Ulajh strikes you as an attempt at statement-making gone horribly wrong, a punchline that doesn't land, a roar that never reaches the ear, observes Sreehari Nair.

The City of Bikes is like no other.

Audrey Crasto's Guava Cheese and Rose Cookies make Christmas a treat!

December 2022 could be the last Christmas for Santha Bakery, a business drawing its lineage from the first Christmas cake baked in Kerala.

The chief minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.

In Indranee Ghosh's latest book you will discover some untold secrets about the hill station in the north east of India.

The ones who came more recently were clutching the green cards that gave them an escape hatch through which to return to green pastures: Arvind Panagariya, Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian and other perfectly honourable gentlemen like them, points out T N Ninan.

The bakery was made famous by scenes from Sex and the City.

'A trip to the banks of the Hooghly without which there wouldn't be a Calcutta/Kolkata is one for the bucket list,' says Kishore Singh.

Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.

The portfolios were cleared by Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the exercise had turned out to be tricky for the party state leaders.

Will Priyanka start a family? Or does she have some career aces up her sleeve? Longtime Rediff.com contributor Aseem Chhabra, author of

Sources said while the Janata Dal-Secular will have nine new ministers, the Congress will have nearly 12 of its legislators inducted into the cabinet. Lone Bahujan Samaj Party MLA N Mahesh will also be a part of the cabinet expansion and will be given a key portfolio.

The Congress has conceded the plum Finance portfolio to its junior partner, resolving a thorny issue, after its president Rahul Gandhi intervened and spoke to Kumaraswamy.

Growing trees means much more than strewing seeds around; it takes an understanding of local climatic conditions, indigenous strains and partnership with local communities.

Gone are the days of over-the-top Diwali parties, says Kishore Singh. This year round, the taxman is the invisible -- and unwanted -- guest at these once extravagant affairs.

She quit her career in financial services to pursue her passion for writing.

'Happiness is a small word to describe my feelings at the moment.' The Pawars, exuberant after Sunny's success, meet the Thackerays.

Perhaps India needs to implement these for Achhe Din to happen.

With the help of technology and a billion citizens, two engineering students are on a mission to make India clean.

Mumbai-based CA Prince Tiwari is educating and empowering the underprivileged since 2011. This is his heart-warming story.

What is Christmas without some traditional food?

These 10 images show that it's an odd world out there.

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:

Parekh ensures that he never forgets the importance of correctness.

Mumbai visarjans take place with military precision. Thousands and thousands of Ganpatis are immersed across 11 days with hardly an incident. And minimum traffic disruption given the scale of the festival. Meet the the folks who ensure visarjans happen smoothly and efficiently.

In 2013 the sector was the worst affected as it saw a flurry of retrenchments. Now, with finance minister Arun Jaitley proposing National Institute of Animation for supporting gaming and animation industry, will the industry look up?

Amit Shah is the man of the moment. The architect of the BJP's stunning transformation in the Hindi heartland during the Lok Sabha elections is all set to emerge as the CEO of Modi's political dreams and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's cultural passion, says Sheela Bhatt.

He quit a lucrative investment banking job in Hong Kong for the love of his country. Now, after acing one of India's most competitive exams, Jaipur boy Gaurav Agrawal is all set to serve his motherland.

Nilekani faces an uphill task in his bid to counter the massive anti-Congress wave, but that doesn't mean it will be a cake walk for BJP's Anath Kumar. Vicky Nanjappa discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of Nilekani, and also lists BJP's woes.

While even the Opposition doesn't believe that Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is personally involved in the solar scam, the Congress leaders reputation has been tainted. And while he tells Indulekha Aravind that it is only a conspiracy, it may have a bearing on the coming general elections

Intensifying attack on Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal over bribery charge against his nephew, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded that the Congress leader be quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation to "unravel the conspiracy" in the case and a probe launched into alleged investments by him and his family.

Commerce came before politics for an East London Jew who started out when he was just 21 with a stall in the Well Street Market in Hackney.

As multilateral negotiations have paused, multi-national corporates have increasingly become aggressive; and our bureaucrats restless.

Avengers is expected to end its run at $1.5 billion but Dark Knight Rises may not be too far behind.

Author Salman Rushdie and director Deepa Mehta discuss the film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Rediff reader and a communications professional with a telecom company, Manisha Singh visited Manali with her girl friends recently and discovered a charming little cafe. Read on to find out more:

From this point it really doesn't matter whether Sheila Dixit or Suresh Kalmadi retain their jobs or M S Gill and Jaipal Reddy must also bear equal responsibility. The damage has been done, says M K Bhadrakumar.

Twenty nine-year-old Suresh Paryani, who operates India's first executive assistant service, believes that there is a growing need for someone to be at your beck and call.

Teenager Dan Gosling scored deep into extra time to give Everton a 1-0 win over city rivals Liverpool in their FA Cup fourth-round replay on Wednesday.