As the US space agency turns 50, rediff.com distinguish several eras of human spaceflight at NASA.

US President Barack Obama marks the 45th year of the Apollo 11 moon mission.

50 years of space flight.

40 years after man landed on the moon, Yasmin Rajendran, 13, pays tribute to that giant achievement.

Four decades after America's last landing on the Moon, new images from National Aeronautics and Space Administration's camera have shown that all flags except one planted during Apollo missions are still standing and waving, despite the harsh lunar climate.

This incredible stockpile includes nearly every photo taken my astronauts during the missions.

It has been a half-century since Neil Armstrong stepped out of a lunar module and onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969 and declared, \"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.\" The moment heralded a golden age of space exploration that was set in motion just eight years earlier in 1961, when United States President John F Kennedy promised before Congress to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Here are some lesser-known facts about the historic first mission:

Fifty years ago on July 20, 1969 with these words American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin \"Buzz\" E Aldrin made history by becoming the first human beings to set foot on another world -- the moon. It was an event that was watched by millions on television and one that remains etched in all our memories. Collected here are 17 images of that historic mission, a \"giant leap for mankind\".

Around March/April every year, news editors of various Bombay newspapers ask their chief reporters, \"Where is the mango story?

Silent. Efficient. Safe. Quick. Modern washing techniques are all these and more. You put the clothes into the washing machine, add some detergent, start it and your work is almost over. After about 45 minutes, when the machine stops and you hang the washed, semi-dry clothes in the sun.

The queue at the rationing office was long. People had been waiting since morning to have their ration cards renewed. The card is of vital importance to Bombay's residents. One's existence in the city is recognised and becomes 'official' only on the possession of the precious card, which has to be renewed periodically.

American families, I am told, gather once or twice a year, at Thanksgiving or Christmas for a grand reunion. Sons and daughters, with their families, assemble at the homes of their parents. The children in the families play together, the adults sit and swap childhood stories. This is a rewarding and entertaining experience.

In the last few months, Bombay has had its quota of unusual weddings. A wealthy diamond merchant married his daughter off in style aboard a jumbo jet hired for the occasion. The media, which was well represented, reported the wedding in detail.

It was a Monday morning -- April 21 to be exact -- and I was watching the direct telecast of the swearing-in of yet another Indian prime minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, and his tired-looking cabinet colleagues. The ceremony lasted for about an hour and I dozed during most of it.

Times have certainly changed. My 17-year-old daughter, now in her 12th standard, does not even know the names of her college teachers, let alone any other details. Her generation pays more attention to what is taught in coaching classes. Perhaps, the fault may lie with college teachers. But then, can all of them be so bad as to be ignored by their own students?

'... their love was jinxed.' 'His celluloid path to his partner's heart was seldom smooth; it had to contend with greedy relatives and indecisive sweethearts, who were more ready to sacrifice than woo and wed.'

Around March/April every year, news editors of various Bombay newspapers ask their chief reporters, \"Where is the mango story?

Silent. Efficient. Safe. Quick. Modern washing techniques are all these and more. You put the clothes into the washing machine, add some detergent, start it and your work is almost over. After about 45 minutes, when the machine stops and you hang the washed, semi-dry clothes in the sun.

The queue at the rationing office was long. People had been waiting since morning to have their ration cards renewed. The card is of vital importance to Bombay's residents. One's existence in the city is recognised and becomes 'official' only on the possession of the precious card, which has to be renewed periodically.

American families, I am told, gather once or twice a year, at Thanksgiving or Christmas for a grand reunion. Sons and daughters, with their families, assemble at the homes of their parents. The children in the families play together, the adults sit and swap childhood stories. This is a rewarding and entertaining experience.

In the last few months, Bombay has had its quota of unusual weddings. A wealthy diamond merchant married his daughter off in style aboard a jumbo jet hired for the occasion. The media, which was well represented, reported the wedding in detail.

It was a Monday morning -- April 21 to be exact -- and I was watching the direct telecast of the swearing-in of yet another Indian prime minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, and his tired-looking cabinet colleagues. The ceremony lasted for about an hour and I dozed during most of it.

Times have certainly changed. My 17-year-old daughter, now in her 12th standard, does not even know the names of her college teachers, let alone any other details. Her generation pays more attention to what is taught in coaching classes. Perhaps, the fault may lie with college teachers. But then, can all of them be so bad as to be ignored by their own students?

'... their love was jinxed.' 'His celluloid path to his partner's heart was seldom smooth; it had to contend with greedy relatives and indecisive sweethearts, who were more ready to sacrifice than woo and wed.'

'I told my commander that they were not militants, but full-fledged soldiers with machine guns.'

The idea of weaponization got a fillip from an unexpected quarter. In the last week of October 1985, Rajiv met US President Ronald Reagan. Reagan told Rajiv, 'Pakistan has already made a bomb.' When Rajiv started talking about disarmament, the US president cut him short, 'Don't talk theory, think of your own protection.'

'Even though Gandhiji did not know me well, Sardar knew and remembered me working with him till the Congress was banned.' Glimpses from the fascinating memoirs of Chakkedath Sankarankutty Menon, the stenographer who worked for Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel during the freedom struggle.

'Even the President does not have the power to overrule the ECI.'

The fight for freedom was long and hard and that is why it is important to go back to the monuments that celebrate those who fought the good fight.

Every now and then Bollywood finds itself in need of divine intervention.

Getaways near Mumbai, Nasik and Pune for memorable weekend day trips in the rains!

Avoiding love subjects in discussion is one of the first indications that you are being friendzoned, warns Sybil Shidddell, country manager India, Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.

Drink plenty of water or fluids to keep your electrolytes and toxins in check, suggests Dr Vidhe Sharma.

The online world is filled with love gurus promising to teach \"how to woo someone in minutes\", unlike those who talk about the need to do the self-work.

If you are considering pregnancy, it is advisable to meet with a healthcare provider to discuss your overall health, any pre-existing conditions, and any steps you can take to optimise your health before conceiving, advises Dr Kiran Coelho.

'The pride of the devoted Seinfeld fan is that he happens to love a show that doesn't take his love for granted, so that even on repeat viewings he is never really sure what directions an episode might take,' observes Sreehari Nair.

The home chef offers up a Mangalorean recipe for mutton that she learnt from her 'Mangala Aunty'.

If Rajesh Khanna was the greatest star of Hindi cinema, the songs played a major part in his superstardom.

As Kat turns 40 on July 16, Sukanya Verma starts the celebrations early by looking at Bollywood's Dancing Queen at her scintillating best.

Sukanya Verma celebrates her milestone 40th birthday on July 16 by looking at the 10 important performances of her career.

rediffGURU Ashwini Dasgupta offers tips on how to navigate job interviews.

Being driven to abandon Indian middle-class values, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

There are no bad children, just bad behaviour, insists Bhavana Nagendra.

Your romantic life is about to become a thrilling and touching journey with these simple resolutions, says Sybil Shiddell, relationship manager at Gleeden.

rediffGURU Dr Vivek Mahajan, interventional cardiologist at Fortis Hospital, Kalyan, explains how young Indians can correct their lifestyle in order to protect themselves from sudden and unexpected cardiac arrests.

We should fill our heart with things that we will be proud of when anyone opens our hearts -- fill it with love rather than hate, fill it with confidence rather than fear, with care rather than apathy, with warmth rather than indifference, suggests Cardiac Surgeon Dr Sanjeeth Peter.

Vignettes from an important chapter in the life of a man who left his kingdom to bring compassion to the world.

It's foolish to believe that someone else completes you. It is you alone who are whole and complete, says Aarti David.

Youngsters must remember education is their BIGGEST investment EVER: Their lifelong income-earning provider! asserts CA P V Subramanyam.

P V Subramanyam takes a hard look at the pros and cons of both options.

Buying term insurance is not a one-size-fits-all purchase. It requires some level of deliberation to ensure that the policy aligns with your needs, life stage as well as future circumstances, says Casparus Kromhout, MD & CEO Shriram Life Insurance Company

Try to assess whether the broker has good knowledge of the prices prevailing in the area you are interested in, and is able to provide the pros and cons of various projects.

I am increasingly seeing young people starting 25-year-SIPs; these kids will definitely benefit from the long term effect of compounding, notes P V Subramanyam.

Lack of sleep, unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity and a stressful daily schedule stemming from demanding career paths to juggling multiple hats on the personal front are some factors that increase health challenges, especially in young Indians, notes dietician Sheryl Salis.

Communication is both a science and an art. And with a little planning and practice, everyone can play to their strengths and leverage this capability to their advantage, says Sonica Aron.

rediffGURU Anu Krishna explains how you can improve your mental health by seeking professional help.

'...they were shocked to learn that just 352 Indian soldiers had made 3 brigadiers, 2 colonels, 170 officers, 290 JCOs and 8,000 troops surrender to the Indian Army.'

'I told President Obama, \"Mr President, do you realise that the person who is likely to become the prime minister of India in two weeks, does not have a visa, and you are talking about having great relations between India and the USA, how are you going to do it?\".'' 'His answer was that this is not right and that he'll have somebody from the White House and the State Department reach out to me.'

'We have to make people aware that the Constitution belongs to us.' 'We are the people who decide who will govern on our behalf.'

'The pandemic had a significant impact on child trafficking.' 'With economic hardships, traffickers exploited the situation to target desperate parents and children.'

Being driven to abandon Indian middle-class values, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.

Aishwarya Sathe and her husband spent 13 days crisscrossing Japan and adored every minute of it.

'Even at 50, I will make mistakes, but I'm willing to get up and learn again.'

The village in Maharashtra has continuously sent soldiers to the Army since World War I. Every other person you meet is a soldier or a retired soldier or is aspiring to be a soldier.

'Astad had the courage to plough a lonely furrow. He made a life of his own, on his own, and created a path-breaking dance style.' 'Only a few in the performing arts could do what he did.' 'A classical dancer can fall back on tradition, but Astad created something absolutely new.'

'Gone too soon, Astad, but I know whenever we meet in that world beyond, I will watch you dance.' Swarupa Dutt remembers a remarkable human being and a magnificent performer who left the world poorer when he passed into the ages on Thursday.

Television newscaster Dibang remembers Astad Deboo, the legendary dancer, who passed into the ages on Thursday.

Padma Shri Astad Deboo, the well-known contemporary Indian dancer, enthralled President Pranab Mukherjee as he settled down after his meetings with business leaders from India and Sweden in Stockholm on Tuesday night.

Dancer-Choreographer Astad Deboo met Queen Elizabeth, William and Kate at Buckingham Palace on Monday at the launch of India-UK year of Culture. He tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com that the Queen even did a cute little dance movement when he was presented to her.

After performing with Manipuri artistes the world over, Astad Deboo, India's greatest contemporary dancer, performed with artistes of the Shri Shri Govindajee Nat Sankirtan in Imphal for the first time.

The celebrated contemporary dancer's performance was part of the One World Retreat, a three-day event to promote the cause of the Indian Head Injury Foundation.

There are very few people in the world who qualify to be called a living legend. Astad Deboo is one of them.

Bullied children could show a sudden reluctance to go to school. Pay attention to any changes in their social dynamics such as avoiding certain friends or becoming increasingly isolated, says Dr Maithili Tambe.

'All through the making of Dil Daulat Aur Duniya, Rajesh Khanna never acknowledged me.' 'Dev Anand couldn't carry off a dhoti in Insaaniyat. He told me that he would never wear one again.' 'Shammi Kapoor and I began on an icy note during Raajkumar, but once the cold vibes thawed, we became the best of buddies.'

Ratan Tata: A Life, the much awaited biography, reveals that after a year of 'parallel running', Tata began having second thoughts about Cyrus Mistry's 'suitability'. 'Mistry targeted Ratan, the man who had elevated him from virtual oblivion into the mainstream of the Tatas...'

'Healthcare is not an industry.' 'The government is only encouraging insurance as they are not able to provide healthcare to people.' 'Opening new medical colleges is not what is needed.' 'You have to invest in public sector hospitals.' 'You cannot hand over healthcare to the private industry.'

Raghav Himatsingka, co-founder, Raising Superstars, explains how simple activities can help improve your child's cognitive skills and critical thinking.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.

Ananya Pandey's snazzy, selfie-ready style in Call Me Bae is the first thing to have caught our eye about her ultra glamorous debut on OTT this week.

'Ajit Doval said, \"They are threatening us now\".'

...Kids, jobs, emigration, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.

'A mid-year review makes the end-of-year financial review manageable and less stressful.'

Make children realise that money is earned through hard work and used to buy necessary things.

If the cashless request is denied, the entire cost may need to be paid for planned treatments.

When not facing the arc lights or gracing the red carpet, stars love to catch their breath far away from the maddening crowds in the lap of nature.

Employers seek individuals who can prioritise tasks, solve problems, and work within deadlines, notes Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Unstop.

Shreekant Sambrani tells himself over and over again, don't lose heart in these dire times, there is asha (hope) still, in the divine voice of Asha Bhosle.

Be it Dhoom, Singham or the Munnabhai franchise, there are certain stories that have tons more to say or solid cash cow potential and Bollywood is all for it.

Cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar celebrates a magnificent 75th birthday on July 10th. Rediff.com picks 15 facts about Sunil Gavaskar you need to know:

'Doubtless he was the greatest opener of his era; and also one of the greatest in the history of cricket.'

'He is the best technically sound batsman I have seen till date and that too without a helmet.'

When he ended his Test career, he held the following Test records: Most Tests (125). Most consecutive Tests (106). Most runs (10,122). Most hundreds (34). Most scores of 50 or more (79). Most hundred partnerships (58).

'Though I had my reservations about Sunny as a captain, I must say that he is a very proud Indian.'

K N Prabhu, the doyen of cricket writers, salutes Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, who appeared for the first time in Test cricket 50 years ago today, March 6, 1971.

To watch Dada standing on the steps of the airplane ladder with a glittering trophy in hand was exhilarating, recalls Hemant Kenkre.

We have all had heroes. We have all wanted to be someone else. But there was nobody I wanted to be more than I wanted to be Sunil Gavaskar, notes Harsha Bhogle.

An air of loss and mystery continues to shroud the talented but troubled Guru Dutt's premature death in 1964 --- he was 39 when he died. A keen look at the director's classics shows a recurring appearance of a death wish.

'It was only after he passed away that the family realised he was crying for help.'

Arun Dutt talks about his famous father Guru Dutt and how it was like growing up under his shadow.

'He began to find her boring. She felt lonely and unwanted.'

V K Murthy gives insight in Guru Dutt's life.

Legendary film director Guru Dutt's life has been documented several times, and with reason. The filmmaker, whose untimely death robbed Hindi cinema of many more classics, inspired many writers to profile him.

Waheeda Rehman reminisces about Guru Dutt

Nasreen Munni Kabir: The Berlin Film Festival was held between 21 June and 2 July 1963. So that means you did not meet him for a whole year, and then you heard he had passed away in October 1964. Is that right? Waheeda Rehman: Yes. The last time I saw him must have been in Berlin. We did not work together after Sahib Bibi...Waheeda Rehman on Guru Dutt, and the last time they worked together.

In May last year, Jyoti Basu, West Bengal's chief minister and one of the most respected politicians in this country, was on the verge of becoming India's first Communist prime minister. The United Front wanted him as its leader, but Basu's own party -- the Communist Party of India-Marxist -- would not allow him to be sworn in as prime minister.

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The Election Interview/Jyoti Basu
'The Congress has come to such a pass that it is dependent on a housewife'
Jyoti BasuAs election pundits predict that the Bharatiya Janata Party, even if it wins the maximum number of seats in the forthcoming polls, may not be able to form the next government, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Jyoti Basu emerges once again as a hot candidate for the prime minister's job. Excerpts from an interview with Pritish Nandy.

Bengal's ace writer Sunil Gangopadhyay shared his opinions about the former West Bengal chief minister with rediff.com.

Ever since he came to power in May 2004, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has been touring the state's villages and is rarely found in Hyderabad, the state capital. The new chief minister says he does not want to remain in Hyderabad because he does not \"want to become another N Chandrababu Naidu.\"

The Congress has been in an upbeat mood in Andhra Pradesh with party president Sonia Gandhi drawing huge crowds at her recent meetings in the state. Besides the Gandhi family charisma, it is 'Cuddapah Tiger' and AP Congress unit president Yedugoori Sandinti Rajasekhar Reddy's promise of providing free power to farmers that has made a significant difference to the Congress fortunes in this election.

Nine years down the line, the lad is the king or Maharaj, if you please, of Indian cricket.

Chandidas Ganguly is the proud owner of one of Asia's best printing business houses, but most Indians know him as the father of cricketer Sourav 'Dada' Ganguly, who retired from the game today.

In this exclusive excerpt from his autobiography, A Century Is Not Enough, Sourav Ganguly makes some startling revelations.

'For me, he's the brother and friend I lost so early.' 'It is like a part of me has been amputated.'

Captain Vikram Batra died fighting Pakistani forces during the Kargil war in 1999 at the age of 24. He was given the highest wartime gallantry award 'Param Vir Chakra' posthumously.

A bust of Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra was unveiled in Himachal Pradesh's Palampur on Wednesday, Army officials said.

'Captain Vikram Batra, PVC and his unit 13 Jak Rif did stand out because of the sheer magnitude of the task allotted to them but also the exceptional professionalism with which it was executed and completed,' recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).

If PoK is taken, these infiltrating bastards will take root in India and demand Punjab next: It is best we barricade them all in Pakistan -- which will remain our enemy till it's nuked out, says Varsha Bhosle.

'There will be no more lapses in vigil. Not for the men who will now have to guard these frozen heights.'

At a height of 17,200 feet, his handwriting mangled by the cold, Captain Vikram Batra wrote this letter to his twin brother.

On the 25th anniversary of the battle that made his war cry 'Dil Maange More' part of national lore, we republish that feature to salute Captain Batra's ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

'All through the making of Dil Daulat Aur Duniya, Rajesh Khanna never acknowledged me.' 'Dev Anand couldn't carry off a dhoti in Insaaniyat. He told me that he would never wear one again.' 'Shammi Kapoor and I began on an icy note during Raajkumar, but once the cold vibes thawed, we became the best of buddies.'

Follow this 15 x 15 x 15 rule to become a crorepati without taking big risks. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains how

A toxic friend is always complaining, or finding fault and creating drama to prove that something that happened is your fault.

Decide on the pros and cons of what you want from this relationship. If you do go for something casual, detach your emotions, advises rediffGURU Shalini Singh.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.

A trip to any of these enchanting waterfalls guarantees a memorable vacation.

Exploring the best of Indian roads.

rediffGURU Anu Krishna, co-founder of Unfear Changemakers, offers expert advice about how you can take charge of your life.

'All through the making of Dil Daulat Aur Duniya, Rajesh Khanna never acknowledged me.' 'Dev Anand couldn't carry off a dhoti in Insaaniyat. He told me that he would never wear one again.' 'Shammi Kapoor and I began on an icy note during Raajkumar, but once the cold vibes thawed, we became the best of buddies.'

Follow this 15 x 15 x 15 rule to become a crorepati without taking big risks. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains how

A toxic friend is always complaining, or finding fault and creating drama to prove that something that happened is your fault.

Decide on the pros and cons of what you want from this relationship. If you do go for something casual, detach your emotions, advises rediffGURU Shalini Singh.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.

A trip to any of these enchanting waterfalls guarantees a memorable vacation.

Exploring the best of Indian roads.

rediffGURU Anu Krishna, co-founder of Unfear Changemakers, offers expert advice about how you can take charge of your life.

Beyond a point, competition is boring. The fun is in the doing, irrespective of outcome. By the time I was in college, I knew I valued awareness more than success, notes Shyam G Menon.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.

Dr Ipshita Johri explains how you can keep your skin healthy in the rainy season.

Have a calm and open conversation with your wife to understand her perspective, suggests rediffGURU Dr Ashish Sehgal.

Gen Z, don't shy away from expressing your ideas, and millennials, be receptive to new perspectives, suggests Sonica Aron, founder of the HR consultancy firm, Marching Sheep.

'It was not a love affair, it was much more.'

Forty four years after Mohammed Rafi's untimely demise on July 31, 1980, at the young age of 55, the singer's work continues to enjoy a musical afterlife on radio, television and modern streaming channels.

One of the world's oldest seats of learning, the ruins of Nalanda University are a true wonder!

'She could create 30 movements out of the same musical beat.'

As the nation and film fraternity mourns the loss of a legend, Namrata Thakker takes a look at Saroj Khan's beautiful life through her Instagram feed.

Madhuri Dixit's journey with Saroj Khan through the years.

'During Karma, Sridevi's dancing style was south dancing style.' 'She had to adapt to Bollywood.' 'She was hard working, and would rehearse a lot.' 'On the day of the shoot, she would get all her moves right.'

'Both Madhuri and Aishwarya adjusted well with each other.' 'They did not crib that one got good moves and the other did not.'

Saroj Khan on the dancing skills of Bollywood's biggest stars.

'Madhuri is the best dancer in the world.' 'Shahid is too good!' 'Hrithik is the best in the industry.'

Sukanya Verma salutes the power of Saroj Khan and her brilliant choreography.

'A man dies and it's over for him. But we're right here, it isn't over for us,' she says cryptically. She talks about the \"poverty\" in which she had to raise her sons and daughter, the responsibility of today's youth to its country and how war widows should cope with their loss.

'India was in no position to wage another war in 1965, having suffered a morale-shattering defeat in 1962. The three services were in the middle of a modernisation and expansion phase and therefore not fully trained or battle-ready.'

Lieutenant General Harbakhsh Singh, GOC, Western Command, disobeyed the then army chief and took on a superior Pakistani armoured column. The Indian Centurion tanks outgunned the more modern Pakistani Patton tanks in the battle at Khem Karan, that proved the turning point of the 1965 War. Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) salutes the Soldiers' General.

In spite of being wounded in battle, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore fought for six days before meeting a hero's death on the battlefield in the 1965 war. A legend in the Indian Army, he is the highest ranking officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

The 1965 war teaches us that war by escalation is a real possibility. Despite clear threats, Pakistan never believed that India will ever cross the international border. In the age of nuclear deterrence, this failure to deter Pakistan is the central lesson of 1965, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).

In super-human acts of valour, Havildar Abdul Hamid personally knocked out five tanks over two days, effectively derailing the enemy offensive in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. 'Decades later, I realised not only how much the nation owed to this great son of India but also that my entire family was probably alive thanks to him,' says Vijay Dandapani.

'News is rife that Pakistan will attack the next day. They have no idea that this is where they will take on the might of 1 Armoured Division of Pakistan in a three-day bloody battle that will be remembered in military history as the Battle of Asal Uttar.' Rachna Bisht Rawat salutes the brave men turned the tide of the '65 war.

'Both Abdul Hamid and the enemy tank place each other in their sights and shoot. Both shells hit their targets. There is a loud blast, fire and smoke.' 'Hamid doesn't get time to jump off. A deafening blast follows and then there is complete silence.' 'Abdul Hamid is dead. He has destroyed a total of seven enemy tanks, many more than what an armoured formation could take on.'

In cricket, we have something that we can share with our families, neighbours and indeed, the whole country. It is colour-blind, language-neutral, truly secular and transcends all regions, from Kashmir to Kerala and Mizoram to Maharashtra, explains Shreekant Sambrani.

Suryakumar's decision-making and awareness was also applauded by India's fielding coach T Dilip.

A heartwarming image went viral, capturing Suryakumar Yadav celebrating with the World Cup trophy alongside his wife Devisha Shetty.

Believe it or not, this is the first T20 World Cup won by India after the launch of the IPL in 2008 -- after 16 seasons of the T20 league.

Rahul Dravid's tenure as India Head Coach, which ended gloriously with the T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados on Saturday, will remain a case study on how to be stately and understated at the same time in modern-day cricket coaching.

India secured their second Twenty20 World Cup title with a dramatic seven-run win over South Africa in the final in Barbados.

Check out how India's players reacted after victory over South Africa in the final.

As the final ball was bowled, emotions ran high at the Kensington Oval. Rohit Sharma was overcome with joy, collapsing to the ground and tapping the outfield as tears welled up in his eyes.

After 21 days of intense fighting, the Indian Army achieved its most significant success till date by clearing the vital Tololing ridgeline in overnight operations even as the Group of Eight vindicated New Delhi's position on Pakistan's armed intrusion into the Kargil sector and called upon Islamabad to respect the Line of Control.

Indian troops recaptured another strategically important height, point 4700, in Dras sector after a night-long fierce gunbattle which claimed the lives of 45 Pakistani intruders and 20 Indian soldiers, including some officers. Official sources said it took several days' planning to launch the massive offensive to recapture point 4700 height, few km northeast of Tiger Hills in Dras sector and catch the enemy by surprise.

The Indian Army cleared the strategic Point 4700 and enemy positions on Knoll, Three Pimples and Lone Hill, losing 26 men in the process.

Steep ridges capped in snow, cutting, cruel and barren, rising high, over 5000 metres, into thin air,

The Indian army has seized lodgments on equivalent heights as the intruders in both Drass and Batalik. But the battle for each post will be fought separately and resolutely.

Twenty one years ago, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force fought a bloody and bitter war to evict Pakistani intruders from the icy heights in Kargil. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes the lesser known heroes of the Kargil War.

'The Pakistanis were not the mujahids or terrorists as claimed initially.' .'They were trained soldiers who held state of the art anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down our airplanes.'

'...Cliffy with utter disregard to his personal safety, charged through the fire zone, closed in on the enemy, threw hand grenades inside their bunkers and killed six enemy soldiers!' '...He was hit by a volley of bullets. Even before breathing his last, Cliffy killed a Pakistani soldier in hand-to-hand combat...' Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, who was just 24, received the Mahavir Chakra posthumously for his superhuman act of valour in the Kargil War just 18 months after he joined the Indian Army. Archana Masih/Rediff.com remembers one of India's Bravest Of The Brave as the nation salutes the 527 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland on Vijay Diwas.

Try this simple and wholesome sabji recipe of ridge gourd with Bengal gram.

It pairs beautifully with just dal and rice.

This sweet is vegan, gluten-free and not very sugary.

These creamy laddoos melt in your mouth.

Why settle for one grain when you can start your day with multiple super-friendly grains.

Two interesting starters for a rainy day.

Swap your basic paneer mattar for delicious, creamy, melt-in-your mouth koftas.

Skip milk, butter and eggs to make a truly delightful vegan cake.

Try this simple and wholesome sabji recipe of ridge gourd with Bengal gram.

It pairs beautifully with just dal and rice.

This sweet is vegan, gluten-free and not very sugary.

These creamy laddoos melt in your mouth.

Why settle for one grain when you can start your day with multiple super-friendly grains.

Two interesting starters for a rainy day.

Swap your basic paneer mattar for delicious, creamy, melt-in-your mouth koftas.

Skip milk, butter and eggs to make a truly delightful vegan cake.

Top 25 responses to 'If I were Harry Potter for a day'.

A few theories and expectations from the seventh saga of the Boy Who Lived.

It's hard to look back now and remember the exact quality of the excitement that the first Harry Potter book generated, the astonishment and delight with which we read about a boy wizard discovering Quidditch and battling Voldemort at Hogwarts.

By 7 am, Strand Book Stall, Fort, Mumbai, who opened their doors at 6.30 am sharp on July 21, had sold 2,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Think you know enough about the young wizard's world?

As the world gets its wands ready for the seventh and final installment of a children's book series that has conjured up a parallel world for millions and magically transfigured a waitress into one of the richest people in Britain, we thought it was the right time to do a quick recap of the Harry Potter story so far.

Well, you know it's Harry Potter season in July -- the month of Harry and J K Rowling's birthday (the same day, July 31) -- and that we are revisiting the books one by one as a countdown to the fifth movie being released on July 11 and the final book coming our way July 21. So, without any more distractions, let's get into The Chamber of Secrets.

A Harry Potter walking tour in Edinburgh takes Veenu Sandhu to places that may have inspired the characters.

'Even today, Emergency excesses are being benchmarked and have become reference points for gross violation of human rights by fascist-minded \"leaders\". Corruption and criminality are the outcome and India has been drifting towards \"State kleptocracy\", feels M G Devasahayam.

R K Dhawan was considered Mrs Indira Gandhi's Man Friday, her shadow, and was witness to the highs and lows in her life. Here he gives his ringside view of the events leading up to the Emergency.

'Dialogue is the soul of democracy which should not be denied, but it was by Mrs Gandhi,' says Mohan Dharia who resigned as a Union minister in protest against her policies.

'If Indira Gandhi's Emergency proved anything at all, it established that India would be governed, to the extent it can be governed, democratically or not at all,' says Inder Malhotra.

Retired IAS officer R V Chandramouli recalls the Emergency 30 years on.

Five years ago, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani spoke to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com on the Emergency. On the 40th anniversary of Indian democracy's darkest hour, we reproduce the interview.

'I do not think Rajiv Gandhi at that stage had any influence on his mother. Indira Gandhi relied totally on Sanjay and she looked upon him as a dependable son.' 'What really affected people and eventually Indira Gandhi was the sterilisation drive. She lost so badly in north India because of these drives.' 'She is the one who has given this aura of 'the family' to the Gandhis.' The second and final part of veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor, whose book The Emergency: A Personal Account was published recently, to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about Independent India's darkest phase.

Veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor, whose book came out recently, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com about Independent India's darkest phase.

Justice John Major released a scathing report on the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing investigation at the Media Center in Ottawa on Thursday, in which he stressed, \"This is an Air India, Canadian atrocity.\"

He said there were problems with the plot to blow up the plane.

\"She could have amnesia, could have been picked up by a Spanish fisherman and is living in Spain.\"

Indian carrier Air India has been vindicated by Justice John Major's report on the bombing of Air India flight-182, in which all 329 people aboard were killed after Boeing 747 Kanishka disintegrated off the coast of Ireland.

rediff.com spoke to Vijayendra Ghatge, whose sister Sangeeta, was killed in the Kanishka bombing.

Almost 20 years after Flight 182 exploded mid-air, killing all 329 people aboard, a Canadian judge is set to pronounce the verdict.

30 years later, relatives of the 329 people who perished in the Kanishka bombing gathered at a moving service in Ahakista, Cork in Ireland.

On June 18, Justice John Major released a scathing report on the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing investigation, terming it an Air India, Canadian atrocity. The report criticised Candian authorities for ignoring warnings about a likely terror strike on the aircraft and lapses in subsequent investigations.

For Indians, Iran remains a puzzling part of our collective history.

Who said vegetarian food was hard to find in Iran?

'It is only because we were facing US threats that we were able to successfully develop a nuclear programme of our own.'

In a rare meeting with a non-Muslim dignitary, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday held discussions in Teheran with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a variety of subjects, including bilateral matters and the tense situation in the region.

Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport is located 30 miles southwest of the city, but the drive from the airport to the downtown area where the hotels are located is a smooth drive despite the traffic.

As the NAM summit opens in Tehran on Thursday, Nikhil Lakshman, who is traveling with the prime minister, captures the mood in the Iranian capital.

Iran has promised India all cooperation in finding out who was behind the February 13 bombing targeting an Israeli diplomat's wife. The Iranians insisted there would be no problem in assisting the Indian government locate the individuals associated with the crime.

At first, I think it is the same young lady, confused as I am by the numbers of women with identical nasal injuries that I encounter. Then, I realise that these ladies would need to be tele-mobile to be in different Tehran locations at almost the same time. It is thus that I stumble on the Case of the Bandaged Nose.

As we await the monsoon, here's a perfect recipe to welcome the rainy season.

Twice-fried plantains make a great base for any kind of topping, especially something with avocado in it.

Not dining out? Try this restaurant-style dish that can be easily made at home.

You can also share your father's special recipe on the occasion of Father's Day.

A creamy yoghurt relish that can be dished out in a jiffy.

A breakfast full of fresh flavours.

Adore Dalmia Sayani offers her late father's favourite recipe.

This simplest of lentil recipes had with rice and some crispy onions makes for a deeply-satisfying meal.

As we await the monsoon, here's a perfect recipe to welcome the rainy season.

Twice-fried plantains make a great base for any kind of topping, especially something with avocado in it.

Not dining out? Try this restaurant-style dish that can be easily made at home.

You can also share your father's special recipe on the occasion of Father's Day.

A creamy yoghurt relish that can be dished out in a jiffy.

A breakfast full of fresh flavours.

Adore Dalmia Sayani offers her late father's favourite recipe.

This simplest of lentil recipes had with rice and some crispy onions makes for a deeply-satisfying meal.

History pours out of the closet

'After A Suitable Boy, I didn't know what to do,' the writer said.

The writer whom Shobha De predicts will win a Nobel Prize spared more than his promised hour forThe Rediff Chat, hosted from New Delhi, and we are pleased to say he enjoyed it as did those who were online with him.

In this extract from Vikram Seth's latest work, Two Lives, he narrates how his dentist-grand-uncle lost his arm

The launch of Two Lives in the city of joy stirs the writer's Kolkata chromosome.

The occasion: the launch of Vikram Seth's latest work, Two Lives, in Mumbai, following its launch in Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

In A Suitable Boy, Mira Nair holds our hands and takes us through the magical journey, introducing us to so many fascinating characters from another era, observes Aseem Chhabra.

Aamir Khan popped in at Vikram Seth's Mumbai book reading.

An exclusive extract from 24, Akbar Road, a new book to be released by Hachette Books India in August, reveals how Rahul Gandhi has introduced a dynamic brand of leadership in the Congress party.

'He has a vision of India like his dad. You can see in Rahul's eyes -- at least I see -- his father's unfinished agenda,' says Sam Pitroda who has known the Congress leader since he was a child.

'In any ministry headed by Rahul, we will see a lot of talk of accountability, meritocracy and efficiency. But all these things will impact Indian politics in a positive way if they are a means to an end, and do not become an end in themselves as it has with the revamp of the IYC and the NSUI,' Aarthi Ramachandran tells Sheela Bhatt

'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'

'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'

'Rahul Gandhi has shown courage to heal the heart of democracy.'

There they were, showing the world that there are still people motivated not by religious structures, not by past glories, not by hatreds deliberately stoked. These were ordinary folks doing something extraordinary purely because they think that effort might shake a nation out of a spiralling miasma of division, mistrust, cynicism, sophistry and violence.

'...spent 1/10th of his time at 24, Akbar Road...' 'He would have met thousands of party workers and ordinary Congress supporters who have love for the party.' 'Left of Centre intellectuals have shaped Rahul's values, but he lacks earthiness.'

Wangchuk became a hero when, on May 31, he and his men from the Ladakh Scouts captured a key ridge bang on the Line of Control held by Pakistani soldiers. This 18,000 feet high mountain ridge falls in the Chorbat La sub-sector of the Batalik sector.

Major Wangchuk, a Buddhist, is a deeply religious person and in fact, before going off to the warfront, he and some Ladakhis had sought the blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama who was on a visit to Leh.

It appears that Pakistan looks upon India as a revisionist state, bent upon absorbing Pakistan within its fold, not having ever accepted the two-nation theory that brought Pakistan into being. Muslim majority areas of the Indian sub continent, according to Pakistan, have no place in India, and it looks upon accession of Jammu and Kashmir as a fraud brought about by deceit and force.

What Pakistan has chosen to do now in the Kargil sector does not show much originality. And for that very reason, the surprise that it has sprung on Indians appears so very remarkable.

Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Air Commodore (retd) Jasjit Singh, strongly believes that Pakistani army generals are living in a fool's paradise if they think they would be able to take even an inch of the Indian territory in Kargil, Drass, or Batalik.

Twenty years ago, over 50 days in the summer of 1999, the Indian Army fought some of the toughest battles in the annals of military history to evict the Pakistan army from Kargil. The battle to recapture Tiger Hill was a major turning point in the Operation Vijay campaign, points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).

Brigadier M P Bajwa (retd), commander of the troops that captured Tiger Hill, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how a band of young soldiers won the Kargil War's most famous battle with their blood and grit.

Colonel Sonam Wangchuk was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest honour for courage, for wresting the first victory of the Kargil War. Leading 40 men, his unit evicted 135 Pakistani troops in a three day battle fought in two feet snow and minus 6 degrees.

Swap your basic paneer mattar for delicious, creamy, melt-in-your mouth koftas.

Two interesting starters for a rainy day.

The burst of cheese will take these parathas to another level.

A soupy, spicy, tasty soul-warmer to light up monsoon days.

Paneer lovers, here is a tasty addition to your weekend menu.

Whip up this light Ugadi meal without much ado.

A piquant curry to jazz up steamed rice. Have it with papad.

Tindli Alu is a very basic sabzi recipe. But nutritious and tasty. Use the same recipe to make a whole variety of easy vegetables.

Swap your basic paneer mattar for delicious, creamy, melt-in-your mouth koftas.

Two interesting starters for a rainy day.

The burst of cheese will take these parathas to another level.

A soupy, spicy, tasty soul-warmer to light up monsoon days.

Paneer lovers, here is a tasty addition to your weekend menu.

Whip up this light Ugadi meal without much ado.

A piquant curry to jazz up steamed rice. Have it with papad.

Tindli Alu is a very basic sabzi recipe. But nutritious and tasty. Use the same recipe to make a whole variety of easy vegetables.

'It's better to be over-insured than underinsured.' 'Ensure your home insurance includes STFI (storm, tempest, flooding, and inundation) cover for protection against monsoon rains.'

It is essential to have a comprehensive motor policy, and not just a third-party cover, as the latter does not protect your own vehicle.

Employers seek individuals who can prioritise tasks, solve problems, and work within deadlines, notes Ankit Aggarwal, founder and CEO, Unstop.

The best way to really take in the English countryside is to go narrowboating.

Make children realise that money is earned through hard work and used to buy necessary things.

From Kishore Kumar posing as a Half Ticket running riot to Raj and Simran's super filmi reunion in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, train journeys in Hindi movies have formed the backdrop for both romance and comedy. But it's the action scenes where the railgaadi's daredevil attributes lie.

We take a look at 10 recent awe-inspiring prosthetic aesthetics that actors have rocked for their respective roles in films.

Be it Dhoom, Singham or the Munnabhai franchise, there are certain stories that have tons more to say or solid cash cow potential and Bollywood is all for it.

Indian democracy lay in serious jeopardy in the summer of 1975 as Indira Gandhi's Emergency destroyed the country's democratic framework. Fortunately, that long's day journey into the night ended in March 1977 with a Janata Party triumph and the restoration of democracy.

Daughter of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the country's first and only woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi had different shades like any other politician.

As part of a series marking 30 years of Emergency, rediff.com profiles the architect of the dark days of Indian democracy - Indira Gandhi.

R V Chandramouli, a retired IAS officer, was Gujarat's home secretary when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of Emergency in the country on June 25-26, 1975.

T S V Hari was a college student in Mumbai (then Bombay) when the Emergency was declared. He remembers the tension, the scared faces, the hushed whispers about arrests and torture. Hari, who now edits the religious magazine Kamakoti, recalls how the Emergency changed the lives of Indian youth forever.

June 25, 1975, when most Indians today were not born, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of Emergency on the country.

'Dialogue is the soul of democracy which should not be denied, but it was by Mrs Gandhi,' says Mohan Dharia who resigned as a Union minister in protest against her policies.

'The Emergency showed the Congress'level of commitment to democracy, freedom of the press and all the other attributes regarded as imperative for a sound democracy,' says L K Advani in a special feature to mark the 35th anniversary of the Emergency.

After moving the Delhi high court in his bitter struggle for retaining the party chief's post, Laloo Yadav reclines luxuriously in the VIP suite of Bihar Niwas in New Delhi and holds forth on his plans. He is sure that he has taken the right step in the overall interest of the party and would continue to fight for his rights as the JD president. In this interview to Tara Shankar Sahay, he leaves little doubt that he is the undisputed supremo of the party.

For a political party whose highpoint was the anti-corruption campaign that resulted in the ouster of a prime minister eight years ago, the Janata Dal's silence in the face of Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's open defiance is deafening.

The dumping of the Women's Reservation Bill has caused dismay among many politicians. However, there are those who contend that this development has not displeased most male MPs who are loathe to give way to the fairer sex, especially when it concerns additional representation in the country's highest forum of democracy.

The verdict from the Bihar assembly elections may have confounded the rest of India, but not Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav. Hours after his party put up a splendid performance and remains in the race for forming the next government in Patna, Sheela Bhatt managed to corner him for a telephonic conversation.

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav's apprehension became a reality when the Centre used the Narayanpur massacre to clamp President's rule in Bihar after dismissing the government headed by his wife Rabri Devi. Governor S S Bhandari, said to be the RJD chief's inveterate foe, immediately set about replacing Laloo loyalists in the bureaucracy with handpicked personnel, like current Chief Secretary Vijay Shankar Dubey and Director General of Police T P Sinha.

Lalu Prasad Yadav took his first step into politics as a student at Patna University in its union elections. The election won 29-year-old Lalu Yadav a Janata Party ticket to the 9th Lok Sabha in 1977.

On Judgement Day, Lalu Yadav ultimately paid the price for 15 years of misrule in Bihar.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel -- who covers the Sheena Bora murder trial for Rediff.com -- reports on a day in a Ranchi court.

The small, sweet village of Mawlynnong is not only beautifully clean, but has a character that will win your heart.

Although a wonder like the double-decker living root bridge in Meghalaya should not remain in oblivion and hidden from the world, it is also important to ensure it is left untouched in nature's care, say Vivek Garg and Ravishankar Mantha.

Rediff readers who travelled to Meghalaya offer their experiences of visiting the living root-bridges.

Hike through Meghalaya's newest tourist magnet.

You won't regret planning your next trip to this hilly north-eastern state.

Welcome to the little slice of heaven called Dawki.

Meghalaya offers more beauty and adventure than you could dream of.

UNESCO is looking at adding another Indian locale to its prestigious index of World Heritage Sites -- Meghalaya's Living Root-Bridges.

Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was tortured and killed after his MiG-21 was shot down and he ejected across the Line of Control during the Kargil War.

'The death certificate which I once read even states the date, 6 August, but I know that already.' 'Every year, we observe paath at the local gurdwara for which we need to take leave from school. The leave form always says 'attending father's death anniversary'. 'I always dread this day -- the long walk from my desk to the teacher's table with my diary in hand and in it a handwritten note dripped with sadness despite its curt language.' 'What generally follows is pity on my teacher's face, a deep sigh of sympathy and a sad pat on the back.' A moving excerpt from Gurmehar Kaur's memoir Small Acts Of Freedom.

'Sepoy K Ashuli displayed nerves of steel, exemplary courage, fearlessness under enemy fire, unparalleled devotion to duty and camaraderie of the highest order in keeping with the finest traditions of the Indian Army.'

Captain Saurabh Kalia was captured, tortured and barbarically killed in the Kargil War. For 20 years, his father has waged a war of his own to get justice for his son. Captain Kalia is no more, but he lives on in the home he did not return to.

Flying in the Face of Danger: Many times you have to land under enemy fire. You got to do it because that is the only way out for the injured, says an Indian Army helicopter pilot. You don't worry that you might be shot down because you don't have time to worry -- all your attention and energy is on the machine you are flying. It becomes a part of your being.

'...Cliffy with utter disregard to his personal safety, charged through the fire zone, closed in on the enemy, threw hand grenades inside their bunkers and killed six enemy soldiers!' '...He was hit by a volley of bullets. Even before breathing his last, Cliffy killed a Pakistani soldier in hand-to-hand combat...' Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, who was just 24, received the Mahavir Chakra posthumously for his superhuman act of valour in the Kargil War just 18 months after he joined the Indian Army. Archana Masih/Rediff.com remembers one of India's Bravest Of The Brave as the nation salutes the 527 soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the Motherland on Vijay Diwas.

Major Adhikari was a man par excellence and had won our hearts. His supreme sacrifice for the nation shook us till the roots. A fascinating excerpt from Param Vir Chakra Captain (Honorary) Yogendra Singh Yadav's book, The Hero of Tiger Hill.

'Captain Haneef-ud-din, pulling his sinewy body forward, crawled, rifle in hand, in the snow on 6 June 1999. He died on this craggy mountainside exactly two years after he had passed out of the IMA...'

'He will use these five years to project himself as the next PM candidate within the Hindutva fold.'

'The central BJP has worked out an arrangement -- Yogi manages the state while Modi manages the Centre.'

'After Modi, Yogi is the most popular face of Hindutva, but it's too early to say that he is someone who could succeed Modi.'

'In politics, not everything is spoken and there are a lot of messaging done very discreetly.'

'Since 2017, the chief minister and the RSS seem to have come closer.' 'This relationship's warmth is more from the RSS's side.'

'Recently we held a video conference with a host (about 100) of US companies that want to move their base from China to Uttar Pradesh.'

I learnt that Yogi was deeply unhappy with the BJP's choice of Lok Sabha candidates. He had proposed a list of names, but hardly any of his suggestions were accepted.

Mr Modi and Mr Shah will need him if they want to win UP again in 2022 and India in 2024. This signals a Yogi Adityanath-sized change in BJP politics, even under Mr Modi, Shekhar Gupta.

Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Brar (retd), who led Operation Bluestar, travels back to that difficult moment in India's history, in an exclusive interview with Amberish K Diwanji.

'Every army chief has told the government that it is not in the interest of the army for it to enter civil situations,' says General K S Brar.

'It had to be a surgical operation, one that caused the minimum damage but it had to be as quick as possible because once word got around...' General K S Brar looks back at Operation Bluestar.

Thirty years ago almost to the day, an event in Punjab shook India to its very foundations. Called Operation Bluestar, it was a military exercise to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple, the holiest of holy Sikh shrines in Amritsar, Punjab.

B D Pande was Punjab's governor during Operation Bluestar. In this excerpt from his memoir, In the Service of Free India: Memoir of a Civil Servant, Pande reveals what really went on behind the scenes during those dark days in India's history.

'I told them I am a Muslim, you are Sikh, you are Hindu, but we have one country to save.'

'In the 1971 War my battalion suffered 4 casualties after fighting for 14 days.' 'In Operation Blue Star, I lost 19 men in just one hour.'

'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'

In an exclusive interview with Sheela Bhatt, Fernandes explained that Indian troops held back because the government wanted to have the most cost-effective way of dealing with the crisis with Pakistan.

George Fernandes was once the hero of Bombay's working classes. How does he cope with the contradictions of a political career that has swung between two extremes? Pritish Nandy spoke to him.

Samata Party supremo George Fernandes, now a friend of the Hindutva brigade, calls Sonia Gandhi names; asks why she was not sent to jail on charges of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act violations; threatens that he will expose her before the Indian public in an exclusive election interview with Rediff On The NeT's Rajesh Ramachandran.

In an exclusive interview to Onkar Singh Fernandes dismissed fears about a setback to Indian attempts at fighting militancy in Kashmir as a result of the release of the three jailed militants in exchange for the release of 156 passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814.

Samata Party supremo and former trade union leader George Fernandes has a fiery reputation. But when his party has allied itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the volte face surprised a great many people. Prem Panicker quizzed Fernandes about his change of stance and his future plans.

'A fierce crusader against communalism, George joined hands with majoritarian forces, never to revisit or re-assess his saffron association.' 'He was a Union minister in 1998-2004, a time when people like Graham Staines were lynched in Orissa.' 'On the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, George went on to kind of justify the slashing of pregnant women, by saying in the Lok Sabha that this was nothing new for India.' 'Thus, he was in sharp contrast to what he had himself stood for in the heyday of his political career in the 1970s and 1980s, says Mohammad Sajjad.

'George was a politician with a difference. He had the ability to stand alone, take a position, however extreme, and sustain that position,' remembers Arun Jaitley.

'He could relate to strategic and security issues almost instantly.' 'He had the ability to grasp, absorb and come out with actual rectification.'

'You ask him for anything and he gives you more than you expect.' 'Though I work with Rahman again and again, it is not because it is comfortable. In fact, we push ourselves to a discomfort zone.'

'Even in a conservative society like Chennai, youngsters don't feel bound by conventions anymore.' 'But how deeply has this change permeated our society? Is it just on a superficial level? That is the question the film tries to address.'

I have not done this before, and the two movies were shot back to back, not simultaneously. I dealt with two different set of actors, and each brought its own changes, says Mani Ratnam on his bilingual, Yuva (Aayudha Ezhuthu in Tamil).

Mani Ratnam talks about his filmmaking process, and his love for songs.

It's not everyday one gets to have a long chat with Mani Ratnam. But when one does, it's always interesting. The director discussed his movies and much more with Maria Giovanna.

Here are seven gems from one of India's most sought after director.

'The younger generation may be hip, modern and Westernised outside, but there is something very Indian and traditional in them.' 'It's debatable just how good the concept of marriage is, but this is the only system that has survived over centuries.'

Deepa Gahlot lists 10 popular Mani Ratnam films that you can watch on streaming platforms.

Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.

Time travel in the land of the pharaohs.

'They were ahead of their times. We don't expect this from a civilisation of the first century AD.'

Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.

The best way to really take in the English countryside is to go narrowboating.

Embracing the past and the present, Mexico City pulsates with warmth and vibrancy, discovers Payal Singh Mohanka.

Aishwarya Sathe and her husband spent 13 days crisscrossing Japan and adored every minute of it.

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Laxmi, stories from the Hindu epics are seen in carvings, paintings and murals, as well as recognisable figures from mythology, like Garuda, Sheshnag, Nandi and Apsaras, notes Deepa Gahlot, savouring the beauty of Cambodia.

Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.

Time travel in the land of the pharaohs.

'They were ahead of their times. We don't expect this from a civilisation of the first century AD.'

Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.

The best way to really take in the English countryside is to go narrowboating.

Embracing the past and the present, Mexico City pulsates with warmth and vibrancy, discovers Payal Singh Mohanka.

Aishwarya Sathe and her husband spent 13 days crisscrossing Japan and adored every minute of it.

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ram, Laxmi, stories from the Hindu epics are seen in carvings, paintings and murals, as well as recognisable figures from mythology, like Garuda, Sheshnag, Nandi and Apsaras, notes Deepa Gahlot, savouring the beauty of Cambodia.

Excerpts from the actor's interview with Sheela Bhatt.

Paresh Rawal on Bhool Bhulaiyaa and more.

Paresh Rawal discusses the appeal of his Hera Pheri character.

'I believe in India people should have, up to a certain age, compulsory military training. I also believe that voting should be made compulsory. I have some violent idea, that all candidates should sign an affidavit that whatever they have promised to the people, if they are unable to fulfill they won't stand in elections again.' 'I addressed a meeting near the Kalandari mosque where more than 8,000 Muslims had come to listen to me. I said Muslims have nothing to fear, you fear only Allah. You should be afraid of no one... Some people are creating a fear about Modi in your community. I only want you to understand that.' Paresh Rawal, the BJP candidate from Ahmedabad East, speaks to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com

'War is never a solution. It's nothing but real estate business I am against any kind of violence.'

'He never believes in loose talk.' 'If he is done with you, then you go your way, he goes his way.'

'Aamir has bigger goodwill than even the Tatas and Birlas.' 'The Sanjay Dutt biopic is amazing because of Rajkumar Hirani, because of Abhijat Joshi's writing and because of Ranbir Kapoor's acting.'

Readers pick the ten best films of actor Paresh Rawal.

On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the top of Mount Everest. Rediff.com celebrates this 60-year legacy through pictures.

Sir Edmund Hillary, who became a mountaineering legend by conquering, for the first time, the world's highest summit Mount Everest, devoted his life for the betterment of Nepal's Sherpas who live on the slopes of the Himalayas.

He was not only the first climber to have reached the peak along with Norgay, but we, who followed him, owe our achievement, in part, to him.

Eight climbers have been looking for the bodies of Englishmen George Mallory and Andrew Irvine and a camera that could contain pictures proving they reached the summit 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Long queues near the top prolonged the wait times this year, causing oxygen tanks and physical endurance to drain on the way down. The 'traffic jams' likely contributed to the death of 11 people including three Indians.

May 29, 1953. A New Zealand beekeeper named Edmund Hillary and a Nepali sherpa named Tenzing Norgay became the first human beings to reach the top of the world -- the 29,035 foot Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth.

As the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first successful expedition to the peak of Mount Everest, and countless stories attached to it, we present some scintillating images of the Big Daddy clicked through the ages.

Exactly 50 years ago, the first Indian team, led by Manmohan Singh Kohli, reached the summit of Mount Everest. As Kohli and his team are felicitated to mark the anniversary, he reminisces on the event that continues to inspire generations of Indian mountaineers. Payal Mohanka reports

'One hopes the younger generation sees Savarkar him for what he was and does not view him through a distorted prism.' 'This is the least one could do for someone who devoted his whole life to Indian freedom struggle, elimination of caste, succour to Dalits, and instilling of strategic culture in India,' says Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

Savarkar believed Swarajya is more than the mere geographical independence of a stretch of earth called India. There was no point in fighting and sacrificing one's life for a Swarajya (mere territorial independence) at the cost of our Svatva (self-existence) or Hindutva itself! A revealing excerpt from Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit's Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition.

'I am very grateful to Rajnathji that he confirmed the fact that Savarkar was a habitual mercy-seeker from the British.'

'If they were really serious (about conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar) what were they doing for the last five years?' 'Why do they have to take so long?' 'Gandhi himself never got the Bharat Ratna so it does not really matter.'

'Savarkar was the closest the RSS had to a freedom movement icon, however flawed.' 'Indira Gandhi wasn't going to gift him to them.' 'And a non-career politician like Dr Singh understands it.' 'It is just that his party never listened to him,' says Shekhar Gupta.

'Absolute non-violence is not only sinful, but immoral.' 'This doctrine of non-violence benumbed the revolutionary fervor, softened the limbs and hearts of the Hindus, and stiffened the bones of enemies.' A revealing excerpt from Vikram Sampath's Savarkar (Part 2): A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966.

'There was the indisputable fact that Savarkar knew Godse, Apte and Karkare well, he had corresponded with them closely, and funded their extremely provocative newspaper, and they looked up to him as their icon.'

The long queue outside Cellular Jail is a testimony to its place in India's national consciousness. The Andamans is also where the only British viceroy was assassinated and where Bose unfurled the Tricolour for the first time in 1943.

'Nehru is often portrayed as a visionary with his head in the clouds. But he had his feet firmly planted on the ground when it came to building and nurturing institutions and setting them on the right path with the right traditions,' says B S Raghavan.

India's freedom, its rambling but working Constitution, its parliamentary democracy, its lumbering administrative machinery all have many a father, but its greatest claim to fame, especially today, that of being a modern state, is due to but one person: Its first and longest-serving prime minister, Nehru, says Shreekant Sambrani.

On Jawaharlal Nehru's 134th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recounts incidents where the first prime minister showed exemplary courage, bravery and integrity.

To mark his 50th death anniversary, rediff.com has launched a special series to evaluate Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy.

Historian Stanley Wolpert, author of several books on India, passed into the ages recently. We remember Professor Wolpert with Rajeev Srinivasan's March 1997 interview published on the occasion of his controversial book on Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Indians felt that if they acceded to Chinese claims in Ladakh, Beijing would simply be emboldened to press for further concessions in the future. A revealing excerpt from India And The Cold War.

'His secularism merely declared the equality of all religions in India under fundamental rights.'

'Nehru's inability to take religion seriously as a category led to serious errors of judgement in his dealings with the Muslim League, and later, also with the Hindu right.'

Slightly different from more standard egg sandwiches, the garlic and cheese adds a different flavour.

Impress your guests with this delicious sandwich.

Chef Ila Sarwate shows you how to make the delicious dessert.

Food blogger Sangita Agrawal shared these breakfast recipes.

The emperor of pasta dishes is lasagne with its layers and layers of richness and taste.

Don't wait for the weekend to binge on these tempting dishes!

You can even involve your kids to make these interesting snacks.

Chef Neha Deepak Shah shares three delicious vegetarian meal ideas.

Slightly different from more standard egg sandwiches, the garlic and cheese adds a different flavour.

Impress your guests with this delicious sandwich.

Chef Ila Sarwate shows you how to make the delicious dessert.

Food blogger Sangita Agrawal shared these breakfast recipes.

The emperor of pasta dishes is lasagne with its layers and layers of richness and taste.

Don't wait for the weekend to binge on these tempting dishes!

You can even involve your kids to make these interesting snacks.

Chef Neha Deepak Shah shares three delicious vegetarian meal ideas.

Seventy casualties and 17 days after Pakistani forces began engaging the Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir's Drass, Kargil and Batalik, it is time we took a closer, deeper look at what's on.

Rediff On The NeT Senior Feature Writer Chindu Sreedharan was among the hundreds asked to vacate Kargil after the air strikes began Wednesday morning. In a static-filled telephone conversation from Minji, 13 km from Kargil, Sreedharan, one of the few journalists still in the area, described the situation:

Rediff On The NeT Senior Feature Writer Chindu Sreedharan, one of the few journalists still in the Kargil area, reports on the situation:

You live. And if you want to continue living, you learn.

You duck instinctively.

Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was tortured and killed after his MiG-21 was shot down and he ejected across the Line of Control during the Kargil War.

Captain Saurabh Kalia was captured, tortured and barbarically killed in the Kargil War. For 20 years, his father has waged a war of his own to get justice for his son. Captain Kalia is no more, but he lives on in the home he did not return to.

Someone flicked the television on for the 2 pm news and in spite of her medicine-induced haze Vijay Kalia heard the report correctly from her bedside.

It's difficult to say who suffered more these 28 years: The men who survived the PAC shooting and the assaults in jail; or the women who lost their men in these custodial killings.

Right from the beginning, the State abdicated its responsibility in fixing the blame for the Hashimpura massacres or getting justice for the victims.

Twenty-eight years ago almost to the day, 37 unarmed Muslims were killed in cold blood, an act of wanton violence for which no one has so far been held guilty. Jyoti Punwani and photographer Uttam Ghosh visited the Meerut locality after the trial court recently acquitted the security personnel charged with the killings, and found a town untouched by its grim past.

On Thursday, two survivors and many members of the families of those killed on May 22, 1987, came to Lucknow to file 615 applications under the Right to Information Act

After last week's acquittal of 16 policemen, pointedly accused of the cold-blooded murder of 42 Muslims in Meerut in 1987, this mohalla in Meerut is still scarred by the past but willing to move on

'Communal killings take place routinely in our country and yet we don't ever convict the offenders.' 'The riots of 1993 and 2002 would not have happened if justice was given to the 1984 Delhi riot victims.'

'Communalism and communal riots happened in India only during and due to colonialism. Pre-colonial India didn't have this problem of communal conflicts and religious strife.'

The families of the Muslim youth from Hashimpura who were shot dead 28 years ago had some committed supporters in their long struggle for justice.

Rediff.com brings you a chronology of the more than two decade-long Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, which finally seems to be getting some closure

'These are people who are anxious to die.' 'We have not seen such type of committed people anywhere.'

'And no one expected the case to be detected, because there was nothing.'

'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'

I Ramamohan Rao was working as the principal information officer of the government of India on the fateful night of May 21, 1991 when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur. Rao was entrusted with the crucial task of announcing the news of Gandhi's death to the entire world in the absence of then prime minister Chandrashekhar from New Delhi. Rao recollects the happenings of that tense night.

As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: \"Take care of yourself.\"

'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'

Rajiv Gandhi would have turned 72 on August 20. Had he lived. On a humid night 25 years ago, the former prime minister of India was murdered in cold blood by an LTTE suicide bomber. Neena Gopal was an eyewitness to the assassination, and in this exclusive extract from her new book, The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, she reveals for the first time what she saw in Sriperumbudur that night.

With four small ships, 171 men, food reserves for a minimum of three years, a short and swarthy aristocrat took off from the western tip of Europe fringing the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Ten months later, past the Equator and vast expanses of unknown waters, he reached the lucrative Malabar coast of peninsula India.

Professor Sanjay Subrahmanyam is widely reckoned as one of the finest historians of his time, an expert on the Portuguese era in Indian history. His recent biography on Vasco da Gama has in fact been widely acclaimed as the finest biography of the Portuguese explorer.

Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed Mozambique, Kenya and reached Calicut on May 20, 1498. During the voyage, he twice lost sight of land for ninety days and reached India with the help of an Arab navigator, Ibn Majid. He met the Zamorin of Calicut and presented him with gifts far to meagre for the prestige of an opulent raja.

'It was a machinery of death. A large number of Hindus were first converted and then persecuted from 1560 all the way to 1812!' says novelist Richard Zimler.

His Majesty the king has ordered that there shall be no Brahmins in his land and that they should be banished.'

They realised that the Portuguese were better prepared to defend Daman than Dadra and Nagar Haveli. If reinforcements from Daman were to reach Silvassa, there was no chance of defeating the Portuguese. They decided that cutting Daman's communication lines would have to be their top priority before attacking Silvassa. A fascinating excerpt from Neelesh Kulkarni's new book, Uprising-The Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

'The othering of religious groups inevitably leads to violence.' 'It is sadly a narrative that has echoed through the centuries since man first discovered God.'

'Vasco da Gama himself indulged in some of the most heinous crimes. On October 1, 1502, he mercilessly ordered the killing of 700 innocent Malabar pilgrims. Half the pilgrims were women and children,' says historian J B P More.

India's 1974 test -- code named Smiling Buddha -- was the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation that was not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Contrary to the scenario in 1998 when the Indian nuclear tests invited sanctions from Washington, there was a concerted effort on the part of Richard Nixon administration, led by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for a low-key response to India's \"peaceful\" nuclear explosion, the newly-released documents said.

In the wake of the Indian nuclear tests on May 17, 1974 and growing concern about the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities, the US intelligence community prepared a Special National Intelligence Estimate titled 'Prospects for Further Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons', a document that was released on Tuesday by the National Security Archive.

A nuclear scientist and a chemical engineer, Dr Sethna was pioneer in establishing India's first reprocessing plant in 1959. India's first nuclear test was possible because of the Plutonium from this plant when the country was under tremendous pressure to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by the United States.

Japan was the only nation that had any serious inkling as India was preparing for its maiden nuclear test under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in May 1974 in Pokhran, according to a recently declassified Intelligence Community Staff post-mortem posted by the National Security Archive and the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project

'We are on the right path of scientific progress and if everything goes well, we will surely supersede our competitors,' says Dr Homi Sethna, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.

'His emphasis on self-reliance is essentially due to the fact he wanted India to be a nuclear weapons country.' Dr P K Iyengar remembers the father of India's nuclear programme.

Nehru's faith in science and technology, his genuine respect for Bhabha, and their burning ambition worked synergistically to place India on the nuclear map of the world. Atomic energy developed and prospered because of Nehru's vision fulfilled by Bhabha's mission, recalls K S Parthasarathy, former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, on the occasion of India's first prime minister's 119th birthday today.

A vegetable curry made using the signature vindaloo paste.

With hilsa prices soaring, when you do cook it you need the finest recipe.

Millets, dal and a bunch of spices can be steamed together for an awesome version of this rice cake.

These hot and crispy vadas are perfect with hot chai.

More wonderful greens for a hearty monsoon meal.

It's spicy, buttery and utterly delicious.

We dare you to stop at one serving of this crowd-pleasing dessert.

Paneer can be had Indian-style with Chinese sauces and turn out delicious.

A vegetable curry made using the signature vindaloo paste.

With hilsa prices soaring, when you do cook it you need the finest recipe.

Millets, dal and a bunch of spices can be steamed together for an awesome version of this rice cake.

These hot and crispy vadas are perfect with hot chai.

More wonderful greens for a hearty monsoon meal.

It's spicy, buttery and utterly delicious.

We dare you to stop at one serving of this crowd-pleasing dessert.

Paneer can be had Indian-style with Chinese sauces and turn out delicious.

'How many jobs will be created when you complete your course?' 'How many people will compete with you?' 'What is the minimum and maximum salary you can expect?' 'Which are the companies that will offer you a job?' 'What skills do you have to develop?' 'How long will it sustain?'

Certain foods can help prevent flare-ups by reducing the production of stomach acid and soothing the digestive system, says Dr Gaurav Kumar Patil.

It is not your job to help her move on from a relationship that she chose to break. You don't owe your ex-partner your unconditional support, counsels rediffGURU Ravi Mittal.

Each bottle of pickle that leaves FarmDidi, headed to a consumer, has a little kahani behind it -- it's linked to the tale of a life, the life of a simple, striving village woman who created it, and that's what gives Manjari Sharma satisfaction and happiness.

'People worship Krishna. People don't worship Ved Vyas, who wrote the Mahabharata.' 'It's a cultural thing because we don't see the heroes behind the screen, we see the heroes who are in front of the screen.'

Mongolia can take a lifetime to happen but rewards the intrepid traveller with enduring memories of a surreal, delightful land.

A sneak peek of some extraordinary entries for the 60th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year event.

Stunning! Shreyovi Mehta, 10, is a runner up at the annual worldwide Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.

'The Ek Do Teen song was shot for many days.' 'Listening to it so many times during the shoot, we knew it would be a big hit.' 'When Tezaab was released, Madhuri had gone to the US for a holiday.' 'When she returned to Mumbai, there was a large crowd waiting for her at the airport, calling out 'Mohini, Mohini,' her character from Tezaab.' 'That day Madhuri had arrived in the real sense.'

'After doing films like Dedh Ishqiya and Bucket List, I am ready to take up risks in films. I am game for any kind of roles that put me in a different light.'

Directors Indra Kumar and Akbar Khan, and artist M F Husain, talk about Madhuri Dixit and what sets her apart.

On the occasion of Madhuri Dixit's birthday, Jayesh Sheth tells Patcy N about some of his favourite photographs of the glamorous star.

An interview with Madhuri Dixit, the leading lady of Bollywood

On her 53rd birthday, Sukanya Verma lists 10 times the world fell in love with La Dixit.

This is the Madhuri Dixit you never knew. The soccer mom. The one who went grocery shopping. The lady who went mountain biking. And someone who will never, ever, go bungee jumping. Madhuri Dixit, the heart-throb of millions, reveals her mommy side and still blushes when she recalls the most romantic moments in her life, in this fascinating interview with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar.

'Adulation has never affected me. It has always made me feel good, encouraged me... It just makes me feel greedy. When people praise me, I feel I should do better than what I am doing.' In the first part of a revealing conversation with Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar, Madhuri Dixit opens up on her life choices, and the movies.

Kuldip Nayar, the veteran journalist and MP, worked closely with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. He shares his memories of the Indo-Pak summit in Tashkent in January 1966 with Sheela Bhatt.

Jyotindra Nath 'Mani' Dixit, the former foreign secretary, shares his memories of the Indo-Pak summit in Simla in 1972 with Sheela Bhatt.

Former foreign secretary Romesh Bhandari was born and educated in Lahore. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1950. During his tenure, Pakistan President Zia-ul Haq visited New Delhi. He recalls the encounter between then premier Rajiv Gandhi and General Zia.

Morarji Desai, say his friends, reached an agreement with Pakistan's Zia ul Haq on Kashmir.

Pakistan made a tactical error in not investing enough in L K Advani, former R&AW chief A S Dulat tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com

Chastened by the Kargil conflict, Pervez Musharraf will be remembered for gradually lowering the profile of terrorism and seeking a realistically negotiated settlement to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan when Musharraf seized power in a coup in October 1999.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says improving ties with India is \"my favourite subject\" even as he once again sought America's intervention in the Kashmir issue.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Narendra Modi met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for 30 minutes on Tuesday evening to discuss the fallout of the Agra summit.

'Jaish looked to creating regional mayhem, at a time when peace appeared more likely, and when that peace would have threatened Jaish's existence.'

Hein Kiessling has the kind of access in Pakistan that journalists (and spies) would die for, says Kanika Datta.

'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.

The ISI was taking no chances and wanted no repeat of Pulwama; it wanted to make it clear at a political level it was not involved with the revenge attack being planned, but was only giving India a friendly tip-off. A stunning excerpt from Ambassador Ajay Bisaria's Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan.

'The military in Pakistan is capable and self critical, but intelligence is stuffed full of lifers who resist change, which is why career soldiers in Pakistan try with all their might not to be transferred into the ISI.'

'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'

The ISI strategy has been to use its proxies to target Hindus in India. They want an outrage and counter-targeting of India's minorities. Further, even the whiff of it restores the Pakistan army's popularity, especially when it's in the dumps, like now, points out Shekhar Gupta.

At a hastily arranged meeting with United States President Bill Clinton that lasted three hours Sunday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief agreed that the current India-Pakistan situation was \"dangerous with a potential for wider conflict,\" and warranted the withdrawal of 700-odd Pakistani infiltrators from across the Line of Control.

The end to the two-month-old conflict in Kargil appears imminent following an assurance by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief to United States President Bill Clinton that he would soon withdraw his forces, including the Mujahideen, who crossed into Indian Kashmir, setting off a crisis the region.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief has appealed in person to a number of Mujahideen leaders to halt their activities on the Kargil front till ''President Bill Clinton intervenes to solve the Kashmir issue.''

According to the Dawn, a new book has revealed that Pakistan's military had prepared a nuclear-tipped missile to fight back a possible Indian attack during the Kargil crisis.

'During my tenure as PM, two Indian prime ministers visited Pakistan. Modi sahab and Vajpayee sahab had come to Lahore'

When Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits the White House on Wednesday, it will be his first encounter with an American president since that turbulent meeting with Bill Clinton when the Kargil war was raging 14 years ago.

The plan hinged on two critical assumptions: India would not be able to replenish supplies quickly to launch a counter-attack. India could not respond in enough strength to dislodge the Pakistanis. Both assumptions would be proved wrong due to the ferocity of the Indian response, reveals former RAW officer Tilak Devasher in his new book, Pakistan At The Helm.

Even as Nawaz Sharif struck a deal with United States President Bill Clinton in July, 1999, to end the Kargil conflict with India, the then premier believed that the powerful Pakistani army would 'get' him for brokering a truce.

This light, tasty preparation can be eaten with ghee rice or even by itself.

Be clear about when you're working and when you're off the clock, and stick to the boundaries you have set around when you're willing to respond to messages or calls, suggests Amanda Day, Director of People Enablement at Remote.

Make the ragi batter in advance and store it in the refrigerator. It comes handy when you're short of time in the kitchen.

Why should breakfast be a boring affair?

A quick dessert that's creamy and yummy.

A khatti-meethi chutney for snacks or a meal that can be made swiftly.

The unforgiving summer months call for a glassful of superfood smoothies.

A mildly-spiced, sans too much garam masala 'hotel'-style potatoes with peas in a thick gravy that goes well with butter naans.

This light, tasty preparation can be eaten with ghee rice or even by itself.

Be clear about when you're working and when you're off the clock, and stick to the boundaries you have set around when you're willing to respond to messages or calls, suggests Amanda Day, Director of People Enablement at Remote.

Make the ragi batter in advance and store it in the refrigerator. It comes handy when you're short of time in the kitchen.

Why should breakfast be a boring affair?

A quick dessert that's creamy and yummy.

A khatti-meethi chutney for snacks or a meal that can be made swiftly.

The unforgiving summer months call for a glassful of superfood smoothies.

A mildly-spiced, sans too much garam masala 'hotel'-style potatoes with peas in a thick gravy that goes well with butter naans.

In an e-mail interview on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the conquest of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, Mark Joseph Inglis shares his life, challenges and the delight in climbing the peak

Eight climbers have been looking for the bodies of Englishmen George Mallory and Andrew Irvine and a camera that could contain pictures proving they reached the summit 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who along with New Zealander Edmund Hillary, was the first to conquer Mt Everest in 1953, was a Tibetan and not a Nepali, according to a new book.

For over three months, the documentary Everest has been drawing full houses in about 60 movie houses across America, and has grossed over $ 35 million.

As the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first successful expedition to the peak of Mount Everest, and countless stories attached to it, we present some scintillating images of the Big Daddy clicked through the ages.

Exactly 50 years ago, the first Indian team, led by Manmohan Singh Kohli, reached the summit of Mount Everest. As Kohli and his team are felicitated to mark the anniversary, he reminisces on the event that continues to inspire generations of Indian mountaineers. Payal Mohanka reports

On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the top of Mount Everest. Rediff.com celebrates this 60-year legacy through pictures.

May 29, 1953. A New Zealand beekeeper named Edmund Hillary and a Nepali sherpa named Tenzing Norgay became the first human beings to reach the top of the world -- the 29,035 foot Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth.

On the 70th anniversary of World War II, Major General Eustace D'Souza, a young soldier in those battles, looks back at the war that changed the world.

'On VE Day, I was overwhelmed by a sense of reverence and awe for the Russians who had won a victory against Hitler and Nazism at such a tremendous cost.'

It claimed more lives than any other war in history.

Indians mounted daring escapes during World War II too. But they are forgotten.

During the World War, Singh fought alongside the Allied Forces in North West Frontier province, Eritrea, Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), Libya, Egypt and Italy.

Seventy years ago on June 6, the beaches of Normandy in France were the site of an invasion never before, one that would change the course of history.

Victory Day marks the end of World War II when the Soviet Army defeated Nazi Germany and captured Berlin.

'The origins of the model of planned economic development adopted by independent India was a direct consequence of the war.' 'The war provided an opportunity for groups at the margins of Indian society to find new avenues for mobility.' 'The war also led to the emergence of India as a major Asian power and set the stage for it to play a wider role in international politics.'

Days after the Lahore summit, in a modest hotel room in Delhi, unbeknownst to anyone but their respective prime ministers, Niaz Naik and R K Mishra conducted the most meaningful dialogue on the Kashmir problem in Indo-Pakistani history.

'Nawaz Sharif asked: \"What if I invited him and he declined?\"' 'I said I will check.' 'Vajpayee liked the idea. He said I should see him on my return.' Shekhar Gupta reveals how Sharif wanted to make peace, but was tripped by the army and notes the lessons it has for Imran Khan.

'The people of Pakistan and India will begin to understand what the bottom lines are. What India can accept maximum is known to Pakistan. What Pakistan can accept minimum is known to India.' 'In the absence of atmosphere you can't even talk, you can't think of writing agreements and frameworks. You have to have the right atmosphere. With the previous BJP government it had started and I hope the new BJP government will continue with that.'

Manmohan Singh and Musharraf felt that what they were embarking upon, if successful, could lead to a future of boundless potential for the two countries and for the relationship that was hard to foresee from the prism of the existing situation and the historical position and orthodox ideas on both sides.

Chastened by the Kargil conflict, Pervez Musharraf will be remembered for gradually lowering the profile of terrorism and seeking a realistically negotiated settlement to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan when Musharraf seized power in a coup in October 1999.

The ISI was taking no chances and wanted no repeat of Pulwama; it wanted to make it clear at a political level it was not involved with the revenge attack being planned, but was only giving India a friendly tip-off. A stunning excerpt from Ambassador Ajay Bisaria's Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan.

The idea of weaponization got a fillip from an unexpected quarter. In the last week of October 1985, Rajiv met US President Ronald Reagan. Reagan told Rajiv, 'Pakistan has already made a bomb.' When Rajiv started talking about disarmament, the US president cut him short, 'Don't talk theory, think of your own protection.'

The plan hinged on two critical assumptions: India would not be able to replenish supplies quickly to launch a counter-attack. India could not respond in enough strength to dislodge the Pakistanis. Both assumptions would be proved wrong due to the ferocity of the Indian response, reveals former RAW officer Tilak Devasher in his new book, Pakistan At The Helm.

Hindi movies can impart valuable life lessons

10 things Bollywood can teach you.

Sukanya Verma lists memorable instances of stars entertaining kids over the years.

Sukanya Verma gives 10 ways our stars engaged in them.

Good tips, right here!

As we wait for dark Dimple and her brazen bahus to spit fire on the small screen, Sukanya Verma looks at the cruel, cool ways of the Hindi film saasu-maa from then to now.

From cool to cocky, fun to furious, stern to sanskari, here are all the crazy lessons you can learn from Bollywood dads this Father's Day.

From romantic to risky to ridiculous, here are Sukanya Verma's lessons from Bollywood on how to spice up your shaadi.

Extract from the book Manik-Da Memories of Satyajit Ray, by Nemai Ghosh

Exquisitely shot, with shadows and light capturing the hypnotic mood of the film, Jalsaghar is a viewing treat you owe yourself.

Satyajit Ray would have been a hundred years old on May 2. To mark the legendary film-maker's birth centenary, Rediff.com bring you a treasure trove of features from our archives.

Satyajit Ray would have been a hundred years old on May 2. To mark the legendary film-maker's birth centenary, Rediff.com bring you a treasure trove of features from our archives.

There is a world that Satyajit Ray created in his films that I wanted to be a part of -- as Durga bathed in the rain to Ravi Shankar's music; when Charulata sat on the swing regretting she never had a child; and Aarti stood up in defence of her colleague. Aseem Chhabra shares interesting memoris of Satyajit Ray on the latter's birth centenary on May 2.

Raja Sen lists movies that would work wonders for any generation lucky enough to see them on the big screen.

The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works.

Had he not taken his final curtain call on April 23, 1992, Satyajit Ray would still, undoubtedly, have been making movies.

Had he not taken his final curtain call on April 23, 1992, Satyajit Ray would still, undoubtedly, have been making movies.

The world is celebrating Raj Kapoor's birth centenary, but when was the last time you watched an RK film?

Deepa Gahlot lists the most popular Yash Chopra films -- the ones he directed, not produced (yes, so that means no DDLJ) -- that can be watched on OTT.

Deepa Gahlot lists 10 popular Mani Ratnam films that you can watch on streaming platforms.

Deepa Gahlot picks a list of 10 essential RGV movies though there are 84 to wade through.

Many films and shows go back in time to bring alive so many fading and forgotten memories.

Sukanya Verma lists 10 terrific films available on OTT you need to watch right now.

Kangana Ranaut plays an Air Force pilot in Tejas, joining an increasing list of films and shows centered around women playing significant roles in their careers.

Had he not taken his final curtain call on April 23, 1992, Satyajit Ray would still, undoubtedly, have been making movies.

The world is celebrating Raj Kapoor's birth centenary, but when was the last time you watched an RK film?

Deepa Gahlot lists the most popular Yash Chopra films -- the ones he directed, not produced (yes, so that means no DDLJ) -- that can be watched on OTT.

Deepa Gahlot lists 10 popular Mani Ratnam films that you can watch on streaming platforms.

Deepa Gahlot picks a list of 10 essential RGV movies though there are 84 to wade through.

Many films and shows go back in time to bring alive so many fading and forgotten memories.

Sukanya Verma lists 10 terrific films available on OTT you need to watch right now.

Kangana Ranaut plays an Air Force pilot in Tejas, joining an increasing list of films and shows centered around women playing significant roles in their careers.

Business success often involves a combination of planning, implementation, and continuous learning, says rediffGURU Harsh Bharwani.

To take the 'Idea to Enterprise' journey, you need to be open about your idea and articulate it to potential customers, existing entrepreneurs, experts in your industry and well-wishers.

A company not only requires ample funds to get it started but also the necessary intellectual and emotional tools to make it a success.

Companies that do not know why they are doing good also do not know why they are failing when they are on a downward slide, notes Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi, founder and CEO, Upriver, a sales accelerator firm.

These mistakes can turn out very expensive and not just in terms of your finances, but also in the time it will take to resort to the conflict at hand. Having a legal hand can save you from any unforeseen troubles, alerts Harshit Malik, entrepreneur, wisdom coach and enrichment guide.

The most important driving factor that entrepreneurs should remember is to believe in themselves, their capabilities, and their dreams, advises Harvard Business School and Singularity University alumnus Nitesh Jain, founder and CEO, BeSingular, an edtech company.

Calculative risks is what differentiates the successful businesses from the rest, points out Bhargav Varma, co-founder and COO of CiS App, a social networking venture.

Always acknowledge what you don't know and know that there are many paths to an end goal, says three-time founder and CEO Neha Sampat.

For India, it is a symbol of will and a successful feat of arms.

The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).

Instead of looking at your personal and professional life as two separate entities, you can 'integrate' them and, at any given time, priortise what's important, suggests rediffGURU Anu Krishna.

'I am a straight 3.0 version!'

'In India, I'm able to work with the biggest stars on creating a scene, creating that emotion, without being too hung up on their persona.'

Baga and Gokarna make the list of the world's top 100 beaches.

Whether off to a wedding, a holiday or a date, get inspired by our glamorous ladies this summer!

The recent trend is to make the pictures au naturale!

'Imagine for a soldier -- first you conquer territory after fighting a fierce battle, suffer casualties and then you are ordered to come back to your side of the International Border in India.'

'It was Maulana Azad's foresight which created the IITs, UGC, science academies across the country.'

'Narasimha Rao asked me why China was doing so well in attracting foreign investments and I gave my frank opinion.' 'I told him that giving thrust to exports had to be a national effort.' 'But in India, the system was very centralised in the Government of India and the state governments had no role to play.'

While we sensitise our children about good touch and bad touch and tell them to watch for signals outside the house, how can one prepare them for keeping a watch for the same at home? asks Aarti David.

To prevent dehydration, drink plenty of water, natural fruit juices, or vegetable juice every day, suggests Dr Divya Gopal.

'For him to suddenly leave the way that he did, it shattered me.' 'It took me a long, long, time to come to terms with it.' 'Because the loss of such a friend can destroy you.' 'The loss was and continues to be immense.'

It's addictive. It's entertaining. It's gorgeous. Once bitten by the K-drama bug, there's no going back.

]The easiest activity like walking has a direct positive impact on your various blood markers like blood glucose levels, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc, explains Sanya Narang.

'I've lost count of the number of times I've said no to sex, because I am tired, and how it has led to air punches, banging of doors, muffled expletives by the other half.' 'With time, we've learned to talk it out and have an arrangement that I'd like to believe works for both of us,' notes Radha Yadav, our newest columnist.

Whatever you plan on doing, make sure you do it with an intention of you really caring about HER sexual happiness.

The key is to find ways to manage the stress of being in a sexless marriage, so that you can focus on building your relationship back up and moving forward, advises Sybil Shiddell, country manager-India for Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.

Listen to sensual music. Open up about your fantasies. Share your fears with your partner.

Most women appreciate it when their partners want to make sure their needs are met. The harder you work to please her, the greater the chance she'll reciprocate, says Solene Paillet.

A zingy text adds adventure in the relationship, suggests Sybil Shiddell, country manager India, Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.

Men tend to consider sex as a way to impress their partner. When they give this thinking a great deal of importance, it turns into what is generally called performance anxiety, cautions Rajat Jadhav

Lasting longer in bed does not spice up things. Spending quality time together, being comfortable with each other, communicating your needs, and asking about your partner's needs and expectations will help improve the quality of your relationship, suggests Sybil Shiddell.

'I've lost count of the number of times I've said no to sex, because I am tired, and how it has led to air punches, banging of doors, muffled expletives by the other half.' 'With time, we've learned to talk it out and have an arrangement that I'd like to believe works for both of us,' notes Radha Yadav, our newest columnist.

Whatever you plan on doing, make sure you do it with an intention of you really caring about HER sexual happiness.

The key is to find ways to manage the stress of being in a sexless marriage, so that you can focus on building your relationship back up and moving forward, advises Sybil Shiddell, country manager-India for Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.

Listen to sensual music. Open up about your fantasies. Share your fears with your partner.

Most women appreciate it when their partners want to make sure their needs are met. The harder you work to please her, the greater the chance she'll reciprocate, says Solene Paillet.

A zingy text adds adventure in the relationship, suggests Sybil Shiddell, country manager India, Gleeden, a discreet extra marital dating Web site.

Men tend to consider sex as a way to impress their partner. When they give this thinking a great deal of importance, it turns into what is generally called performance anxiety, cautions Rajat Jadhav

Lasting longer in bed does not spice up things. Spending quality time together, being comfortable with each other, communicating your needs, and asking about your partner's needs and expectations will help improve the quality of your relationship, suggests Sybil Shiddell.

If you are looking for a real relationship, physical proximity is critical.

Maintain a safe distance from people who are reluctant to share their real names or photos with you, advises Ravi Mittal, founder, Quack Quack, an online dating app.

Feeling the constant need for approval in a relationship is toxic, alerts Ravi Mittal, CEO, Quack Quack, an online dating app.

Parental interference is a nuisance for young Indian daters, observes Ravi Mittal, CEO, Quack Quack, an online dating app. They either have a problem with the person their child is dating or with dating in general.

Feeling forced or creeped out is not only a red flag, but a strong sign of possible deception. Trust your gut!

Feeling comfortable to be yourself around your partner is primarily a sign of being compatible with your partner.

Discussing something as challenging as money should not be done through texts or calls in the middle of a stressful week or even a weekend before an important event, advises Ravi Mittal, CEO, Quack Quack, an online dating app.

If you think you have a good connection with someone, don't reject them for an imaginary list.

Most often what creates issues is HOW things are being said as compared to WHAT is being said, explains Pooja Khera, happiness, wellbeing and relationship coach.

Being polite and respectful is the best choice you can make to avoid any embarrassment or bitterness, advises wellness coach Pooja Khera.

Mumbai based sales Meera who's been happily married to Binod Pillai for eight years believes that a few decisions they jointly took as a couple has helped them keep problems at bay.

An excerpt from Veena Venugopal's new book -- Mother-in-law: The other woman in your marriage.

Get Ahead reader Asha Fernandes* sent in this interesting story of how she befriended her formidable mother-in-law. As the first part of a series, we bring you her experience.

In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.

In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.

In this weekly self-help series, mental health and life coach Anu Krishna tells you how to take control of your life.

Refreshing, natural drinks full of fibre.

Perfect recipes for a hot summer day.

Say cheers to a fun-filled week with these healthy and yummy recipes for thirst quenchers by food blogger Taruna Bakshi.

Bored of working from home? Try making these refreshing summer coolers.

Chill out with these delicious recipes.

Treat your wife, mother or sister to this delicious drink on Women's Day.

Sonali Mullick brings to you the perfect blend of sugar, spice and summer!

Easy-to-make, fun drinks by Sonali Mullick, mixologist at Hitchki, Mumbai.

Drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated says Dr Anant Pandhare.

It is important to be wary of sunburn, dizziness, heatstroke, stomach issues and other heat-related illnesses, advises Dr Vidhe Sharma.

Scrubbing and moisturising your lips before applying your lipstick is a very important habit. This will eliminate the appearance of lip lines and keep your lips looking soft and supple, suggests Asha Hariharan, education director, Enrich Lipcare.

Chafing is an unpleasant reality that many people ignore, and it can truly mess up your lifestyle.

Dr Hansaji Yogendra highlights the benefits of practising yoga during the summer.

Getting a good night's sleep can work like magic for your skin since it is the only time your skin rests and repairs, rejuvenates and works on itself, advises Asha Hariharan, education director, Enrich Beauty.

Wearing white and lighter colours will prevent heat retention, thus reducing the risk of heat exhaustion, suggests Dr Karthiyayini Mahadevan.

In the summer, eat light, fresh meals so that your digestive system is not over burdened.

It is 25 years since Captain Sanjit Bhattacharjee went missing during a patrol on the India Pakistan border. Pakistan has never acknowledged his captivity.

ISIS's online propaganda radicalises Muslim youth in Kerala. A revealing excerpt from Stanly Johny's new book, The ISIS Caliphate From Syria to the Doorsteps of India.

Mr T V R Shenoy, who contributed columns to Rediff.com from its birth, passed into the ages on Tuesday evening. As we grieve and mourning his passing, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar bids adieu to an unusual human being, a sage for our times.

'When one joins an office most of the initial conversations would always be efforts to identify the new entrant's caste.' 'Once one says that one is a bachelor still, the next thing they would say will be: \"We know an educated girl from among our acquaintances, what caste do you belong to?' 'If it is education that is being discussed, they would definitely ask, \"Under which quota do you come?\",' recalls P Rajeskannan.

Watch out for these subtle signs.

These pics will bring back fond memories of your childhood.

When you shift your thinking from being work-focused to being health conscious, your decisions and plans will automatically fall in place, points out Shivjeet Ghatge, CEO, StepSetGo, a fitness start-up.

'One of the most important lessons I learnt from Babulal was on stoicism.' 'As a young man, he had lost the fingers of his right hand in an accident.' 'Without missing a beat, he taught himself to use the spade and shovel with his left hand and carried on working,' says Geetanjali Krishna.

This spiced, sweet bun is a famous Easter delight.

This delicious Chicken Cafreal recipe from Chef Donald will make any occasion special.

Readers have been sharing their Easter recipes. You can share yours too! Megha Vikram shared her special recipe for raspberry marshmallows.

Two recipes to bring Easter joy to your breakfast menu.

The perfect recipe to binge on a Sunday.

Executive Chef Lokesh Jarodia of The Deltin, Daman shares his special Easter recipes.

These dishes are meant to impress 100 per cent!

Time to ditch Easter eggs and bunnies for some new, delicious treats!

This spiced, sweet bun is a famous Easter delight.

This delicious Chicken Cafreal recipe from Chef Donald will make any occasion special.

Readers have been sharing their Easter recipes. You can share yours too! Megha Vikram shared her special recipe for raspberry marshmallows.

Two recipes to bring Easter joy to your breakfast menu.

The perfect recipe to binge on a Sunday.

Executive Chef Lokesh Jarodia of The Deltin, Daman shares his special Easter recipes.

These dishes are meant to impress 100 per cent!

Time to ditch Easter eggs and bunnies for some new, delicious treats!

This spiced, sweet bun is a famous Easter delight.

This delicious Chicken Cafreal recipe from Chef Donald will make any occasion special.

Readers have been sharing their Easter recipes. You can share yours too! Megha Vikram shared her special recipe for raspberry marshmallows.

Two recipes to bring Easter joy to your breakfast menu.

The perfect recipe to binge on a Sunday.

Executive Chef Lokesh Jarodia of The Deltin, Daman shares his special Easter recipes.

These dishes are meant to impress 100 per cent!

Time to ditch Easter eggs and bunnies for some new, delicious treats!

Dress well. Look confident. Control your speech.

Shameem Akthar, yogacharya trained with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, gives you a lowdown on how to do this tricky meditation, and provides more evidence to lure you towards this practice.

Should you date your co-worker?

Mini Ribeiro gets top chefs to share the best chutney recipes.

Cut down sugar. Get adequate sleep.

Reshma Aslam tells us how to stir up refreshing summer drinks in a jiffy.

With the IPL season kicking in, here are some unique tips players can pick from Bollywood...

'I am hoping that now with the strategic status of our relationship, the Indian voice will get heard in Saudi Arabia,' says Ambassador B S Prakash.

'For no other leader of India do so many people turn up for an event every year without invitation.'

As long as even one Indian holds aloft Ambedkar's portrait and recites the Preamble, the Republic remains alive, says Mihir S Sharma.

'In India those who want change cannot bring about change, and those who can bring about change do not want change.'

'There are some castes that grab power, then pass on the benefits to those who belong to their own caste.'

Mumbai-based Anand Teltumbde is a leading scholar-activist who has written extensively on issues related to caste, class, imperialism and globalisation. In an interview with Yoginder Sikand, he reflects on the Dalit movement in the era of globalisation.

'The main reason is 'they' do not want to see Dalits especially in the morning!'

'The police will give weightage to the socially strong.' 'The dominant caste is usually a powerful person, while the scheduled caste is normally powerless.' 'That is why FIRs are not registered.' 'Most of these complaints are by very poor people against very rich powerful people.'

'It is very hard to get the police to file a report against someone from an upper caste.' 'Things are so bad that sometimes we have to sit on a dharna with the body of a Dalit victim to get the police to file a complaint.'

The harvest festival is incomplete without this humble and easy-to-make porridge.

Kerala Kootu is best enjoyed with steamed rice, but also goes well with rotis or crisp dosas.

A Kerala delicacy made from over-ripe mangoes.

A wholesome and unusual Kerala-style curry made with ash gourd, cowpeas and coconut milk.

The prime ingredient in Nannari Sherbat is sarsaparilla syrup, made from a tropical root or vine,

Rasam is my Amma's go-to solution for all ailments, be they a cold, cough, fever or a headache.

Ishtu is light on the tummy and usually served hot or warm. It goes well with idlis, dosas and appams.

This version of my mom's special sambar uses plenty of Madras cucumber and okra.

The harvest festival is incomplete without this humble and easy-to-make porridge.

Kerala Kootu is best enjoyed with steamed rice, but also goes well with rotis or crisp dosas.

A Kerala delicacy made from over-ripe mangoes.

A wholesome and unusual Kerala-style curry made with ash gourd, cowpeas and coconut milk.

The prime ingredient in Nannari Sherbat is sarsaparilla syrup, made from a tropical root or vine,

Rasam is my Amma's go-to solution for all ailments, be they a cold, cough, fever or a headache.

Ishtu is light on the tummy and usually served hot or warm. It goes well with idlis, dosas and appams.

This version of my mom's special sambar uses plenty of Madras cucumber and okra.

The other half of the name, benne dosa literally means butter dosa in Kannada.

An ideal meal from the Sahara.

Wrapped in banana leaves, this fish is usually fried in coconut oil and gains a heavenly aroma and taste.

Here's a fresh take on your forever favorite dessert.

Two Indian sweets magically combined into one.

A lovely tiffin idea for your little ones.

Enjoy your chai with Maharashtrian-style coriander leaf fritters.

Another delicious South Indian rice

The occasion was the state funeral in Nairobi of Kenya's elder statesman and president, Jomo Kenyatta. Both the Indian and Pakistani leaders were present at the funeral ceremony when Zia turned to Desai and said, \"I want to meet you and talk.\"

Brezhnev may not have met an Indian with less reverence for the Soviet Union its leadership than prime minister Morarji Desai.

Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the day when Indira Gandhi defied conventional wisdom and did the unpredictable. After 19 long months of fear and loathing, she finally revoked the Emergency, called a general election and gave India another chance to assert itself as the world's largest democracy .

He also re-opened the issue of a fresh enquiry about the mysterious disappearance of Netaji and felt it would be more effective to have an investigative inquiry by experts to find out the reality.

'Though the RSS honours Sardar Patel, who actually banned it, the real hero in the story of its rise is Jayaprakash Narayan,' says Vir Sanghvi.

Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.

Morarji Desai was 81 when he was elected prime minister and ruled India for two years, from March 1977 to July 1999.

If Narendra Modi becomes prime minister next month, he will be India's second prime minister from the western state of Gujarat. Thirty-seven years ago, Morarji Desai was sworn in as India's first non-Congress prime minister, indeed the oldest man at 81 to then hold the office.

An excerpt from his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan's autobiography.

Exclusive extracts from the books Sholay, The Making Of A Classic, by Anupama Chopra and In The Afternoon Of Time, An Autobiography, by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Jaya Bachchan will stage a comeback to the silver screen after a lapse of 19 years.

I was very shy, very nervous, very reluctant. But I wanted to overcome this fear of the theatre that had been thrust on me by the so-called stalwarts of the film industry.

Ms Jaya Bachchan on Monday, March 23 1998 7:48 IST, with fans.

Amitabh Bachchan shares his beautiful wedding story.

As Jaya Bachchan turns 73 today, Subhash K Jha remembers her lesser known performances.

Jaya is a woman of steel in the truest sense of the word. Despite being the first lady of filmdom, she's as real and rooted to the ground as anyone can get, notes Subhash K Jha on the actor-politician's 74th birthday.

'Anyone who heard her sing was left with a lump in the throat.'

Shobha Deepak Singh, whose association with the legendary Kishori Amonkar, spanned 35 years, shares her memories of the musical genius.

'Her ability and confidence to 'do her own thing,' both in her music and in her life -- and the great integrity with which she did it -- was amazing.'

'She was a modern-day Tansen among the female classical vocalists of the country.' Musicians and film folk pay rich tribute to Kishori Amonkar.

Amol Palekar tells Patcy N/ Rediff.com how he captured Kishori Amonkar's life in his documentary called Bhinna Shadaj.

Pandit Ravi Shankar was George Harrison's link into the Vedic world.

Pandit Ravi Shankar took Indian music global, wrote the rules of the modern Indian classical performance. Sumit Bhattacharya pays personal tribute to the legend.

'I doubt very much if I will ever move on from his music, as I have from so much else through the years,' says Aakar Patel.

The Millennium Special: S Gopal

The Millennium Special: Rahul Dravid.

Padma Subrahmanyam on the landmarks in Indian dance.

The Millennium Special: Tarun Tahiliani

The Millennium Special: Juhi Chawla

Arthur J Pais speaks to author Abraham Verghese.

With his seventh novel, Amitav Ghosh has announced one clear intention: He is not about to retire. By some counts Sea of Poppies (Penguin-Viking, 2008), his epic saga seasoned with a whiff of opium and a salty sea breeze, has caught up with Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth as the number one bestseller in India and could be well on its way to becoming the next 'Great Indian Novel'

An interview with Mohammed Hanif, author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes.

Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank, serving from April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937.

With a sole mandate of inflation targeting, RBI wears many hats.

The RBI was not party to the decision to demonetize 500 and 1,000-rupee notes, which was taken at the highest level of India's political leadership.

I kept insisting that Rs 100 notes were in short supply and there was an urgent need to augment the supply of 100 rupee notes while also rapidly bringing into circulation the proposed new Rs 500 notes.
But this was easier said than done because all the note printing machines of the RBI were programmed for printing Rs 2,000 notes and required at least three weeks before the machines could print the new Rs 500 currency notes.
The availability of currency paper posed another major bottleneck, and it had to be imported.

'There are deeper, underlying, forces at work and we need institutional arrangements to guard against them.'

Interview with former Reserve Bank of India governor by Duvvuri Subbarao.

Duvvuri Subbarao recounts how his tensions with P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, then finance ministers, over monetary policy spilled over into other issues in the central bank in this excerpt from Who Moved My Interest Rate?, his memoir of his term as Reserve Bank of India governor.

The speed at which he led the central bank in different areas -- ranging from internal reorganisation to inflation fighting, stabilising the currency, taking on rogue corporations, cleaning up bank balance sheets, and opening the sector -- makes one believe that Rajan knew he had only three years to do his job.

After several years of travelling, Guru Nanak settled down at Kartarpur as a farmer. His followers were the first Sikhs of an order that was to prevail for many years to come. A fascinating excerpt from Sikh Heritage: A History of Valour and Devotion.

Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion, was born on April 15, 1469, in Talwandi village in west Punjab in an ordinary Hindu family. His father, Mehta Kalian Das, worked as an accountant for the local ruler, a Muslim. The boy Nanak therefore grew up with both Hindu and Muslim friends.

One man follows Guru Nanak's visits to multi-faith sites across nine countries.

Here is part three of Deepak Kirpalani's Punjab travelogue.

It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.

Payal Singh Mohanka remembers the 10th Guru of the Sikhs.

The moment I was inside, I felt I had arrived in a different world. The chanting of hymns and the spiritually calming atmosphere took me into a trance-like state, says Nisha Jha.

A journey to the Sri Harmandir Sahib, also called the Golden Temple, in Amritsar can evoke purity and peace in even the faithless, writes Vaihayasi Pande Daniel

Veteran actress, television personality and anchor, Tabassum, who has completed 67 years in the industry, shares her insights about the stars of the past.

V K Murthy gives insight in Guru Dutt's life.

Legendary Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan is now part of the ages.
Eight years ago, she spoke to Rediff.com, a frank interview which, like her magnificent dances, has stood the passage of time.

'Rani has changed Adi for the better. If he is happy, why should I not be happy?'

'The young generation doesn't want to work with old hats like me.'
'They don't understand that we are brighter and wiser because of our experience.'
'We can take them on the right path, but they should keep their ears open.'

'Sanjay Roy is not alone.' 'If he's kept alive, maybe we will know what happened.' 'Why was he in the chest medicine department that night when he never went there earlier?' 'Nobody will parade in front of a CCTV camera and then go and murder someone.' 'There are several people who are involved in this heinous crime. They have to be identified and punished.'

'A murder has occurred in the room, but there were no signs of struggle.' 'RG Kar says the body was discovered at 9:30 am. But the media was informed at 8:30 am.' 'We realised that crucial evidence was being destroyed.' 'She had several bite marks on her neck, but no swab was collected.' 'My daughter had 28 injuries on her body. But there was no DNA of the assailant under her nails.' 'Are you saying she did not try to defend herself?'

'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'

Veteran actress, television personality and anchor, Tabassum, who has completed 67 years in the industry, shares her insights about the stars of the past.

V K Murthy gives insight in Guru Dutt's life.

Legendary Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan is now part of the ages.
Eight years ago, she spoke to Rediff.com, a frank interview which, like her magnificent dances, has stood the passage of time.

'Rani has changed Adi for the better. If he is happy, why should I not be happy?'

'The young generation doesn't want to work with old hats like me.'
'They don't understand that we are brighter and wiser because of our experience.'
'We can take them on the right path, but they should keep their ears open.'

'Sanjay Roy is not alone.' 'If he's kept alive, maybe we will know what happened.' 'Why was he in the chest medicine department that night when he never went there earlier?' 'Nobody will parade in front of a CCTV camera and then go and murder someone.' 'There are several people who are involved in this heinous crime. They have to be identified and punished.'

'A murder has occurred in the room, but there were no signs of struggle.' 'RG Kar says the body was discovered at 9:30 am. But the media was informed at 8:30 am.' 'We realised that crucial evidence was being destroyed.' 'She had several bite marks on her neck, but no swab was collected.' 'My daughter had 28 injuries on her body. But there was no DNA of the assailant under her nails.' 'Are you saying she did not try to defend herself?'

'Justice may or may not happen, but who are those people who did this to her?' 'If the hospital authorities had helped us that day, or the police, then the real culprits would have been caught.' 'Getting justice for my daughter is my goal now and I want the CM to remember that.'

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'Gandhi had given the call 'Do or Die'. And with all the leaders arrested, you had to be your own leader.'

'The BJP is trying to change this mantra.'

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'With butterflies in our stomachs, but confident of our mission, we took off for Jaffna on the morning of 24 July 1987.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe recalls a conversation with Air Vice Marshal Harpal Singh Ahluwalia (retd), then a wing commander and mission leader for the clandestine operation.

As Prabhakaran was leaving his house, Rajiv Gandhi called his son Rahul and asked him to fetch his (Gandhi's) bulletproof jacket. He put the jacket on Prabhakaran's back and remarked with his usual charming smile: \"Take care of yourself.\"

'This was a decision taken and executed by Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Both were convinced that the assassination would not be linked to them.'

Manubhai Phulchand Sheth, the first Reliance employee, remembers Dhirubhai Ambani.

'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy,' says Khushwant Singh.

The Rediff Interview/Lt General P N Hoon (retd).

I find it difficult to believe that, given the enormous pressure we play under, someone would have the nerves to actually give away a game. We are playing for the country out there. Thousands of people are watching us on the field. Millions are watching us on the television screen. It is not easy to do anything wrong. But nowadays it has become such a fashion to talk about match fixing. Particularly when someone loses. I think it is very stupid. It puts too much pressure on the players out there on the field, says Mohammad Azharuddin.

William Dalrymple on the 1857 Mutiny.

An interview with Shah Rukh Khan.

The Rediff Interview/AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha.

Elections '98: The Interviews/Narendra Modi.

Manubhai Phulchand Sheth, the first Reliance employee, remembers Dhirubhai Ambani.

'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy,' says Khushwant Singh.

The Rediff Interview/Lt General P N Hoon (retd).

I find it difficult to believe that, given the enormous pressure we play under, someone would have the nerves to actually give away a game. We are playing for the country out there. Thousands of people are watching us on the field. Millions are watching us on the television screen. It is not easy to do anything wrong. But nowadays it has become such a fashion to talk about match fixing. Particularly when someone loses. I think it is very stupid. It puts too much pressure on the players out there on the field, says Mohammad Azharuddin.

William Dalrymple on the 1857 Mutiny.

An interview with Shah Rukh Khan.

The Rediff Interview/AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha.

Elections '98: The Interviews/Narendra Modi.

In his second national broadcast in a week on the pandemic raging across much of the world with the number of infections rising in India, Modi made a fervent appeal to the countrymen not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' of their homes in the next three weeks.

From children to the elderly, common people to VIPs, all came out in balconies, lawns and terrace of their homes as the clock struck five, following an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show gratitude to doctors, paramedics, police and other personnel associated with essential services when the country was observing an unprecedented 'Janta Curfew' on Sunday to check the spread of the virus.

Scenes from a deserted Mumbai, something that most of us have never seen.

There was a case reported of suspected Covid-19 passengers aboard I5-732, Pune to New Delhi on 20th March 2020, seated in Row 1.

'Since it was the last day of flights, the feeling was weird. There were hardly any aircraft on the ground or in the air.'

Be it Mumbai, known as the city that never sleeps, Patna or Ahmedabad, life came to a standstill in the country as roads, railway stations and airports wore a deserted look and markets and establishments except those dealing in essential goods and services remained shut during the 14-hour self-imposed curfew that started at 7 am.

As the number of COVID-19 cases is witnessing a spike in India, religious places across the country remain closed to encourage social distancing, a key component in preventing the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

President Ram Nath Kovind along with First Lady Savita Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and other leaders joined the fellow citizens on Sunday to express their gratitude towards all those who are safeguarding the health of the nation in wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

'Facebook and Google no longer need to have infantry regiments and cavalry like the East India Company because they are inside everyone's phones listening to our conversations.'

William Dalrymple discusses with Arthur J Pais how the situation in Afghanistan is fast deteriorating.

'When Sikhs were killed in the Afghan-Sikh war in 1837, the Afridis used to bury their heads like flowerpots in the ground,' writer and popular historian William Dalrymple tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

William Dalrymple discusses his latest book, which delves into nine spiritual lives and uncovers multiple Indias, with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.

'If you can come with some arrangement with the Pakistanis that Pakistan ceases to stop creating trouble in Kashmir in return for the Indians not arming Afghanistan, everyone wins.' William Dalrymple discusses his new book Return of a King, Afghanistan, the Mughals and, of course, India with Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

'In the West, the Taliban is known for its medieval barbarism, public executions, stoning of women for adultery. But for many Afghans now, they are respectable -- as the Taliban provides security,' says noted writer William Dalrymple in a two part interview with rediff.com's Arthur J Pais.

It's one big bowl of crunchy goodness.

'I can tell you the case that hurts me the most is the one in which the little boy is forced to sign the Kohinoor over.' 'You take a mother away from a child, you surround him with grown ups speaking a different language, you tell him he must sign this over or else...'

Die Hard actor Bruce Willis is retiring from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that leads to the loss of ability to understand or express speech.

One of Hollywood's most expensive stars, Bruce Willis, who gets $ 20 million for films like Armageddon, has a complaint about the director of his latest film.

As Manoj Night Shyamalan's psychological chiller, The Sixth Sense grossed $ 11.2 million last weekend and took its cumulative to $ 213.3 million, the modestly budgeted film became Bruce Willis's biggest hit in America.

The new Die Hard is a typical Hollywood popcorn movie, and works only because of Bruce Willis.

To commemorate 20 years of worship, here are 20 things about Pulp Fiction that make it better than your favourite film, no matter what it may be.

Bruce Willis' take on the fourth installment,Die Hard 4.0

Before watching Die Hard 4.0 (also known as Live Free Or Die Harder) in theatres worldwide this Friday, we decided to revisit the three flicks that made this franchise what it is.

Happy 60th Birthday, Bruce Willis.

In Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, The Star, Aseem Chahbra gives us glimpses of one of Bollywood's best loved actors.

'In the late 1960s, Shashi Kapoor did not have any work. We saw a lot of him then. He sold his sports car. Mum also started selling things because we didn't have money.' 'After Sharmilee (1971), things changed again.' Kunal Kapoor talks to Patcy N/ Rediff.com about his famous father.

'Dashing, charismatic and impossibly good looking, a to-the-manor-born superstar who walked the tightrope between mainstream potboilers and arty parallel cinema with amazing grace.'

Shashi Kapoor, the star who made us laugh, romance and cry, passed into the ages on December 4. We look back at the often underrated actor, who reinvested all his earnings as an actor into making films and keeping the theatre he established, Prithvi Theatre, alive.

Yesteryear's heart-throb Shashi Kapoor will get the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for his contribution to Indian cinema. On this occasion, we reproduce Dinesh Raheja's nostalgia piece on the actor here:

'The news that the once dashing, absolutely handsome, utterly charming Shashi Kapoor is no more makes me feel terribly sad.' Aseem Chhabra, author of Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star, pays rich tribute to the iconic actor.

From Awaara to Deewar to Junoon to In Custody, Shashi Kapoor leaves us many movies to love and remember him by.

Remembering the Eternal Charmer. Remembering an Awesome Human Being. Remembering an actor and film-maker, the likes of whom we will not see again.

Puneet Rajkumar talks about his upcoming film, being a Rajkumar and his book.

Puneeth Rajkumar was never trained in classical music, but he sang songs for his movies from the time he was a toddler!

Puneeth fan M D Riti lists five films that she consider to be amongst his best.

Kannada cinema's current reigning star Puneeth talks about his new innings on television.

The actor talks about his next release Yaare Koogadali.

'I know we will keep meeting, Appu, on gym floors that I visit, every time I listen to a song of yours and in that grin that I will always carry in my memory.'

Karnataka has been in mourning after movie star Puneeth Rajkumar passed into the ages on October 29.

'There is a popular forward doing the rounds in Bangalore now, about Appu, that says, 'Kaanadanthe Mayavaadanu Namma Shiva, Kailasa Serikondanu' (our Shiva disappeared from sight and reached heaven.)' 'These are the words of a popular Kannada song that Appu sang as a child.' 'Nobody expected that he would actually live out the words of his song some day.'

With Holi around the corner, it is time to roll up your sleeves and toss up some yummy delicacies. Here are 16 mouthwatering Holi recipes from Pankaj Bhadouria to start you off with!

Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary of the Khandani Rajdhani has special Holi recipes for you.

Celebrate Holi with a chilled glass of nutrition.

Chef Manish Kusumwal, Keys Hotels tells you how to have a cool Holi party.

Matcha tea lovers, this recipe is meant for you!

Executive Chef Avinash Kumar of Novotel Imagica Khopoli shares three interesting recipes to try this Holi.

With these mouth-watering recipes you'd want to celebrate Holi every other day!

On the lookout for fabulous thandai recipes for Holi?

With Holi around the corner, it is time to roll up your sleeves and toss up some yummy delicacies. Here are 16 mouthwatering Holi recipes from Pankaj Bhadouria to start you off with!

Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary of the Khandani Rajdhani has special Holi recipes for you.

Celebrate Holi with a chilled glass of nutrition.

Chef Manish Kusumwal, Keys Hotels tells you how to have a cool Holi party.

Matcha tea lovers, this recipe is meant for you!

Executive Chef Avinash Kumar of Novotel Imagica Khopoli shares three interesting recipes to try this Holi.

With these mouth-watering recipes you'd want to celebrate Holi every other day!

On the lookout for fabulous thandai recipes for Holi?

Jahnavi Patel tells us how Bollywood gives RED whole new meanings.

Sukanya Verma tells us how Bollywood gives colours a whole new meaning.

Sukanya Verma tells us how Bollywood gives colours a whole new meaning.

Jahnavi Patel tells us how Bollywood gives colours a whole new meaning.

These stars really know how to whoop it up on Holi every year.

The love for the festival of colours is not restricted to just songs and moments in the movies. The various hues of colours are used in film titles for dramatic effect too.

With the festival of colours just around the corner, we dig out some lively bhang-soaked ditties just for you.

Before you dash out of the house with all your playful paraphernalia, pick some tips from Bollywood of responsible celebrating.

He is truly fascinated with advances in science related to computing. And he has a good eye for seeing how those advances can be integrated together in powerful ways in a combination of software and hardware, says Steve Hamm.

In an interview, Ravi Venkatesan, chairman Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd, spoke to rediff.comabout Gates, his insatiable curiosity and indomitable courage to take risks.

Besides being an important market for the software giant, Gates is besotted by the immense talent in India.

If I had to say what is the thing that I feel best about, it's being involved in this whole software revolution and what comes out of that.

Microsoft has today invaded into homes and offices across the globe.

Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world.

Microsoft on Friday (local time) announced that its co-founder Bill Gates has stepped down from the company's board of directors to dedicate more time to his philanthropic priorities including global health and education. Gates will, however, continue to serve as the technology advisor to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

There is no shortage of books on the Microsoft founder, but this latest one is different in that it paints Mr Gates in shades of grey, leaving it to readers to make their own judgement about the man

Participants of Dandi March 2005 recount their experiences and talk about Gandhi's relevance in the modern age.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi flagged off the party's re-enactment of the Dandi March on Saturday to mark the 75th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's historic salt satyagraha.

India's struggle for freedom is one of the most unique and compelling stories of the 20th century.

On her visit to Mahatma Gandhi's home, Sabarmati Ashram, Shubhrastha wonders what India could have been if it had followed Gandhiji's teachings in its entirety.

'Gandhi has not become out of date, we have.'

Sixty years later, the sun-dappled, spartan Sabarmati Ashram, located in the heart of blazingly hot and bustling Ahmedabad, is a serene, supremely peaceful location where time has stood still. It has halted in memory of one of India's greatest human beings.

At Sabarmati Ashram that very hot summer evening, some had come to see and feel the place where Bapu lived. Some had come to be alone on the lawns after a disappointing Class 12 result...

The Dandi March will be re-enacted to mark the 75th year of the historic event.

Claude Arpi's fascinating account of the Dalai Lama's arrival in Tawang in March 1959.

As the Dalai Lama turns 75 on July 6, he speaks about the importance of the Indian tradition of Nalanda, the differences between Buddhist science, philosophy and religion and why he believes that a 'sort' of cultural genocide is happening in Tibet.

'My thoughts come from the Nalanda Buddhist tradition and this body has lived on Indian dal, rice and chapattis during the last 51 years.' The Dalai Lama, who is 75 today, in an exclusive interview.

In this exclusive interview with Shanti Karuna his holiness shares his thoughts on the relevance of Buddhism -- and of religion in general -- in the modern world.

'The Tibetan movement will never turn violent during the Dalai Lama's life-time.'

The Dalai Lama is a huge charmer, knowing how to say things that will please an audience in his gentle avuncular manner.

'From exile in India, he keeps the Tibetan cause blazing on the world radar.' 'He could take himself very seriously indeed -- hundreds of millions of people do, after all.' 'Instead,' discovers Mitali Saran, 'he is a joyous, laughing beacon of dissent, both political and spiritual.'

'The Bharat Ratna should have been given a long time ago. Not just to irk the Chinese, but to recognise His Holiness for what he is and how we have benefited immensely from his presence in India.' 'I don't think there's been a better ambassador for India's philosophical and cultural past than the Dalai Lama.'

Madhavrao Scindia, former maharaja of Gwalior, ex-Union minister, sometime president of the Indian cricket board and potential prime minister, in conversation with Ayaz Memon.

Madhavrao Scindia: No individual is bigger than the party. In the past we have seen big leaders leaving the party, floating their own outfits and later coming back to the Congress. They went out like tigers and came back like lambs.

Madhavrao Scindia hangs out of his flower bedecked Ambassador as it crawls through the cheering crowd. \"Maharaj Madhavrao Scindia Zindabad!\" Slogans rent the air, crackers burst layer after layer and garlands lie in a big heap on the roof of his car as it passes through the heart of Gwalior city.

There was a time, in the '60s, when you could get elected, disappear for five years and come and get elected again. It is not possible now. That is a very good thing because that means democracy has developed, exclaims Madhavrao Scindia.

In his 30-year-old political career, Madhavrao always attempted to project himself as a people's leader.

Madhavrao Scindia occupied the third seat of the first row on the Opposition benches, to the left of G M C Balayogi, Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Seated to the left of Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition, he would beam if anyone addressed him as deputy leader of the Opposition. In the Lok Sabha, he was affectionately called \"Maharajasaheb.\"

'Madhavrao Scindia may have been a political leader for the country, but to me he was a personal friend. In fact, he was more like an elder brother', says Amar Singh.

Rajiv Shukla, the Rajya Sabha MP and wellknown columnist, and Madhavrao Scindia were friends for 15 years. On Scindia's first death anniversary, September 30, Shukla shares some rare glimpses of the prince who died young.

Something light, refreshing and healthy at the beginning of the week.

Cold menus are a must for warm days.

Tindli Alu is a very basic sabzi recipe. But nutritious and tasty. Use the same recipe to make a whole variety of easy vegetables.

A steaming bowl of soup that's bursting with flavours.

What can you do with common leftovers -- bread, coconut chutney, dal, rice, rotis.

Get transported to Bengal with this simple, yum meal.

Take a delicious and simple comfort meal like Dal-Chaval and elevate it to a gourmet meal with plating technique and a few surprise ingredients.

Ishtu is light on the tummy and usually served hot or warm. It goes well with idlis, dosas and appams.

The women who inspired them...

'Women's voices are too high or too low, or they are seen as too short or too tall, or too fat or too thin, to be great leaders.' 'These judgments wear us down.'

Invest at least 15-20 minutes of your day and your skin will express gratitude for the results it shows and how you feel after.

Cheers to a wonderful Women's Day Celebration.

'Her inspiring teachings have helped me tackle the worst of situations and kept me afloat and smiling.'

Rupali Goshalia from Juhu, Mumbai writes about the inspiring lessons she learnt from Prochy Master.

On the occasion of Women's Day, Vijay S Patil, 33, shares a beautiful story about his mother, who beat odds to educate her children.

Four enterprising women tell us how they tackled bias and criticism to create a niche for themselves and are now leading their businesses.

Women should not feel guilty for standing up for themselves and saying NO when needed, says Shahzeen Shivdasani.

Through their triumphs and struggles, these athletes have not only rewritten the narrative of women in sports but have also ignited a flame of empowerment and inspiration, asserts Laxmi Negi.

The higher chance of depression in women is additionally related to changes in hormone levels that occur throughout a woman's life.

Looking for an adventure escape or a soulful vacay? Here's our guide for your next solo travel jaunt.

Inspired from a real life incident, this is the story of how Aarti buckled herself up after her divorce and rebuilt her financial life.

Treat your girl to breakfast in bed on Women's Day.

Here is a 5-step process for every woman as a guidepost while planning her financial journey, says Suren Kochchar. An International Women's Day special.

Disability activist Virali Modi recounts her life's most challenging moments and how she turned adversities in her favour.

According to sales coach, trainer and entrepreneur Gaurav Bhagat -- who has been setting goals for himself since he was 16 -- having 'specific and measurable goals' is very important.

'The Museum of Broken Relationships is a poignant celebration of modern love... for anyone who has ever loved and lost.'

'Almost magically, we suddenly saw the magnificent beast come from around the corner.'

Green Tomato Days are here. Make the most of them.

LIVA Miss Diva Supranational 2023 Sonal Kukreja shares her summer hair and skincare routine.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.

'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'

'Priyanka has done very well in Bollywood and Hollywood. But had she joined politics, it might have been a different story altogether. Given how ambitious she was, she would have made a good youth leader. She might even have launched her own party,' says Sathya Saran

I telephoned Chief Minister Darbara Singh and asked him why this carefully thought-out plan had suddenly been aborted. The Chief Minister sounded very agitated and all he said was that this was not his decision, but the orders had come directly from Home Minister Zail Singh. A fascinating excerpt from retired IAS officer Ravi Sawhney's book, Living A Life.

'Rakesh's life is hard, but he knows how to find joy.' 'He doesn't think his life's value comes from money. He sees no shame in his poverty.'

These delightful idlis are great for breakfast or nashta.

Arjun Menon looks at some Tamil films from the last decade that tick all the right boxes, and lists where you can watch them.

'Since both Ram Charan and NTR Jr are dancing in this song, I don't want one of them to feel one up.'

'I did a small role in Masoom.' 'Do you remember the scene where an old man brings Jugal Hansraj to Naseer's house?' 'I put on the full make-up of an old man and stood in front of Shekhar.' 'He had no choice but to take me.'

'I would rather focus on the good rather than what didn't happen.'

'After pack-up, Sridevi took a shower in the studio itself, changed, and returned to the set with a wad of notes.' 'She distributed it amongst every technician who had worked on the song Na Jaane Kahan Se Aaye Hai.'

'He used to interact with everyone in the dressing room, he never showed any attitude to any cricketer -- whether big or small.'

Factbox on former Australian spinner Shane Warne, who died on Friday at the age of 52.

'He was keen to win the IPL with the team he had, he had no desire to have big names in his team.' 'He just wanted good players, who he knew he could mould into match-winners.'

'I was not sure whether such a big player would come to my house but he was quite happy to visit my place... which was just unbelievable!'

Mr Warne, the world will miss you.

A legend who left us much too soon.

Memorable moments from Shane Warne's glittering career.

Shane Warne immortalised himself with the 'Ball Of The Century' on June 4, 1993 during the first Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.

The Tata empire turns 150 this year. R Gopalakrishnan, former director, Tata Sons Ltd, imagines a conversation among the group's founder Jamsetji, his son Dorabji, his successor, Nowroji Saklatwala, and his successor, J R D Tata.

But the Tata Group is an established and growing brand in Australia, affirm top local managers.

From being the first steel plant in India and Asia, to bagging the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, Corus Group, the largest acquisition by an Indian company abroad, Tata Steel has lived up to its reputation of creating history.

Discover the story of Jamsetji Tata's first business venture, Tata Line, and his bold decision to shut it down despite its potential impact on his reputation. Learn about his fight against the monopoly of P.&O., the shipping line that dominated India's exports in the 19th century.

Indian industry's doyen Jamsetji Tata has emerged as the biggest philanthropist globally in the last century by donating $102 billion, as per a list of top-50 givers prepared by Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation.' Tata, the founder of what has now become a group spanning interests from salt to software, is ahead of others like Bill Gates and his now estranged wife Melinda who have donated $74.6 billion, Warren Buffet ($37.4 billion), George Soros ($34.8 billion) and John D Rockefeller ($26.8 billion), the list showed.

The Indian Institute of Science topped the HRD ministry's 2017 national rankings. In 2016, the IISc was ranked among the world's top 15 universities in the Times Higher Education University Rankings. In his book The Creation of Wealth: The Tatas from the 19th to the 21st Century, R M Lala recounted how Jamsetji Tata's grand vision and immense personal contribution laid the edifice of arguably India's finest educational institution.

'BOMBAY HOUSE': Over 100 years ago, a merchant set up a mill in Mumbai to manufacture cotton goods and flagged off what was to become the $11 billion Tata Group.

The reason why Jamsetji Tata built the Taj Mahal Hotel was his love for Mumbai and India. For him, the 'why' was so powerful that it urged him to stake his reputation, withstand all scepticism, and invest a very large sum of resources to create the iconic hotel.

The protein-rich dal goes well with baafle that's deep-fried in ghee.

Time to surprise your family and friends with a really unusual dessert.

These kebabs on skewers or a super Sunday special.

Adding greens to your dal transforms it into to the best companion for your rice.

A recipe for fiery dal.

What can you do with common leftovers -- bread, coconut chutney, dal, rice, rotis.

A delicious Mangalorean dish that is served with steamed rice or neer dosas.

Lauki's high-water content makes it the perfect summer vegetable.

The protein-rich dal goes well with baafle that's deep-fried in ghee.

Time to surprise your family and friends with a really unusual dessert.

These kebabs on skewers or a super Sunday special.

Adding greens to your dal transforms it into to the best companion for your rice.

A recipe for fiery dal.

What can you do with common leftovers -- bread, coconut chutney, dal, rice, rotis.

A delicious Mangalorean dish that is served with steamed rice or neer dosas.

Lauki's high-water content makes it the perfect summer vegetable.

The Pythagoras theorem 'should either be an Egyptian theorem if you look at the standard of just having an idea about it, an Indian theorem if you're looking for a complete statement of it, or a Chinese theorem if you're looking for the proof of it,' Fields Medal winner and Princeton University Professor Dr Manjul Bharava tells P Rajendran/Rediff.com

'No PM has said no to anything we have proposed. I am not a politician and I cannot give speeches about things, but a lot of good things have been done in science by previous governments.' 'Under Dr Manmohan Singh, we could do a few important things. I used to meet him once in 6, 8 weeks. He often said, 'Professor Rao, you assume that you have my approval and carry on.' He was shy and decent. He is a real gentleman.' 'Science keeps me going at 80. I feel young.' Professor C N R Rao, the eminent scientist who was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, on the state of science in India.

'Temperature and wind can be predicted more easily than rainfall.' 'Rainfall, as common experience suggests, is very spotty.' 'The last bit of physics required that tells us whether it is going to rain or not is very hard.' Professor Roddam Narasimha, the eminent scientist, explains the monsoon, climate change and global warming, in a fascinating conversation with Shivanand Kanavi.

'It affects our economy, it is very important in many ways.' 'So we have to be the foremost experts in the world on the monsoon.' 'But the best minds in India have not devoted their time to the study of monsoon and they have followed the fashions of the West.'

'Water is not an economic resource, but we treat water as an economic resource meant for the benefit of human beings.' 'Water is more of a life source than an economic resource.'

'We are calling companies to set up assembly plants for mobile phones while all the components are imported.' 'Only the last turn of the screwdriver is done here. And you call it self-reliance, Atmanirbharta, etc.' 'Unless you invest in research, you will not climb up the ladder. But this government is happy getting sub-contract work.'

'Some Indians take the extreme view that everything was known to our ancients, but others go to the opposite extreme and consider everything Indian was superstition and rubbish.' 'Indian science was perhaps more rational than the European science of the time.'

'It looked as if India had been a major player in science at that time, raising the question when and why things changed,' says distinguished aerospace scientist Professor Roddam Narasimha.

A realistic assessment will tell us that not much has changed between India and Pakistan; the relationship remains as fraught as before with little prospect of reconciliation, notes Ajai Shukla.

'If deterrence through India's conventional superiority is to be established now, then India will have to escalate to a point where its greater resources make the difference.' 'This is, to put it mildly, both difficult and dangerous and thus inadvisable,' points out Mihir S Sharma.

'Offensive operations to capture objectives across the LoC to eliminate terrorist launch pads and deny the use of the most dangerous routes of infiltration, are likely to be limited to brigade-level attacks.' 'These limited operations are unlikely to escalate to war across the international boundary,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).

'For Pakistan, the comfortable old calculations and certainties are no longer valid.' 'Strikes on Indian targets now carry a high risk of retaliation and escalation,' notes Ajai Shukla.

The IAF has insisted it hit its targets. If that is indeed true, then the lack of obvious damage could mean it has used a different bomb -- possibly procured secretly from Israel.

'While US officials understand and accept India's desire for retaliation, they still don't want to encourage steps that would likely lead to war.'

'Even if your soldiers are Sunny Deol and Vicky Kaushal, Pakistanis are no Johnny Walkers.' 'The one lot who never takes them lightly is India's professional soldiers.' 'That's why they keep winning the real wars,' says Shekhar Gupta.

'I will need a few more pictures, sir, can I get some time from you for a more extended photo shoot?' asked Singh. Modi, ever-obliging before the camera, laughed. 'Sure, but let us plan to do it after my swearing-in is over in May!' The Balakot effect was evident. A fascinating excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai's 2019: How Modi Won India.

'Crucial intelligence was obtained by a R&AW operative from a couple of moles inside the camps four days before the Balakot operation.'

'With the Balakot strike, India has now established a precedent for response to any new terrorist attack engineered by Pakistan.' 'This will stay irrespective of who wins the coming elections,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

'The Balakot mission was an act of political signaling that India is willing to raise the price that the Pakistani State has to pay in order to support terrorism.'

'It is purely based on real-time hard intelligence.' 'Timing is important. When you are attacking at 3.30 am, then everybody will be in the academy of terrorists.' 'If you attack at 10 am then someone will be out, so timing is very important.' 'Therefore, 3.30 am is the time when every terrorist is sleeping.'

'Whichever way you look at it, it is a blow to the JeM and to the Pakistani army in general; the attack has taken place in mainland Pakistan and not in PoK.'

'If the other side knows you are coming, then you are the guy who is going to be dead.'

'The Pakistani military has encouraged and supported terrorist organisations, especially in Kashmir, as a means of waging proxy war against the Indian military and the country's superior economic resources.' 'The evidence is irrefutable with the recent killing of 46 paramilitary troops being just the latest example.'

Indians must remember that Pakistanis hate losing to India, at war or in cricket, says Sanjeev Nayyar.

Marriage should not stop us from having close friends of the opposite gender, says rediffGURU Shalini Singh.

rediffGURU Aruna Agarwal offers parenting advice.

>Whether it is a close friend, family member or an unavoidable situation in general, the involvement of a third person in a relationship will inevitably lead to conflict, observes rediffGURU Ravi Mittal.

Instead of looking at your personal and professional life as two separate entities, you can 'integrate' them and, at any given time, priortise what's important, suggests rediffGURU Anu Krishna.

'Any dietary approach is incomplete without physical exercise.' 'Application of calorie restriction/intermittent fasting alone would lead to a decrease in muscle mass, and possibly bone mass too.'

Communication is the secret ingredient of a healthy green flag relationship, says rediffGURU Ravi Mittal.

When you watch TV or browse through your phone while in bed, you're teaching your brain that's how people should spend their nights, says Clinical Psychologist Mehezabin Dordi.

Success and failure are two sides of the same coin, says rediffGURU and Mental Health Expert Anu Krishna. Remind yourself that the feeling of anxiety, disappointment and anger is not permanent.

'I want to show that we are also part of this society and want to participate just as much, whether it is for security or whatever community work there.'

'It makes no sense at all to leave because I have my whole family with me.' 'My wife and children are citizens here.'

'We feel betrayed by the West.'

'The wise men learn lessons in war.' 'The smart men learn lessons from others, it's only the foolish who learn the wrong lesson.'

'India enjoys the maneuverability of a coming big power.' 'It is this possibility that has persuaded Moscow to humour India and stayed Washington from getting punitive about India's neutrality on the Ukraine issue.'

'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'

'Transformation of Ukraine into some kind of permanent strategic challenger, which Russia would have to contain and deter, spend a significant part of political and strategic resources on it.'

'Russia is aiming at demoralising Ukraine as a nation.' 'They want to bomb the infrastructure, the electric stations so that regular citizens will not to be able to live, to cook, to give comfort to their kids.'

Serve them as a teatime or cocktail snack or a yummy side to a special meal.

This one is made with banana and walnuts!

It's time to bake a lovely apple pie.

Paneer lovers, here is a tasty addition to your weekend menu.

Prepare a batch of Lemon Iced Tea. Keep sipping it through the day. Add a tot of liquor to convert to a cocktail.

An easy, simple breakfast or brunch, that goes well with toast.

Whip up this light Ugadi meal without much ado.

The zestful, satisfying mixed vegetable Italian soup makes for a special meal.

Serve them as a teatime or cocktail snack or a yummy side to a special meal.

This one is made with banana and walnuts!

It's time to bake a lovely apple pie.

Paneer lovers, here is a tasty addition to your weekend menu.

Prepare a batch of Lemon Iced Tea. Keep sipping it through the day. Add a tot of liquor to convert to a cocktail.

An easy, simple breakfast or brunch, that goes well with toast.

Whip up this light Ugadi meal without much ado.

The zestful, satisfying mixed vegetable Italian soup makes for a special meal.

We present to you a series on some of Hindi cinema's most powerful stars, chronicled by veteran film critic Dinesh Raheja. Here's one of the most sensitive actresses we have known, Nutan:

And what a swansong. A subtle classic in which Nutan displays an extrordinary ability to illuminate inner conflict; and Roy's richly textured black and white images talk as eloquently as the dialogue.

Seema brings onscreen a drama so agonisingly human in its depiction of an orphan girl on the seema (borderline) between hope and delinquency, life and death, morality and immorality.

They call each other names, they fight, they want the same house. A trip down memory lane in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne.

At the close of the 1960s, in an era when colour was a strong currency at the box-office, the black-and-white Saraswatichandra defied convention with aplomb.

Bimal Roy's middle-of-the-road Sujata is a film with a message but it is not a dire dirge. It weaves its plea for disregarding caste differences into a song-and-romance tapestry.

Here's looking at Lataji's priceless 2013 calendar.

Nutan was the kind of woman Shammi got drawn to -- sensitive, aware and erudite, yet seductively feminine.

T N Seshan. The very name used to trigger fear in the minds of politicians and journalists alike till recently. He used to bark at politicians and tease journalists, but he is a changed man now, a \"mother cow\" as he himself said at a press conference not so long ago.

An exclusive interview with T N Seshan.