‘Sanjay Gandhi was made of sterner stuff’
By Karan Thapar I cant claim that I was close to the entire Gandhi family, but there was a time when Sanjay, Indira Gandhis younger son, was a good friend. In fact, he even tried…
Culture
Odisha CM urges Centre to tackle waterlogging at temple
Bhubaneswar, July 16 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday requested Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma to take immediate steps to prevent waterlogging at the world famous Sun Temple at Konark. In a letter,…
Entries invited for international translators’ prize in Bengali
New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Entries are now open for the Harvill Secker Young Translators Prize, with Bengali being the chosen language for the ninth edition of the annual prize. The entrants are required to…
Evocative artworks on display at Jor Bagh metro station
New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Through evocative art works, poetry and prose, an ongoing exhibition at the Jor Bagh metro station decodes and amplifies actions that slowly tear and restructure the fabric of our cities….
How we went wrong in understanding ecology – and what to do (Book Review)
By Vikas Datta Title: Being Ecological; Author: Timothy Morton; Publisher: Pelican/Penguin Random House UK; Pages: 240; Price: Rs 399 Global warming is a reality and many throughout the world acknowledge it, but then, there are…
Sculptor seeks cooperation of Centre, Odisha for new temple
Bhubaneswar, July 15 (IANS) Eminent sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, who has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, on Sunday sought the cooperation of the central and Odisha governments for his dream project of constructing a second…
Emerging Hindustani classical music artistes put on mesmerising recital
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) With soulful vocal and santoor recitals, Hindustani classicalists Mahalaxmi Shenoy and Raj Kumar Majumdar created a vibrant yet mesmerising ambience at the 10th Quarterly Baithak of Chandigarh-based educational institution Pracheen…
Make teaching of mother-tongue compulsory in school: Naidu
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Lauding language as an embodiment of morals, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday appealed all state governments to include teaching of mother tongue as a mandatory subject in school….
Photo festival brings transgender voices to commoners
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Dubbed as an initiative that seeks to bring powerful art to the people and go beyond the “art-literate circles”, a photography festival “opens minds about the transgender community” within India…
Once a poetic experience, sex has now become an unfulfilling encounter: Writer Seema Anand
By Saket Suman New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) She is an acknowledged authority on the Kama Sutra, and her recent book, “The Arts of Seduction”, is billed as a guide to having great sex in…
The original modern ‘Action Girl’: Modesty Blaise and her capers
By Vikas Datta With there now being an abundance of formidable female characters, each as “badass” as their male counterparts, it may be difficult to believe that the “realistic” action genre of popular literature was…
Lakhs turn up for Rath Yatra celebrations in West Bengal
Kolkata, July 14 (IANS) Thousands of devotees chanting “Jai Jagannath” and “Hare Krishna” pulled the ropes, as West Bengal celebrated the Chariot Festival or Ratha Yatra, Lord Jagannath’s annual visit to his aunt’s house, with…
China’s new world heritage site limits visitors
Beijing, July 14 (IANS) Mount Fanjingshan, China’s latest entry on the Unesco World Heritage List, has been asked to limit visitors in an effort to protect the site. According to a plan by the Guizhou…
Archives of south Asian oral history housed in India
New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Hundreds of rare ethnographic sound recordings, including parables, songs, hymns, instrumental music, and poems, made their way to India as part of a collaborative project between British Library and Archives…
President nominates 4 to Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday nominated four eminent people, including noted classical dancer Sonal Mansingh and sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, to the Rajya Sabha. The nominations which came four days…
Decorated top cop pens cat-and-mouse tale of nabbing Bihar’s dreaded outlaw
By Saket Suman New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) If Nitish Kumar’s rise as the Chief Minister of Bihar in November 2005 is seen as the onset of what he calls “sushasan” or good governance, then…
Another Viennese psychologist’s contribution to human understanding – and happiness (Book Review)
By Vikas Datta Title: The Courage To Be Disliked; Author: Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga; Publisher: Allen & Unwin; Pages: 288; Price: Rs 499 The few irredeemable misanthropes apart, every human being has a unique…
Money, revenge prompted Hicky to rail against graft: Author
Kolkata, July 14 (IANS) Money and revenge was the primary motivation for the anti-corruption crusade of James Augustus Hicky, who launched the first printed newspaper in India in the late 18th century, according to a…
Video content on Juggernaut books to feature on SHAREit
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Publisher Juggernaut Books on Friday announced its partnership with content platform SHAREit, enabling its Indian users to access English and Hindi video summaries of its books. “SHAREit and Juggernaut will…
‘Real-time issue of deforestation demands immediate solution’
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) One doesn’t have to be an activist or an environmentalist to make a difference about deforestation, “The Trees Told Me So” author and journalist Purva Grover said during an “adda…