Mumbai, Sep 1 – Preparations for Dahi Handi – a popular sport associated with Janmashtami in and around Mumbai – are on a high this year, with several places offering a whopping prize money of Rs.25 lakh ($53,000), a far cry from last year’s lacklustre celebrations on account of swine flu. Special festivities for children [...]
Agra/Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 1 – Perhaps the Yamuna was in spate just like this centuries ago when Lord Krishna was born. As the flooded river meanders its way through the land of the cowherd god, hordes of curious people have converged on the ghats in Vrindavan, Mathura and Agra, creating a colourful setting for [...]
Mumbai, Aug 31 – Pens that don’t just write the story but tell it too… a Japan-based company has introduced in India a new series of limited edition fountain pens portraying ancient literature and the mysteries of the Maya civilisation. The Sailor Pen Co has brought in the Chugu and Maya series, the former based [...]
New Delhi, Aug 29 – Ragas gave a healing touch at the Chinmaya Mission auditorium here when renowned classical singer Shubha Mudgal rendered verses of Kabir at a fundraiser for cancer patients. Talented musicians Sudhir Nayak and Aneesh Pradhan accompanied Mudgal on the harmonium and tabla, leaving the audience asking for more till the end [...]
Lucknow, Aug 28 – Three men involved in the manufacturing and supply of fake currency notes to various states in the country were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur district, police said Saturday. The three men, in the age group of 30-35, were arrested Friday evening from a hideout in the Kurebhar area, some 150 km [...]
Thrissur (Kerala), Aug 27 – Over 600 dancers painted like tigers and 300 percussionists took to the main thoroughfare of this sylvan Kerala town to perform the ancient Pulikali or the tiger dance as part of the Onam festivities. More than 20,000 people Thursday lined the streets of this town, around 300 km from the [...]
New Delhi, Aug 27 – The musical instrument santoor largely remained in the precincts of Jammu and Kashmir until instrumentalist Shiv Kumar Sharma gave his first public performance in 1955. And 55 years thereafter, he is proud that even soaps and restaurants are named after the instrument. ‘If I trace the development and popularity of [...]
New Delhi, Aug 26 – From lifestyle to business, summit catastrophes to gay love, the book case this weekend is a study in contrasts. 1. Book: ‘Broom Groom’; Written by Kiran Bedi and Pavan Choudary; Published Wisdom Village (WVPD); Priced at Rs.195 The book is a civic sense and lifestyle manual for a nation on [...]
New Delhi, Aug 26 – Raghav Bahl’s ‘Super Power?’ topped the non-fiction section in the bestseller list this week while ‘Secrets and Sins’ by Jaishree Misra climbed several notches to the number one spot in the fiction category. The top 10 in each section are: Non-fiction 1. ‘Super Power?’ Author: Raghav Bahl Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane [...]
New Delhi, Aug 24 – The setting was perfect. As the rains drenched Delhi, culture enthusiasts soaked in the essence of the monsoon through dance and music at the Malhaar Festival here. The two-day festival that began Monday evening is being organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The fest opened at Azad [...]
New Delhi, Aug 23 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday greeted the country on the eve of Raksha Bandhan, asking the people to make renewed efforts to ensure women’s dignity and promote peace in society. Rakhi symbolizes affection and reinforces family bonds, the prime minister said in his greetings a day before the Hindu festival [...]
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 23 – Women wearing white and gold saris and men in spotless ‘mundus’ (dhotis) thronged temples across Kerala early Monday and beautiful ‘pookalams’ (floral designs) adorned homes but the 24-course ‘sadhya’ feast was clearly the highlight of Kerala’s Onam celebrations. While Onam is a weeklong festival in Kerala marked by cultural shows, shopping [...]
Patna, Aug 23 – They have a tough electoral contest ahead, but Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his rivals Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan are also jostling for supremacy in Bihar’s rakhi markets. A day ahead of the festival, rakhis named after the three were doing brisk business Monday with reports that Nitish Kumar [...]
Ahmedabad, Aug 23 – Next time you are fearful of running the near mortal gauntlet of city traffic, remember Vidyadhar Date is rooting for you. In a country where road accidents kill over 100,000 people every year, the rights of the pedestrians have been routinely run over. As Indian cities increasingly become intensely automobile-centric urbanscape, [...]
New Delhi, Aug 22 – President Pratibha Patil Sunday sent greetings of ‘prosperity and happiness’ to the nation on the occasion of Onam – Kerala’s harvest festival. ‘On the joyous occasion of Onam, I offer my heartiest greetings to all my fellow citizens and especially to the people of Kerala and wish them all prosperity [...]
New Delhi, Aug 20 – Her face crinkles into a smile that draws a fine mesh of crow-feet in the leathery folds of her skin. At 97, Homai Vyarawalla, India’s first and oldest photojournalist, is still as spirited as she was in the 1920s when she shot glimpses of Mumbai life with her box camera [...]
Mumbai, Aug 19 – Bangalore-based digital publisher EC Media International Thursday launched its multi-function e-book reader Wink that not only supports 15 languages but will also offer over 200,000 book titles on debut. Wink will offer consumers a one-stop e-store to access e-reading content of choice via www.thewinkstore.com that would enable access not just to [...]
New Delhi, Aug 18 – Sixteen historical monuments in the country are being conserved by the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanasamy said that more PSUs have expressed their willingness to conserve monuments and places of historical [...]
New Delhi, Aug 18 – The Indian government Wednesday said it was not contemplating to bring the fabled Kohinoor diamond from Britain and the Peacock Throne from Iran. There have been several demands in the recent past for the return of the diamond, which was mined in the Deccan and is now part of the [...]
Thane (Maharashtra), Aug 16 – One of eminent Marathi poets who was honoured with Padma Shri Narayan Surve passed away in Thane Monday after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 83. A self-made man, Surve was orphaned soon after his birth. He lived on the streets of Mumbai and earned his daily bread [...]
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