and a life without cosmetic frills.' 'They don't have any option, but to succeed and prove themselves worthy of this massive victory,' says BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'His negotiations with Idi Amin and his men for compensation for the Indians, who left Uganda, were particularly tough. Apparently, Amin warned him that the body of the British negotiator, who came earlier, was found in a roadside gutter... As Jagat Mehta's special assistant during the last two years of his tenure as foreign secretary, I saw for myself how his conviction, courage and patriotism enabled him to fight against heavy odds, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'It is important to note that American officials were trying their best to use the Taliban for their oil games till December 1997 when Mullah Ghous was invited to America. State Department officials did not show any interest in capturing or killing Osama bin Laden even at that time.'
This cult of speed reaches its crowning glory during that peculiar Indian spectacle called medical camps. Medical camps are an activity in which doctors from cities travel to underserved areas, often on weekends, where the poor are then herded in hundreds for deliverance, photo-ops and freebies. In their more evolved form, there are surgical camps where bewildered and overawed patients are put onto operating tables and, much like an assembly line, a series of operations are performed in rapid succession. The surgical instruments are often magically sterilised in minutes between procedures, says Dr Sanjay Nagral.
'ISI mouthpieces in the media have been quick to blame India for the attack. Clearly, the intellect and worldview of these characters (which includes fairly senior retired military officers) is based on Bollywood movies like Ek Tha Tiger and Agent Vinod... More seriously, the fact that ISI touts have been using this opportunity to train their guns on India raises serious questions about all the talk of the army being on the same page as the civilian government on the issue of improving relations with India,' says Sushant Sareen.
'The new Indian cinema has still not found its voice and identity. It's trapped under the deadwood weight of Bollywood and popular Indian cinema.'
On the title page of the Top Secret Report, Henderson-Brooks quotes the Chinese tactician Sun Tzu: 'Know yourself, know your enemy: A hundred battles, a hundred victories', says Claude Arpi, highlighting where the Indian Army and government failed to counter the Chinese attack in 1962.
India Inc has few leaders who are likely to grab headlines in 2015.
Prem Panicker, on the Rediff chat, delves on what went wrong for Team India and what to expect from Sunday's trans-Tasman World Cup final.
