All stories by VAIHAYASI PANDE DANIEL
'President Trump loves Hindus and India'
Rediff.com10 Nov 2016'Foreign aid to Pakistan. Forget it, bye bye...' 'F-16s to Pakistan. Forget it.' Shalabh Kumar, the desi who knows Donald Trump best, speaks to Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
'She was there in between heaven and earth'
Rediff.com4 Sep 2016Even though she was one of the planet's best known people, Mother Teresa remained an enigma all her life.
When Amitav Ghosh issues a warning, it's time to listen
Rediff.com31 Aug 2016'We know many things are going to happen.' 'People should be preparing for sea level rise, for increased cyclonic activity, for drought.' 'One reason I wrote the book is to alert people to the dangers that they face.' 'For example, Mumbai faces enormous threat.'
Does India have the solution to climate change?
Rediff.com31 Aug 2016'I would like to believe that out of this struggle (to effect climate change) will be born a generation that will be able to look upon the world with clearer eyes than those that preceded it; that they will be able to transcend the isolation in which humanity was entrapped in the time of its derangement; that they will rediscover their kinship with other beings, and that this vision, at once new and ancient, will find expression in a transformed and renewed art and literature.'
The American who rescues Indian treasures!
Rediff.com22 Aug 2016'Cultural property crimes have been linked, by the United Nations and others, to terrorism.' 'These links show the perpetrators to be associated with major criminal and terrorist networks like ISIS.
'Raza carried India in his heart'
Rediff.com11 Aug 2016'... and all of the symbolism, history, the colours of his motherland, the earth, the sky, all of that is there and it always remains with him.'
Why S H Raza is one of India's greatest painters
Rediff.com11 Aug 2016'Raza exemplified a sense of warmth and a connectedness to his roots and to Indian earth.'
'David Headley has a very deep-felt hatred for India'
Rediff.com1 Aug 2016If the radical Islamic movement had been largely peaceful, Headley would have probably found another way to ensure real life excitement.' 'But I really do believe that his relationship with radical Islam is real. Very real.' 'It was a match for his desires.'
'Headley can teach us a lot about terrorism'
Rediff.com1 Aug 2016'India simply wasn't prepared for the fact that a natural-born American could be organising a major terror plot in their country. And they didn't look for people like him.' 'Headley is one of the most complex and interesting terrorists of the last many years.'
'India is like a soft-shell crab, but will grow into something hard and powerful'
Rediff.com30 Jun 2016'India stands on the broad shoulders of an extraordinary civilisation. In some ways it is quite surprising that it hasn't fully embraced the power of that.' 'The prime minister speaks about Make in India. Let's remind ourselves also of Made in India. What made India great. What are the great things of the past which will help us make India even greater.' 'India stands on the broad shoulders of an extraordinary civilisation. In some ways it is quite surprising that it hasn't fully embraced the power of that.'
'India has never lacked for ideas'
Rediff.com30 Jun 2016'Soft power is the power really to win friends and influence people with the strength of your ideas.' 'India's greatest soft power is being India itself. A nation of varied beliefs, states, creeds, castes, languages and yet embodying that spirit of unity in diversity.'
'Bollywood saved my life'
Rediff.com27 Jun 2016'Today if you look at the way India is growing many people are saying the sleeping elephant has finally woken up, is dancing!' 'I have travelled extensively, in about 60 countries. In all these the moment you say India, the first thing they mention is either an actor's name. Or they start humming a song.' 'I wanted to be in Bollywood. It is the most powerful medium we have in this country. That's soft power.' Listening in on Shobhaa De, Kabir Khan, Vikas Swarop and Saffron Art CEO Hugo Weihe speak on India's Soft Power, Hard Influence.
Be careful how you cook, what you eat at home!
Rediff.com15 Jun 2016'You have the home-cooked food. But on top of that you are having the sugary drinks, the junk food, the mithais and whatever else....' 'People should not be frying in this sunflower oil, corn oil or eating any foods fried in this stuff.' 'They should cook in butter or ghee or olive oil. That is much healthier.'
Ghee, butter, cheese, eggs: Yes! Sugar, carbs: NO!
Rediff.com15 Jun 2016'When I give advice to my Indian relatives they are shocked.' 'I tell them to eat butter again and eggs and all that stuff.' And eat only so much rice.' 'Instead of having three chapattis, have one.' A must-read interview!
'Most Japanese don't want an apology for Hiroshima'
Rediff.com30 May 2016'Whether he will apologise or not is not a problem.' 'I want him to make an effort to create a new world, by learning from history.'
'He moved like James Brown, played like Hendrix, sang like a soul singer and wrote great lyrics'
Rediff.com22 Apr 2016Former minister Milind Deora who in his free time more than strums a guitar and belts out a few songs, pays tribute to Prince.
When the Royals came marching in
Rediff.com12 Apr 2016Prince William and Princess Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, collected quite a few Mumbai hearts on a hot two days in April.
'Belgium has gone into lockdown'
Rediff.com22 Mar 2016Kumar Gaurav, the second secretary at the Embassy of India in Brussels tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel that the Belgian government has closed off its borders and shut down its entire transport system.
The real hero of Aligarh
Rediff.com25 Feb 2016Dr Siras was a man determined to be a freak in the show called Life, says Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Here all in silence, let them sleep their sleep
Rediff.com3 Feb 2016Right in the midst of bustling Kolkata lies what might be the most prominent population of Britons in India.