The big Australian has a new coach, a new programme and a fierce new rival trying to take over his mantle as the world's best swimmer.
Rediff.com readers wish the Indian coach on his 49th birthday.
The end for the doughty soldier came a little before noon, three days after he was miraculously pulled out alive from under 30 feet of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier.
'Even among scientists and technology mavens -- typically communities that tend to view the world through the lens of logos or reason and not mythos, there is a shiny-eyed enthusiasm for the mythical world,' says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Rishi Kapoor passed into the ages on April 30.
'This year, it may be pertinent to look at some of the myths that invoke her warrior form, where she manifests herself as Shakti, the underlying strength in all humanity,' says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Cricket aficionados' love, even passion, for their "god" Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to recede even after his playing days.
His music was loved by film personalities and political leaders alike, and they took to social media to offer their condolences.
'Not afraid to look Muslim, not shy of flaunting her nationalism.' 'With a willingness to fight carrying the Constitution, the Flag, the Anthem, Ambedkar, Gandhi and the chant of 'Hindustan Zindabad',' notes Shekhar Gupta.
An evergreen song is recreated, and lands in instant controversy.
'We don't make films which have scope for great music anymore.'
Sukanya Verma looks back at the decade gone by, in the movies.
Check out what your favourite celebrities have posted on social media.
Shocked by the sudden demise of the popular lyricist, the Tamil film industry took to Twitter to express their grief.
He also said he chose radio as a medium to connect with the people as it was a 'mighty means' of getting across.
This year, Abahan Theatre's marquee play is based on the Olympic boxing medallist Mary Kom. Written by Abhijit Bhattacharya, popular Assamese actor Prastuti Parashar portrays the role of the champion pugilist from Manipur in the play.
'A lot of people in the West think that India has a very conservative culture, so we don't show much intimacy and sex in movies here. But I always say that, without sex, India won't have a population of over 1.2 billion people.'
Today humanity is churning the ocean with a thoughtless vengeance -- with toxic wastes, plastics and hazardous substances being dumped into our once pristine seas. And there is no benign Lord Shiva to rescue us from our collective greed, says Shyam Saran.
1997 Booker winner Arundhati Roy's The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness didn't make it to the Booker short list. Perhaps if the Booker jury had sampled Re:Reader -- a powerful companion to Roy's second novel -- they would have discovered it full of surprises.
The Madras High Court on Saturday recalled its controversial order directing mediation between a rapist and the victim days after the Supreme Court observed that it would be a "spectacular error" to adopt a soft approach on cases of rape and stated that there cannot be any compromise in such matters.
Who would have thought that tales of gods would sell in millions? But Amish, with his unique narrative vision, has captured the heart of the Indian reader
It is an important film but that doesn't translate to it being good, writes Raja Sen.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's customary address to the joining sitting of Parliament on the first day of the budget session.
Fake news, much like the golden deer in the Ramayana, is leading the world into chaos, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
'At this point, neither the army or the IAF has that immediate, punitive deterrent power against Pakistan.' 'Forget a three-week war; on the LoC, where the action is, Pakistan has until now fielded better infantry weapons, body armour, sniper rifles, and matching artillery' points out Shekhar Gupta.
Fifty-six months on, the government's record in implementing these schemes and projects has been mixed, report Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana.
As politicians fast to score brownie points, they should know that not every fast has a desirable ending, says Arundhuti Dasgupta.
Aseem Chhabra picks 10 fascinating films he watched in Macao -- a blend of Asian, independent, Hollywood projects and even a 66-years-old classic Japanese film that still stands the test of time.
'Dibakar Banerjee isn't simply giving a particular fascistic regime the finger.' 'Here, he wants to offer us a preview of the invisible forces and human tendencies that drive fascism, blind conformity, and mass hysteria,' says Sreehari Nair.
'The politics of it may be wishy-washy and the saviour at Darkest Hour's centre may well be a racist, an imperialist, and an alcoholic, but in Gary Oldman's nimble skin, smacked in layers and layers of prosthetics to resemble the heavily-jowled, cigar-smoking, portly penguin-like demeanour of the British Bulldog, it pretty much screams, "And the Oscar goes to"...' notes Sukanya Verma.
He's the Indian Nobel Prize winner you probably haven't heard of.
'As events at Kargil and Pakistan's continued support to terror activities in India prove, Pakistan has always felt that the break-up/destruction of India was within its capability,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The film will have personal footage in the end credits.
'My friends always say I'm perpetually happy, and now I realise it was because of you.'
'If Mr Modi continues growing as a Hindu Hriday Samrat, better that it is done by restoring ancient temples than demolishing medieval mosques,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Serena Williams must stop giving opponents head starts if she is to come anywhere near emulating last season's feat of winning three of the year's four Grand Slams, according to former World No 1 Chris Evert.
On planes, on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5, Hulu, MUBI, Kanopy, film festivals... Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 309 films in 365 days.
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