Superstar Rajinikanth, founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and media baron Ramoji Rao have been chosen for Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award, this year. Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan, former DRDO chief V K Aatre, cancer specialist and chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V Shanta and eminent Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi and classical vocalist […]

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar said that singing the national anthem in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium before the 2011 World Cup final is the “proudest feeling” he has ever had in his life. “But it (singing of national anthem) goes to a different level altogether, when you are playing against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup (in Centurion), standing inside the stadium, in the middle of the group, with 60,000 […]

Filmmaker Karan Johar’s controversial remarks on intolerance on Friday kicked up a storm with the Congress hitting out against the Modi government accusing it of stifling freedom of expression and BJP dismissing the criticism saying India is the most tolerant country.   Wading into the intolerance debate, Johar said, “The talk about freedom of expression is the biggest joke I believe in the world. Democracy is the second biggest joke […]

It was a horrific site in Puri as carcasses of hundreds of Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore on Wednesday. The news has set off alarm bells among conservationists, more so because they fall under the endangered category.  Thousands of marine turtles swim towards the Odisha coast for nesting every winter. Illegal trawlers and fishing nets, however, act as a death trap for them in the seas despite a ban […]

Ahead of Republic Day and the release of his upcoming film Airlift, actor Akshay Kumar has paid a beautiful tribute to the many unsung heroes of India. In a video released by YouTube channel Being Indian, Akshay urges his compatriots to be more than just “armchair patriots” and “step out and do more and truly prove what it means to be an Indian.” “Saare jahan se accha, Bharat desh hamara,” […]

Rajasthan is a majestic place. Its rich cultural heritage always mesmerises us and we long to go back to breathe in its breathtaking scenes. Its vibrancy is enough to make us space-travel to the royal land no matter where we live. And these new Rajasthan tourism ads are only making the travel itch run deeper. Introduced by Tourism Department of Rajasthan, each ad is seen through a traveller’s eyes. The […]

India’s champion para-swimmer Bharat Kumar is a gold medalist in World Games, a silver medalist in the World Championship for India. Kumar’s story once again highlights the authorities’ apathy towards sports persons, other than cricketers. He is studying in Hansraj College of Delhi University. But these days he has been forced to wash cars of others to earn a livelihood. Despite bringing such laurels to the nation he is still […]

“One of the greatest folk dance and music genres to grace the nation has been ever youthful- Dappangkuthu”- This is how the video begins with peppy music. Here’s a fun seven-minute video on the popular folk dance and music genre Dappangkuthu by YouTube channel Put Chutney. Pianist Anil Srinivasan could be seen in the video referring Dappangkuthu as “the original lungi dance.” It talks about four styles of Dappangkuthu- Ammuki […]

Pakistan’s long forgotten Hindu temples.  After India gained independence, a large chunk of Hindus and Sikhs migrated from Pakistan to India. Similarly, nearly an equal number of Muslims left India to live in Pakistan. Today, only 26 out of Pakistan’s 428 Hindu temples exist. There are many examples of such ancient architecture; silent testimonies of our heritage, narrating tales of our past and stories of our land. Unfortunately, these exponents […]

DAVID BOWIE IS DEAD AND HE WON’T BE FALLING BACK TO EARTH. ROCK HAS LOST ONE OF ITS GUIDING LIGHTS AND AS THE WORLD MOURNS THE THIN WHITE DUKE, WE CELEBRATE THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE HE LIVED THROUGH HIS MUSIC. SPACE ODDITY, HEROES AND CHINA GIRL ARE SOME OF HIS GREATEST HITS The stars look very different today. David Bowie is dead and he won’t be falling back to earth. Rock […]