We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.

Under Kohli, playing cricket will now be about winning, not avoiding defeat. India will not just be liked or admired -- it will be respected and feared. A country whose stars were labeled 'talented' or 'elegant' or 'inconsistent' now finds itself with a captain who is professional, tough, and combative, the embodiment of athleticism, aggression, and ambition. A fascinating glimpse from Pride, Prejudice And Punditry: The Essential Shashi Tharoor.

Ayew strikes as Palace hold Southampton to 2-2 draw

Continuing with the same behaviour while things around you change is a sure recipe for failure. Successful leaders will demonstrate agility and adaptability.

The Chinese side hopes that the next US administration will return to a sensible approach, resume dialogue with China, restore normalcy to the bilateral relations and restart cooperation, Wang, who is also a state councillor, told the state-run Xinhua news agency in an interview.

'I don't look forward to seeing my films because this only sort of gives me a deep sense of dissatisfaction that I could have done better, and I lose my self-confidence.'

'It's a performance that puts the Bachchan hysteria to shame,' observes Sreehari Nair.

'Our preparation is based on ICMR projections, whatever preparations we have to make.' 'If they project around 70,000 is the maximum number of hospital cases by mid-May or May 30, we are preparing accordingly -- how many people will need hospitalisation.'

'At the same time, if we are a little careless, we will run into trouble. No doubt about that.'

'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.

'When corporates have a stake in the government through contributions to political parties, democracy, which is supposed to work for the common man, doesn't.'

'When corporates have a stake in the government through contributions to political parties, democracy, which is supposed to work for the common man, doesn't.'

'I just go out there and do my thing; try to express myself. I'm glad people enjoy it,' Rishabh Pant tells Dhruv Munjal.

'If we play our cards right, we may even benefit from the competition between the US and China as seen from increased investment from each of these countries into India.' 'The size of our market gives us an important lever of power which we shall have to play adroitly and intelligently,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's envoy to China -- in the Professor V M Dandekar Memorial Lecture 2019, delivered on March 8, 2019 in Pune.

What impressed me right up front was the patience he showed towards a rookie reporter.

'The Reserve Bank's independence has remained a work in progress, an enduring challenge that the nation has been grappling with on an ongoing basis,' says RBI Deputy Governor Dr Viral Acharya.

'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'

Dig deep, share the load, and share credit. That's what teamwork is about!

With his versatile talents, Hardik Pandya is the kind of unique cricketer the Indian team has always wanted, writes Dhruv Munjal

Godrej and Big Bazaar have stood out in the consumer goods and service spaces by acing the challenge of aligning innovation with outcome.

'At an altitude of 5,000 metres, the levels of oxygen in the blood of a healthy soldier would be similar to that of a patient with a severe lung disorder at sea level.' 'While such patients are admitted to ICUs, confined to bed and treated with continuous oxygen therapy, the soldier at 5,000 metres with similar levels of oxygen in his blood performs intense physical activity and fights the enemy!' BharatShakti.in founder Nitin Gokhale reveals the ordeals that await soldiers when they are posted to the Siachen glacier.

'How does one get to weaken all those pillars on which the Deep State of Pakistan and the Separatists rely to prevent the situation reaching that point; how must this stage of the proxy war be countered? In many ways the strategy being followed by the adversaries is a smart one, acting within threshold and avoiding overpitch,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).

A special episode of the Prime Minister's radio broadcast Mann ki Baat featuring US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aired on Tuesday night. The 35-minute special broadcast of 'Mann Ki Baat', which marked the rapport between Modi and Obama, touched on issues ranging from public health and personal inspirations of the two leaders, both of whom have come up from simple beginnings to assume to top positions of the respective countries. What follows is a transcript of the Mann ki Baat episode.

In his penultimate State of the Union address, Barack Obama said that the economy is improving.

'We must begin dialogue with openness and goodwill, but we will not proceed very far without trust and good faith. The alternative is the violence of 'might is right,' which settles very little and destroys so much of real value,' says Dr Rudolf C Heredia, author of Religious Disarmament -- Rethinking Conversion in India.

That the political philosophy of Anna Hazare closely resonates with the overall anti-democratic Hindutva ethos owes, in part, to the Brahminical worldview that they share, says Yogi Sikand

Full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's opening remarks at the interaction with newspaper editors.

The 'always on' multi-tasking approach to work reduces efficiency levels - a new study suggests ways around it.

I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me, mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history, and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad.

A consummate Russian diplomat, Vyacheslav Trubnikov is returning home this week after having served as serving as Russia's ambassador to India for nearly five years. The period has seen several highs and lows in the bilateral relationship, including the building of the first civil nuclear power plants by Russia and nagging problems over defence spares and equipment. Edited excerpts from an interview with Jyoti Malhotra

If your business has hit a wall, we've got the answer to break through and increase sales and earnings.

President Pratibha Patil has asked Indian Institutes of Technology to address the problems of rural areas by producing cutting-edge solutions for them.

It was one of the most tantalising days in Indian Parliament. Parties debated for and against the nuclear deal. MPs crossed swords, armed with allegations and statistics. As the nation kept glued to the happenings, rediff.com's Prem Panicker gave its readers a blow-by-blow account of what happened. Here is the transcript:

Beliefs such as "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," says Prof Manimala, are "heuristics," rules of thumb that people use to make decisions in situations where many alternative courses of action exist and information is unclear or conflicting.

Success leads to the damaging behaviors of a lack of urgency, a proud and protective attitude, and entitlement thinking.

Russell Smith, chairman, SDD Global Solutions, explains what makes India such a hot legal outsourcing destination.

PM's Independence Day speech to nation

Being a restaurateur is a sexy idea--until you realise how hard starting a restaurant really is

We are programmed to get our money decisions wrong. But we can still win

'Rahul Dravid let us down both in the batting front and captaincy.'