During a media interaction, Mamata Banerjee voiced her discontent over the Centre's 'stepfatherly' attitude towards Bengal. Banerjee's detractors feel that the agenda that she conveyed to the media is nothing but an eyewash. According to them, 'Mamata and Modi are heading towards an alliance of convenience'. Indrani Roy reports from Kolkata on the agenda and politics of prime minister two-day visit to the state.
Here are Aseem Chhabra's picks -- 'films that mattered to me, entertained me and will stay with me through the year.'
P K Nair dedicated his life to restoring and archiving films.
After recognising its adverse health effects, the govt has now dismissed its own lab reports to conclude that the evidence against plastic is insufficient.
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
Rediff.com reproduces the 1997 feature about Laxman, his passion for crows, and of course, his genius.
True Indian scenes most often lie on less travelled routes, along roads that have fallen off the map, after modern highways have come up. On the fourth leg of their 2,148 km journey, Rediff.com's Archana Masih and photographer Rajesh Karkera discover one such forgotten place in the Thar Desert.
'It was a deliberate conspiracy. The mob targeted large houses, burning down ACs, fridges, almirahs and furniture.'
Honorary Captain Bana Singh won the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest ranking gallantry award, for recapturing a Pakistani post on the Siachen Glacier. Living a retired life in a quiet village in Jammu and Kashmir, he makes you feel that his act of phenomenal courage was part of a soldier's day at work.
Armed with green nod and fund infusion, Gujarat govt getting ready to issue tenders to build infrastructure at the mega investment region
23-year-old Radhika Bopaiah is taking the modelling world by storm, walking the Indian ramp in a short bob.
Having even taken recourse to changing their faith to save their houses from being razed, the residents of Rampur's Valmiki Basti now hope better political sense prevails. Dhruv Munjal reports
Aam Aadmi Party spokespersons, Ashutosh, Ashish Khetan and Raghav Chadha, are adept at turning issues on their head and putting up a good offence in their defence.
At a time when the BJP is facing a perception battle, is Sambit Patra, its national spokesperson, helping the party's image?
On International Yoga Day, South Delhi-based yoga teacher Saudamini Chandra found herself shepherding the young girl students to their first taste of India's heritage that was being celebrated across the world. This is her experience.
Indrani is clearly in charge in her little corner. She is speaking rapidly to a not-very-tall, pot-bellied, balding man, whom she repeatedly, decisively, asks, "Have you understood?" The tone is that of a boss talking to an employee. The words "cheque" and "two lakhs" float by.
'I can tell you the case that hurts me the most is the one in which the little boy is forced to sign the Kohinoor over.' 'You take a mother away from a child, you surround him with grown ups speaking a different language, you tell him he must sign this over or else...'
Images from Wednesday's matches at Roland Garros
You totally should says Lakshmi Sharath.
These will not only help you lose weight but stay healthy as well.
Five inspiring women who travelled thousands of miles to Hyderabad recently to grow their business and skills share their tales of global entrepreneurship. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel listened in.
Anup Raaj, 23, describes how Super 30, a free IIT-JEE coaching institute located in Patna, Bihar, changed his life.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
Nearly a thousand people from different faiths gathered today to pay homage to the six Sikh worshippers gunned down inside a Gurdwara by a white supremacist here last year, as a sea of candles and emotional tributes marked the tragic incident's anniversary.
Prashant Lingam and Aruna Kappagantula are changing the way houses are being built in India.
'I could have never imagined any other prime minister giving time to a separatist leader.' 'I think the Hurriyat should not be ignored. I think like Pakistan, they are being unnecessarily ignored.' A S Dulat, the former RA&W chief who visited Kashmir recently, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Seems like the marquee product from the software giant have finally landed.
The e-commerce story in India has begun to look up.
Talented, rebellious, obsessive: Ranjita Ganesan and Dhruv Munjal find traces of the actor's different streaks in Mandi, Chandigarh and Mumbai.
For an increasing number of bike enthusiasts, the Royal Enfield is becoming a way of life
Yoga, wellness, meditation, Ayurveda, software and ... toothpaste - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has successfully merged business with spirituality
'I don't think you would have seen this level of enthusiasm or phenomenon in the NRI community ever before.' 'Even before he was chief minister, Modi had lots of friends, lots of supporters throughout the world. That support has become more and more popular within Gujarat as his achievements have become more well known in India and overseas.' NRI and Modi supporter Manoj Ladwa tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel how a Modi win will galvanise global Indians.
'It was a mission undertaken in darkness in every sense -- literally, because Afghanistan had no electricity at that time; and, metaphorically because Delhi historically dealt only with the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and the foreign ministry's vast archives had nothing to offer on the culture and politics of the northern tribes in the Hindu Kush.'
'Understand one thing, if you want immediately and magically that things should become cheap, it's not possible. It's a long-term policy.' 'Inflation is linked to the storage system and with the production system. Whenever production rises, prices go lower. So if we store when the prices are low and release them when prices rise, prices can be maintained.' 'The problem is that in our country fruits and vegetables worth Rs 110,000 crore go to waste as they rot. And grains worth Rs 85,000 crore rot. So the storage system is another big reason for inflation.' Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in an exclusive interaction with Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Bhendi Bazaar faces a fairytale future as the Dawoodi Bohras initiate a Rs 3,000-crore project to change it from a squalid marketplace to a swanky neighbourhood, says Ranjita Ganesan
'Single life is pretty good. I like the attention. If I feel lonely, I just call my mom and she sleeps in my bed,' Kalki Koechlin tells Rediff.com contributor Paloma Sharma.
What is Change really like in Bihar? Once seen as India's basket-case, what is its turnaround story like?