Manmohan Singh had joined a pre-medical course as his father wanted him to become a doctor but pulled out after a couple of months, losing interest in the subject, according to a book on the former prime minister by his daughter.
'Smita had it all planned out. She was pregnant then and planning to leave Raj Babbar after the baby was born. In an enthralling new book Smita Patil, A Brief Incandescence (HarperCollins), Maithili Rao reveals the many fascinating facets of the incomparable actress whom we lost too young.
'My age? It keeps changing every year. I can't remember it. I don't like ageing at all,' dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai, who passed into the ages on Thursday, told Jasmine Shah Verma in October 2004. Reproduced with kind permission from Harmony - Celebrate Age magazine.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opinion piece in Canada's The Globe and Mail focuses on commercial cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.
The survey, conducted by the Times Higher Education (THE), ranks universities according to 21 parameters that enhance student experience.
'An operation such as the Mumbai attacks, which needed expert technical assessment, money and time to prepare, could not have been carried out without the knowledge of the ISI's leadership.'
Experts trace the reasons for the 26/11 attacks to the Pakistan's military interest in three key areas: Kashmir, Afghanistan and nuclear armaments.
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us.
American swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, said on Tuesday he hopes this year's Rio Olympics can help heal a sports world hit by recent doping and corruption cases.
29 years ago this August, Pakistan's dictator, the general who made jihad part of Pakistani State policy, died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a box of mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else?
29 years ago this August, Pakistan's dictator, the general who made jihad part of Pakistani State policy, died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a box of mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else?
India's beloved President -- there has been no other who has influenced the nation as much -- never stepped back from inspiring people to be the very best that they could be.
29 years ago this August, Pakistan's dictator, the general who made jihad part of Pakistani State policy, died in a mysterious air crash. Did the KGB, the then USSR's dreaded espionage agency, assassinate Zia-ul Haq? Was India's RA&W responsible for blowing Zia's military aircraft out of the skies? Was it Zia's many enemies in Pakistan's military? Was it a box of mangoes as Mohammad Hanif speculated in his fascinating novel about Zia's death? Or was the assassin someone else?
'When we saw Saawariya for the first time, I was aghast.' 'If only Bhansali had told me, I would have dissuaded him.
From Aurangzeb to Sangh Parivar, the year 2016 offers plenty of hope in historical and modern literature.
These models have inherited their celebrity parents' good looks and genes.
Mita Kapur has an irresistible love affair... and she's willing to do anything to keep it going.
Her book is less of a Hindutva-loving diatribe against the Dynasty than its detractors suggest, but it is still hard to agree with much of what she writes, says Vir Sanghvi on Tavleen Singh's latest book.
Shuma Raha finds out how writers are using social media to produce bestsellers.
'Unni swung up his MP5 and fired a burst across the atrium. The bullets hammered into the wall. Then he bounded up the stairs leading to the other set of doors opening into the Palm Lounge. It was a terribly risky move because he didn't have a buddy to cover him.'
Many of the industrialists profiled in the book are no longer riding the wave of success.
'So they are extracting a price from me for letting me marry their son, is it? Manas, I cannot believe that you subscribe to this view of theirs. This is our child growing in me. It is part of me - girl or boy. Can I just throw it away if it is not a boy?'
Ever heard of 'gosht ka halwa' or 'dal ki dulhan'? Avantika Bhuyan profiles a battery of food enthusiasts who are out to make sure that you do.
'Sakshi's medal will do to women's wrestling what Sushil's 2008 Olympic medal did to wrestling in general.' 'It will make more and more families put their daughters into wrestling.' 'More and more young girls will fall in love with the sport and demand that they be taken to akhadas.'
Wendell Rodricks's passion for fashion has its roots in food, he reveals in this heartwarming essay.
Roopa Pai's book, The Gita For Children, is a marvellous read that retells the epic conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, that will long stay with you after you have turned the last page.
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the cricketing milestones from the Mohali Test.
'People see problems not being solved, they get tired of waiting, they start asking for a "strong leader" -- and what they really mean is a "dictator". They think that will fix everything. But it won't.' A German resident in India tells Dilip D'Souza about Hitler and the Nazis and why he is disturbed by what he sees in present-day India.
'His personal turmoils on the yoga journey, instead of deterring him, propelled him on with even greater passion towards yoga and make what he has offered to the world rather special. In fact, not many teachers have done what he has done to yoga practice -- emboldened it, brought it out of its timid closet where it was and (is often even today) confined.'
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday expressed satisfaction over External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
At 15, she has already written two books on poetry and a novel. Meet the fascinating Zuni Chopra.
India and Japan have a shared interest in countervailing China's hegemonic ambitions in Asia. Although neither has an interest in forming an overt anti-China alliance, Tokyo and New Delhi feel increasingly obligated to work together to find ways to guard against a muscular Beijing's power sliding into arrogance, says Brahma Chellaney.
Akshay Manwani traces Aamir Khan's fascinating journey to stardom.
Nilanjana S Roy compiles a list of the most eagerly awaited books next year.
'It is a diamond which has a very long competitive history.'
'It is a great misfortune that the Nehruvian Stalinists of India have colluded with the grand project of demeaning and destroying Sanskrit. Today, the number of Sanskritists in India is low, and falling,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
No one even comes close to the impact Anil Kumble has had on Indian cricket, when it comes to winning matches and series, say Aakash Chopra and Impact Index.
