'Spirituality, without which India would have become like the Balkan States a long time ago,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, continuing our Independence Day special series where 66 well-known Indians tell Rediff.com what they love most about India.
Interacting with reporters in Kolkata, the Trinamool national general secretary reiterated that his party stood with the government in matters of national interest, combating cross-border terrorism, and safeguarding sovereignty.
This came after Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday stated that Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had tasked him to lead a delegation to present Pakistan's case on the recent escalations of tensions between the two nations.
Friends, family members and followers, who came to pay tribute to music maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar were welcomed with white roses and vermilion on forehead on Thursday in his hometown Encinitas, in Southern California. Ritu Jha reports.
Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar wore an oxygen mask for his last public performance at the California State University at Long Beach in the US on November 4 as he was suffering from respiratory problem.
The demise of Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar has sent shockwaves throughout the world.
The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday sought Art of Living head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's reply on an application which alleged the spiritual guru had termed its earlier order as "politically motivated".
'Where people in the name of religion kill each other, kill others just to go to heaven, and thinking only they will go to heaven,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
'Everyone at Guru Dutt Productions would get monthly salaries. Waheeda didi would get Rs 2,500 per month. And that was the reason why she left.'
He will be the first spiritual master from India to visit Pakistan on such a mission, a statement from Sri Sri Media Relations said.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of India's diplomatic mission abroad, on Monday said it is 'distressing' that people back home are calculating political allegiances and asked if it is 'so difficult to be patriotic'.
'The theory of karma and the principle of dharma go hand in hand,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Banerjee said, "We have been in talks with them (Pakistan) for decades, despite changes in various paradigms and governments. But one thing remains constant, the conflict with Pakistan."
'It just pays tribute to the greatness of music, which knows no barriers," claims Dev Anand, about his dream project, Song Of Life.
'Abrar uncle said he had started drinking from the afternoon on that fateful day. And he continued drinking till late at night.' 'Thereafter, he must have consumed some sleeping pills, as was his habit.' 'I think that combination went fatally wrong.'
'The spontaneity was always there; it gave me and others a lot of happiness for some time, but it brought sorrow also,' he said commenting on his love life in The Times daily.
Lack of understanding, sense of belonging, trust, and probably misinterpretation of scripture are causes of religious extremism, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at an interaction organised by a neo-conservative American think tank. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC
Elaborating on this, Dr. Manikantan and Dr. Nisha Manikantan, senior ayurvedic doctors at Sri Sri Ayurveda centre said, "Swine flu invades the body because of a breakdown in immunity. And Ayurveda offers simple & effective remedies to boost immunity & build resistance.
The opposition party, however, said the four eminent Congress MPs and leaders who have been included at the instance of the Modi government will, of course, go with the delegations and make their contributions.
In an attempt to corner the Centre, the Opposition raised the issue of the Indian Army's involvement in the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living event.
As supporters of Prasad and Sinha shoved each other and exchanged blows, they were quelled by security personnel deployed at the airport.
Prasad hit out at the Opposition, alleging that it starts getting upset the moment it hears "Kumbh" or "Sanatan".
Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar is set to receive a posthumous lifetime achievement Grammy award, organisers announced on Wednesday.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and C P Thakur were detained in Patna on Thursday during a protest against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and the hike in diesel prices. Several other opposition leaders have also been detained by the police.
The ashes of the late Pandit Ravi Shankar, the noted sitar player who passed away last week, will be taken to Varanasi for the final rites, Lakshmi Shankar, the musician's sister-in-law, told rediff.com at a memorial service held at the Self Realisation Fellowship Ashram Center in Encinitas, Southern California.
With old age leaving its imprint on his health, legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar's sitar was growing smaller in size and lighter in weight.
A close aide of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Saturday claimed that the founder of the 'Art of Living' has received death threats in Malaysia from the Islamic State terror group.
Meditation is the key that would help in tackling various challenges that come our way --that's the message that a recently-organised session by the Art of Living Foundation titled 'colours of joy' sought to deliver to around 1,200 children from around the country.
Spritual Guru and member of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that he was deeply pained over the toll of casualties during the Sri Amaranth pilgrimage year after year.
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
The BJP has launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi, questioning his frequent visits to Vietnam. The party's leaders have accused him of spending more time in the Southeast Asian country than his constituency and have demanded an explanation for his "extraordinary fondness" for Vietnam. Gandhi's foreign trips have been a target of the BJP's criticism in the past, with the party portraying him as unserious and unfit for domestic politics.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday dared Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to become prime minister.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
The government will send seven all-party delegations to key partner countries, including members of the United Nations Security Council, later this month to convey India's message of zero tolerance against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
The actor-turned-politician whose criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grown progressively sharper, didn't figure on the BJP's list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
A 100-year-old freedom fighter from Goa, a Dhak player from West Bengal who trained 150 women in the male-dominated field, and India's first woman puppeteers are among 30 unsung heroes who were awarded Padma Shri on Republic Day. Libia Lobo Sardesai, who played an important role in Goa's freedom movement, cofounded an underground radio station -- 'Voz da Liberdabe (Voice of Freedom)' -- in a forested area in 1955 to rally people against the Portuguese rule. She has been awarded the Padma Shri by the President on the occasion of 76th Republic Day. Also among the awardees is Gokul Chandra Dey, a 57-year-old Dhak player from West Bengal who broke the gender stereotype by training 150 women in the male-dominated field. Dey also created a lightweight Dhak type, 1.5 kg less than the conventional instrument, and represented India at various international platforms and performed with Maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain. A vocal advocate of woman empowerment, 82-year-old Sally Holkar transformed once dying Maheshwari craft and founded Handloom school in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, to give training in traditional weaving techniques. Born in America and Inspired by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar's legacy, she devoted five decades of her life to revitalise 300-year-old weaving legacy. She has also been awarded Padma Shri.
He was a formidable musician but seemed utterly human, a Peter Pan who wore his genius with deceptive lightness. Sandip Roy remembers Ustad Zakir Hussain.
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