Sandeep Gajakosh wanted to be an artist, and God, he tells Tista Sengupta/Rediff.com, helped him find a way.
'Nobody is killing you in Kerala because you are Hindu unlike in North India where Muslims have been killed only because they are Muslims and were carrying some meat.'
Gargi Vijaraghavan feels that the human species is a bigger danger to her beloved snakes.
'This wipes out the entire black money in the nation in one stroke. Ninety per cent plus of the black money is kept in Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes. What they have done is a brilliant move.'
There is a reason Jodie Underhill is called 'garbage girl'. She has been dirtying her hands in a crusade against filth for the last 5 years.
From a ruling party's perspective, the BJP is in a sweet spot; editorial independence and analytical coverage of governance is rapidly declining
The iconinc Zaveri Bazaar in south Mumbai does business of around Rs 3 trillion a year.
A new 7.3-magnitude earthquake and seven powerful aftershocks struck Nepal on Tuesday killing at least 50 people and triggering panic in the Himalayan nation already devastated by a monster temblor less than three weeks ago that had claimed over 8,000 lives.
The longer it takes for RBI and the government to stabilise monetary conditions in the economy, the more severe and long lasting will be the damage caused to various sectors of the economy, especially to the informal sector, says Rajeswari Sengupta. Rajeswari Sengupta discusses the impact of this move on money supply, output and prices, in the short- and medium-term.
The idea was that despite some defaults the high rates would assure good profits.
Nicolas Franchet, Facebook's global head of retail and e-commerce, talks to Business Standard about how the company can help e-commerce firms target customers.
A buoyant economic mood and tempting discounts, both online and offline, are fuelling a shopping frenzy this Diwali.
The Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, traditional moneylenders, have seen their numbers shrink.
'There has never been a problem between Hindu and Muslims in Kairana.' 'We are a people that smoke from the same hookah.' Once the seat of an influential tradition of Indian classical music, Kairana has become a metaphor for the exodus of Hindus.
Narendra Modi's pay-off from relaxing labour laws would be huge.
Despite a strong anti-corruption mood, where election costs are seen as the driver for graft, politicians don't change their spots. Unsurprisingly, this trend of unleashing cash can be expected to continue in this Lok Sabha elections too, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Jumme Ki Raat singer Palak Muchhal tells us how she found fame.
'If standing in a bank or ATM line is a test of patriotism, why is not a single leader standing in that queue too?'
Rediff readers share their Cash Crisis experiences.
'The only positive I see are the youth of India who were earlier just after money. The young now want to do something for society.'
Mahesh Vijapurkar on how the celebrations for Mumbai favourite deity is now a combination of crass commerce and politics.
Kickstarting the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll campaign for Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wooed voters with a host of promises as he singled out 'anarchist' Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal for attack and asked voters to punish him for "wasting" one year.
'We are allowing FDI on the terms of the investors, multinationals.' 'We bow down to whatever they say.' 'When they say you open this sector, we open that sector.'
The strong Modi wave, disillusionment with the Akhilesh Yadav-led government in the state and the division of the anti-Modi vote will help the BJP leader edge closer to the PM's chair, observes Sharat Pradhan.
Have Amethi and Rae Bareli got rough treatment in the last one year? Has Varanasi become cleaner? Business Standard's Manavi Kapur finds out
The art of making Ittar (scent) is perhaps as old as civilisation.
Meet Srihari Sathe. Producer. Director. Professor.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the inflation index would determine the nominal growth figure, and it is better to set modest targets and outperform them.
'Even if Akhilesh Yadav opens up the entire state treasury for us we will not vote for the Samajwadi Party... ''...I don't want to return to my village, my head will be chopped off. They want me to press the button on the lotus.' Caught between an aggressive BSP cornering Dalit votes and the BJP cornering other Hindu votes, the Muslims of Muzaffarnagar have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt presents the grim situation on the ground in western Uttar Pradesh.
'The Kopardi rape/murder was the immediate cause of the unrest.' 'However, there is a feeling of isolation and anger that has been simmering within the Maratha community.' 'The protests gave Marathas a sense of belonging.' 'They felt they have a stake in the protests and the issues being raised.' 'As for the future, let us see what happens.' 'All I can say is it will not stop here.'
Mihir S Sharma on the false opposition being created between 'governance' and 'vote bank politics'.
Shriya Rangarajan has come a long way from the comforts of the western world.
The Varanasi versus Azamgarh story is about the fears and insecurities of two of our strongest leaders, Narendra Modi and Mulayam Singh Yadav, says Sheela Bhatt.
Over two years since the Nirbhaya rape shook the nation women in New Delhi feel no safer than they did before. With safety apps to self-defence classes on the rise, Ritika Bhatia takes a look at what working women in Delhi are doing to keep themselves safe.
'In Carol, Cate Blanchett reminds us what a real movie star is and why we are enamored by her acting and looks.'
In our special series re-visiting great Hindi film classics, we look back at Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia starrer Arjun, 1985.
Ashraf Palarakunnummal has one mission in life -- to ensure the dignity of the dead. This he does by seeing to it that expats who die in the Gulf are transported back to their home countries without too many hassles for the bereaved families. Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com talks to the Good Samaritan who was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman recently.
In the second and final part of his column, Col Anil Athale says the fight between forces of Indian nationalism and Macaulayism aided and abetted by West is going to be long, hard and dirty. The outcome will decide whether India becomes a superpower or continues to wallow in the swamp of underdevelopment.
