Portal:India
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Introduction
India, officially the Republic of India (ISO: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country as of June 2023; and from the time of its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. (Full article...)
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Western Chalukya architecture (Kannada: ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪ), also known as Kalyani Chalukya or Later Chalukya architecture and broadly classified under the Vesara Style, is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire in the Tungabhadra region of modern central Karnataka, India, during the 11th and 12th centuries. Western Chalukyan political influence was at its peak in the Deccan Plateau during this period. The centre of cultural and temple-building activity lay in the Tungabhadra region, where large medieval workshops built numerous monuments. These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing dravida (South Indian) temples, form a climax to the wider regional temple architecture tradition called Vesara or Karnata dravida. Temples of all sizes built by the Chalukyan architects during this era remain today as examples of the architectural style.
Most notable of the many buildings dating from this period are the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in the Koppal district, the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi in the Gadag district, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti in the Bellary district and the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali in the Davangere district. Other monuments notable for their craftsmanship include the Kaitabheshvara Temple in Kubatur and Kedareshvara Temple in Balligavi, both in the Shimoga district, the Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri in the Haveri district, the Amrtesvara Temple at Annigeri in the Dharwad district, the Sarasvati Temple in Gadag, and the Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal, both in the Gadag district. (Full article...) - Image 2
Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC, DL (21 June 1887 – 17 December 1965) was a British politician, diplomat and general in the British Indian Army who was the first Secretary General of NATO. He also was Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War.
Ismay was born in Nainital, India, in 1887, and educated in the United Kingdom at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Sandhurst, he joined the Indian Army as an officer of the 21st Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry. During the First World War, he served with the Camel Corps in British Somaliland, where he joined in the British fight against the "Mad Mullah", Mohammed Abdullah Hassan. In 1925, Ismay became an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID). After being promoted to the rank of colonel, he served as the military secretary for Lord Willingdon, the Viceroy of India, then returned to the CID as Deputy Secretary in 1936. (Full article...) - Image 3
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (17 January 1933 – 12 May 2003) was a French-born statesman and activist who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1977, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond Europe and prepared it for an explosion of complex refugee issues. He was also a proponent of greater collaboration between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. The Prince's interest in ecological issues led him to establish the Bellerive Foundation in the late 1970s, and he was a knowledgeable and respected collector of Islamic art.
Born in Paris, France, he was the son of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan and Princess Andrée Aga Khan. He married twice, but had no children of his own. Prince Sadruddin died of cancer at the age of 70, and was buried in Switzerland. (Full article...) - Image 4
Hrithik Roshan (pronounced [ɾɪt̪ɪk ɾoʃən]; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six Filmfare Awards, of which four were for Best Actor. Starting from 2012, he has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 several times based on his income and popularity.
Roshan has frequently collaborated with his father, Rakesh Roshan. He made brief appearances as a child actor in several films in the 1980s and later worked as an assistant director on four of his father's films. His first leading role was in the box-office success Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), for which he received several awards. Performances in the 2000 terrorism drama Fiza and the 2001 ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... consolidated his reputation but were followed by several poorly received films. (Full article...) - Image 5
Kalki Koechlin (/ˈkʌlki kɛˈklæ̃/ ⓘ; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awards. Although a French citizen, she has been raised and lived most of her life in India.
Born in Pondicherry, India, Koechlin was drawn to theatre from a young age. She studied drama at Goldsmiths, University of London, and worked simultaneously with a local theatre company. After returning to India, she made her Hindi film debut as Chanda in the black comedy-drama Dev.D (2009), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. Subsequently, she starred in two of the highest-grossing Hindi films of their respective release years, the romantic comedy-dramas Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), both of which garnered her nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Koechlin expanded her career into screenwriting with the crime thriller That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011), in which she also played the lead role. (Full article...) - Image 6The 44th Chess Olympiad was an international team chess event organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Chennai, India, from 28 July to 10 August 2022. It consisted of Open and Women's tournaments, as well as several events to promote chess. The Olympiad was initially supposed to take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, the host of the Chess World Cup 2019, in August 2020, but it was later moved to Moscow. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then relocated to Chennai following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in India.
The total number of participants was 1,737: 937 in the Open and 800 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 188 from 186 nations in the Open section and 162 from 160 nations in the Women's section; being the host nation, India had three teams participating in each section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, while the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Chief Arbiter of the event was France's Laurent Freyd. (Full article...) - Image 7
Tripura (/ˈtrɪpʊrə, -ərə/) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491 km2 (4,051 sq mi); and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 3.67 million. It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east and by Bangladesh to the north, south and west. Tripura is divided into 8 districts and 23 sub-divisions, where Agartala is the capital and the largest city in the state. Tripura has 19 different tribal communities with a majority Bengali population. Bengali, English and Kokborok are the state's official languages.
The area of modern Tripura — ruled for several centuries by the Manikya Dynasty — was part of the Tripuri Kingdom (also known as Hill Tippera). It became a princely state under the British Raj during its tenure, and acceded to independent India in 1947. It merged with India in 1949 and was designated as a 'Part C State' (union territory). It became a full-fledged state of India in 1972. (Full article...) - Image 8
Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire (1025–1343) in what is now southern India. The empire was established by Nripa Kama II, came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana (1108–1152), and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji dynasty invaders in 1311.
Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths, and to a lesser extent that of the Vaishnava faith. The earliest well-known brahmin writers in Kannada were from the Hoysala court. While most of the courtly textual production was in Kannada, an important corpus of monastic Vaishnava literature relating to Dvaita (dualistic) philosophy was written by the renowned philosopher Madhvacharya in Sanskrit. (Full article...) - Image 9Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD FRS FBA FSA (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales and London Museum, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, and the founder and Honorary Director of the Institute of Archaeology in London, in addition to writing twenty-four books on archaeological subjects.
Born in Glasgow to a middle-class family, Wheeler was raised largely in Yorkshire before moving to London in his teenage years. After studying classics at University College London (UCL), he began working professionally in archaeology, specialising in the Romano-British period. During World War I he volunteered for service in the Royal Artillery, being stationed on the Western Front, where he rose to the rank of major and was awarded the Military Cross. Returning to Britain, he obtained his doctorate from UCL before taking on a position at the National Museum of Wales, first as Keeper of Archaeology and then as Director, during which time he oversaw excavation at the Roman forts of Segontium, Y Gaer, and Isca Augusta with the aid of his first wife, Tessa Wheeler. Influenced by the archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers, Wheeler argued that excavation and the recording of stratigraphic context required an increasingly scientific and methodical approach, developing the "Wheeler method". In 1926, he was appointed Keeper of the London Museum; there, he oversaw a reorganisation of the collection, successfully lobbied for increased funding, and began lecturing at UCL. (Full article...) - Image 10Anbe Sivam (transl. Love Is God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language slice-of-life drama film directed by Sundar C. and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. Anbe Sivam stars Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod, with Nassar, Santhana Bharathi, Seema and Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. The film tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai.
Produced on a budget of ₹120 million, Anbe Sivam takes on themes such as communism, atheism, and altruism and depicts Haasan's humanist views. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. Arthur A. Wilson served as the cinematographer and M. Prabhaharan served as the art director. (Full article...) - Image 11
Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (modern Odisha and Northern Andhra Pradesh). The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India, a geo-political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE, initially ruling from Kolar and later, moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district.
After the rise of the imperial Chalukyas of Badami, the Gangas accepted Chalukya overlordship and fought for the cause of their overlords against the Pallavas of Kanchi. The Chalukyas were replaced by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta in 753 CE as the dominant power in the Deccan. After a century of struggle for autonomy, the Western Gangas finally accepted Rashtrakuta overlordship and successfully fought alongside them against their foes, the Chola Dynasty of Tanjavur. In the late 10th century, north of Tungabhadra river, the Rashtrakutas were replaced by the emerging Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola Dynasty saw renewed power south of the Kaveri river. The defeat of the Western Gangas by Cholas around 1000 resulted in the end of the Ganga influence over the region. (Full article...) - Image 12Phoolan Devi (10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly known as the Bandit Queen, was an Indian dacoit (bandit) who became a politician, serving as a member of parliament until her assassination. She was a woman of the Mallah subcaste who grew up in poverty in a village in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where her family was on the losing side of a land dispute which caused them many problems. After being married off at the age of eleven and being sexually abused by various people, she joined a gang of dacoits. Her gang robbed higher-caste villages and held up trains and vehicles. When she punished her rapists and evaded capture by the authorities, she became a heroine to the Other Backward Classes who saw her as a Robin Hood figure. Phoolan Devi was charged in absentia for the 1981 Behmai massacre, in which twenty Thakur men were executed, allegedly on her command. After this event, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh resigned, and calls to apprehend her were amplified. She surrendered two years later in a carefully negotiated settlement and spent eleven years in Gwalior prison, awaiting trial.
Phoolan Devi was released in 1994 after her charges were set aside; she subsequently became a politician and was elected as a member of parliament for the Samajwadi Party in 1996. She lost her seat in 1998 and then regained it the following year; she was the incumbent at the time of her death in 2001. She was assassinated outside her house by Sher Singh Rana, who was convicted for the murder in 2014. At the time of her death, she was still fighting against the reinstituted criminal charges, having lost a 1996 appeal to the Supreme Court to have the charges dropped. Phoolan Devi's worldwide fame grew after the release of the controversial 1994 film Bandit Queen, which told her life story in a way she did not approve of. Her life has also inspired several biographies and her dictated autobiography was entitled I, Phoolan Devi. There are varying accounts of her life because she told differing versions to suit her changing circumstances. (Full article...) - Image 13
Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father's efforts to launch her in the film industry. She was discovered at age 14 by the filmmaker Raj Kapoor, who cast her in the title role of his teen romance Bobby (1973), which opened to major commercial success and gained her wide public recognition. Shortly before the film's release in 1973, she married the actor Rajesh Khanna and quit acting. Their daughters, Twinkle and Rinke Khanna, both briefly worked as actresses in their youth. Kapadia returned to films in 1984, two years after her separation from Khanna. Her comeback film Saagar, which was released a year later, revived her career. Both Bobby and Saagar won her Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. Through her work over the next decade, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses.
While her initial roles often relied on her perceived beauty and sex appeal, Kapadia was keen to challenge herself and expand her range. She was among the first actresses who starred in women-centred Hindi action films but found greater favour with critics when she took on more dramatic roles in both mainstream and neorealist parallel cinema. Appearing in films ranging from marital dramas to literary adaptations, she played troubled women sometimes deemed reflective of her personal experience, and received acclaim for her performances in Kaash (1987), Drishti (1990), Lekin... (1991), and Rudaali (1993). For her role as a professional mourner in Rudaali, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Critics Award. She also had supporting roles in the crime dramas Prahaar (1991), Angaar (1992), Gardish (1993) and Krantiveer (1994), the latter securing her another Filmfare Award. (Full article...) - Image 14Margarita with a Straw is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Shonali Bose. It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her undergraduate education and comes of age following her complex relationship with a blind girl, played by Sayani Gupta. Revathi, Kuljeet Singh, and William Moseley play supporting roles. Produced by Bose in partnership with Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Margarita with a Straw was co-written by Bose and Nilesh Maniyar. The film deals with the challenging concepts of sexuality, inclusion, self-love, and self-acceptance.
Bose conceived the idea for the film in January 2011 during a conversation with Malini Chib, her cousin and a disability rights activist, about the latter's desire to have a normal sex life. Inspired by Chib's story, Bose wrote the first draft of the film's script. After winning a Sundance Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award for the draft, she modified the script to reflect her own perspective, incorporating several personal experiences into the narrative. Bose completed the screenplay with co-writer Maniyar and the advisory council of the Sundance Institute. (Full article...) - Image 15
In May 2003, a tropical cyclone officially called Very Severe Cyclonic Storm BOB 01 produced the worst flooding in Sri Lanka in 56 years. The first storm of the 2003 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed over the Bay of Bengal on May 10. Favorable environmental conditions allowed the system to intensify steadily while moving northwestward. The storm reached peak maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) on May 13, making it a very severe cyclonic storm according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which is the official Regional Specialized Meteorological Center for the basin. The cyclone drifted north over the central Bay of Bengal, gradually weakening due to heightened wind shear. Turning eastward, the storm deteriorated to a deep depression on May 16 before it curved northeastward and re-intensified into a cyclonic storm. It came ashore in western Myanmar and dissipated over land the following day.
In the wake of prolonged precipitation during the first half of May, the cyclone produced torrential rains across southwest Sri Lanka while stationary in the central Bay of Bengal. The storm drew extensive moisture that coalesced in the mountainous portion of the island. A station at Ratnapura recorded 366.1 mm (14.41 in) of rainfall in 18 hours on May 17, including 99.8 mm (3.93 in) in one hour. In southwestern Sri Lanka, the rainfall caused flooding and landslides that destroyed 24,750 homes and damaged 32,426 others, displacing about 800,000 people. Overall damage totaled about $135 million (2003 USD), and there were 260 deaths. The cyclone also produced some rainfall in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and along the country's eastern coast. The storm funneled moisture away from the mainland, which possibly contributed to a heat wave that killed 1,900 people, and dropped heavy rainfall in Myanmar. (Full article...) - Image 16
Rani Mukerji (pronounced [raːni mʊkʰərdʒi]; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including eight Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the leading and highest-paid actresses of the 2000s.
Born into the Mukherjee-Samarth family, Mukerji dabbled with acting as a teenager by starring in her father Ram Mukherjee's Bengali-language film Biyer Phool and in the social drama Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat (both 1996). Mukerji had her first commercial success with the action film Ghulam and breakthrough with the romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (both 1998). Following a brief setback, the year 2002 marked a turning point for her when she was cast by Yash Raj Films as the star of the drama Saathiya. (Full article...) - Image 17
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.
Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London, England. Upon his return to India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy. (Full article...) - Image 18Hyderabad (/ˈhaɪdərəbæd/ ⓘ HY-dər-ə-bad; Telugu: [ˈɦaɪ̯daraːbaːd], Urdu: [ˈɦɛːdəɾaːbaːd]) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies 650 km2 (250 sq mi) on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of 542 m (1,778 ft), much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, including the Hussain Sagar lake, predating the city's founding, in the north of the city centre. According to the 2011 census of India, Hyderabad is the fourth-most populous city in India with a population of 6.9 million residents within the city limits, and has a population of 9.7 million residents in the metropolitan region, making it the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in India. With an output of US$74 billion, Hyderabad has the fifth-largest urban economy in India.
The Qutb Shahi dynasty's Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah established Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. In 1687, the city was annexed by the Mughals. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty, also known as the Nizams. Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the Asaf Jahis from 1769 to 1948. As capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, the city housed the British Residency and cantonment until Indian independence in 1947. Hyderabad was annexed by the Indian Union in 1948 and continued as a capital of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1956. After the introduction of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly formed Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was split to form the state of Telangana, and Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states with a transitional arrangement scheduled to end in 2024. Since 1956, the city has housed the Rashtrapati Nilayam, the winter office of the president of India. (Full article...) - Image 19
Ram Narayan (IPA: [raːm naːˈɾaːjəɳ]; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.
Narayan was born near Udaipur and learned to play the sarangi at an early age. He studied under sarangi players and singers and, as a teenager, worked as a music teacher and travelling musician. All India Radio, Lahore, hired Narayan as an accompanist for vocalists in 1944. He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947, but wishing to go beyond accompaniment and frustrated with his supporting role, Narayan moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. (Full article...) - Image 20
Kalidas (pronounced [kaːɭidaːs]; lit. The Servant of Kali) is a 1931 Indian biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a Dravidian language. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, hence its namesake; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.
Kalidas, principally in Tamil, contained additional dialogue in Telugu and Hindi. While Rajalakshmi spoke Tamil, Venkatesan spoke only Telugu due to his lack of fluency in Tamil, and Prasad spoke only Hindi. Despite its mythological theme, the film featured songs from much later time periods, such as the compositions of Carnatic musician Tyagaraja, publicity songs of the Indian National Congress, and songs about Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian independence movement. The sound was recorded using German-made technology. Kalidas was shot in Bombay on the sets of India's first sound film Alam Ara (1931) and was completed in eight days. (Full article...) - Image 21
The 2000 Sri Lanka cyclone (IMD designation: BOB 06 JTWC designation: 04B) was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Sri Lanka since 1978. The fourth tropical storm and the second severe cyclonic storm of the 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed from an area of disturbed weather on December 25, 2000. It moved westward, and quickly strengthened under favorable conditions to reach top wind speeds of 75 mph (121 km/h). The cyclone hit eastern Sri Lanka at peak strength, then weakened slightly while crossing the island before making landfall over southern India on December 28. The storm degenerated into a remnant low later that day, before merging with another trough on the next day.
The storm was the first cyclone over Sri Lanka with winds of at least hurricane strength since a cyclone of 1978 hit the island in the 1978 season, as well as the first tropical storm to hit the island since 1992. The storm was also the first December tropical cyclone of hurricane intensity in the Bay of Bengal since 1996. It produced heavy rainfall and strong winds, damaging or destroying tens of thousands of houses and leaving up to 500,000 homeless. At least nine people died as a result of the cyclone. (Full article...) - Image 22
In Hinduism, Ahalya (Sanskrit: अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also spelt as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures describe her legend of seduction by the king of the gods Indra, her husband's curse for her infidelity, and her liberation from the curse by the god Rama.
Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful woman, Ahalya was married to the much older Gautama. In the earliest full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahalya sees through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Later sources often absolve her of all guilt, describing how she falls prey to Indra's trickery. In all narratives, Ahalya and Indra are cursed by Gautama. The curse varies from text to text, but almost all versions describe Rama as the eventual agent of her liberation and redemption. Although early texts describe how Ahalya must atone by undergoing severe penance while remaining invisible to the world and how she is purified by offering Rama hospitality, in the popular retelling developed over time, Ahalya is cursed to become a stone and regains her human form after she is brushed by Rama's foot. (Full article...) - Image 23
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (pronounced [pɾɪˈjəŋka ˈtʃoːpɽa]; née Chopra; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards. In 2016, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, and Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the next two years, Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, and in 2022, she was named in the BBC 100 Women list.
Chopra accepted offers to join the Indian film industry following her pageant wins. Her acting debut came in the Tamil film Thamizhan (2002), followed by her first Bollywood feature in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003). She played the leading lady in the box-office hits Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and had her breakout role in the 2004 romantic thriller Aitraaz. Chopra established herself with starring roles in the top-grossing productions Krrish and Don (both 2006), and later reprised her role in their sequels. For playing a troubled model in the drama Fashion (2008), Chopra won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Chopra gained further praise for portraying a range of characters in the films Kaminey (2009), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), Barfi! (2012), Mary Kom (2014), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Bajirao Mastani (2015). (Full article...) - Image 24
The Western Chalukya Empire (/tʃəˈluːkjə/ chə-LOO-kyə) ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the modern Bidar district of Karnataka state, and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Before the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and Central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta empire after a successful invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur region defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani.
For over a century, the two empires of South India, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Thanjavur fought many fierce wars to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage, took sides with the Cholas further complicating the situation. During the rule of Vikramaditya VI, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Western Chalukyas convincingly contended with the Cholas and reached a peak, ruling territories that spread over most of the Deccan, between the Narmada River in the north and Kaveri River in the south. His exploits were not limited to the south for even as a prince, during the rule of Someshvara I, he had led successful military campaigns as far east as modern Bihar and Bengal. During this period the other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysala Empire, the Seuna dynasty, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas and gained their independence only when the power of the Chalukya waned during the later half of the 12th century. (Full article...) - Image 25
INS Vikrant (from Sanskrit vikrānta, "courageous") was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II, but was put on hold when the war ended. India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957, and construction was completed in 1961. Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
In its later years, the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft, before being decommissioned in January 1997. She was preserved as a museum ship in Naval Docks, Mumbai until 2012. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court. (Full article...)
Selected pictures
- Image 1Photo: Augustus BinuRekha Raju performing Mohiniyattam, a classical dance form from Kerala, India. Believed to have originated in the 16th century CE, this dance form was popularized in the nineteenth century by Swathi Thirunal, the Maharaja of the state of Travancore, and Vadivelu, one of the Thanjavur Quartet. The dance, which has about 40 different movements, involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle side-to-side movements.
- Image 2Map credit: PlaneMadA map of Network of National Highways in India, including NHDP projects up to phase IIIB, which is due to be completed by December 2012. The National Highways are the main long-distance roadways and constitute a total of about 58,000 km (36,250 mi), of which 4,885 km (3,053 mi) are central-separated expressways. Highways in India are around 2% of the total road network in India, but carry nearly 40% of the total road traffic.
- Image 3Photograph: Augustus BinuArundhati Roy (b. 1961) is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997 Man Booker Prize with her debut novel The God of Small Things. Born in Shillong, Meghalaya, Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting (and later marrying) director Pradip Krishen. She wrote The God of Small Things over a four-year period ending in 1996; it was published the following year and received positive international reviews, although in India the work was controversial. She has continued to write essays and articles, but has yet to publish another novel.
- Image 4Coin design credit: East India Company and the Calcutta Mint; photographed by Andrew ShivaThe mohur is a gold coin that was formerly minted by several governments, including those of British India. It was usually equivalent in value to fifteen silver rupees. Gold mohurs issued by the British East India Company or the Crown are valuable collectors' items, and sell in auctions for high prices. The double mohur (minted between 1835 and 1918), with a value of thirty rupees, is the highest-denomination circulating coin ever issued in India. The 1835 two-mohur coin above was minted in the reign of King William IV, while the 1862 one-mohur coin below was minted in the reign of Queen Victoria; both are now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
- Image 5Photograph: Augustus BinuOdissi is an ancient classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha, India. Historically, it has been performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism (Vishnu as Jagannath), but also of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism). Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.
Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of a basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves the lower, mid, and upper body as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance. - Image 6Papilio demoleus matingPhotograph: JkadavoorA mating pair of Papilio demoleus, a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly, photographed at Kadavoor, Kerala, India. After successful mating the female goes from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf, and flies off as soon as the egg is laid.
- Image 7A statue of the Hindu god Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. In this form, Shiva performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation. A Telugu and Tamil concept, Shiva was first depicted as Nataraja in the famous Chola bronzes and sculptures of Chidambaram. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in Chidambaram Temple, the foremost Shaivist temple.
- Image 8A potter at work in Jaura, Madhya Pradesh, India. Pottery, defined by ASTM International as "all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products", originated during the Neolithic period.
- Image 9Photo: JoydeepCatopsilia pyranthe is a medium sized butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Australia. This male was photographed in West Bengal, India.
- Image 10Photo: Marcin BiałekDuladeo Temple, dated to circa A.D. 1000–1150, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Khajuraho, India.
- Image 11The mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, India. This red sandstone building, on the western side of the complex, faces the west side of the mausoleum. In the forefront is a howz, meant for ablution. On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab ("answer"), a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern; this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance. Both were constructed in 1643.
- Image 12Photograph credit: Bourne & Shepherd; retouched by Yann ForgetThe Rudra Mahalaya Temple is an ancient temple complex at Siddhpur in the Patan district of Gujarat, India. The temple was completed in 1140 by Jayasimha Siddharaja, but in 1296, Alauddin Khalji sent an army under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, who dismantled the structure. In 1414 or 1415, the temple was further destroyed and the western part was converted into a congregational mosque by Muslim ruler Ahmad Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty. Apart from the mosque, the surviving fragments consist of two porches, a torana (ornamental gateway) and a few pillars.
- Image 13Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimAn Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) photographed in Bangalore, India. In India these squirrels are associated with the Hindu deity Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, and as such are not to be harmed. However, in Western Australia they are considered pests and at times targeted for eradication.
- Image 14Photograph credit: Jeevan JosePapilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a woodland species, often seen on forest paths and near streams. The larvae feed on trees in the family Rutaceae, such as citrus. Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves, relying on their cryptic colouring, which resembles bird droppings, for protection. Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations, and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the substratum. This adult male P. polymnestor butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of Kerala.
- Image 15Image credit: Vaikunda RajaThe Lotus-Namam is the symbol of Ayyavazhi, a Dharmic belief system that originated in South India in the 19th century. The lotus represents the 1,008-petalled Sahasrara and the flame-shaped white Namam represents the Aanma Jyothi or ātman, sometimes translated as 'soul' or 'self'. The number of practitioners is estimated to be between 700,000 and 8,000,000, although the exact number is unknown, since Ayyavazhis are reported as Hindus during censuses.
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- Image 1
Bajirao Mastani is a 2015 Indian epic historical romance film directed and scored by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It was a co-production between Bhansali Productions and Eros International. The film stars Ranveer Singh as Bajirao I, Deepika Padukone as Mastani, and Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai. Tanvi Azmi, Aditya Pancholi, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi and Milind Soman playing supporting roles. The screenplay was written by Prakash R. Kapadia, and the cinematography provided by Sudeep Chatterjee. Based on the Marathi novel Raau by Nagnath S. Inamdar, the film narrates the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao and his second wife Mastani.
Made on a budget of ₹1.25 billion (US$15 million), the film was released on 18 December 2015 to positive reviews from critics. As of May 2016, Bajirao Mastani has grossed over ₹3.6 billion (US$43 million) at the box-office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. The film garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for Bhansali's direction and music, the performances of Chopra and Singh, its cinematography, art direction, and costume design. (Full article...) - Image 2
Kaminey (English: Rascal) is a 2009 Indian action thriller film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Ronnie Screwvala. Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Amol Gupte star in the lead roles. The film's screenplay was written by Bhardwaj, Abhishek Chaubey, Sabrina Dhawan, and Supratik Sen. Bhardwaj also composed the soundtrack of the film, with lyrics written by Gulzar. Kaminey was edited by A. Sreekar Prasad, and Meghna Manchanda Sen, and the cinematography was provided by Tassaduq Hussain. Set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, the film focuses on the rivalry between identical twin brothers both played by Kapoor, one with a lisp and the other with a stutter, over the course of a single day.
Made on a budget of ₹350 million (US$4.2 million), Kaminey released on 14 August 2009 to critical acclaim and was a commercial success, grossing over ₹710 million (US$8.5 million). The film's soundtrack was also a critical and commercial success, with the song "Dhan Te Nan" topping the charts. Over the years, Kaminey achieved cult status. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with praise for its direction, performance of the cast, screenplay, musical score, cinematography, editing and sound design. (Full article...) - Image 3Vishwaroopam is a 2013 Indian spy thriller film directed by Kamal Haasan. Besides starring in the lead role with Pooja Kumar, Haasan co-produced the film with S. Chandrahaasan and Prasad V. Potluri, and co-wrote the script with Atul Tiwari. Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur and Nassar play supporting roles in the film. The film's story revolves around Wisam Ahmed Kashmiri, a spy from India's intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing, stopping a group of Al-Qaeda terrorists led by Omar (Bose) from triggering a dirty bomb made by scraping caesium from oncological equipment in New York City. A bilingual film, made in Tamil and Hindi (as Vishwaroop), the soundtrack and score were composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Sanu Varghese and Mahesh Narayanan were in charge of the film's cinematography and editing respectively. Lalgudi N. Ilaiyaraaja and Boontawee 'Thor' Taweepasas were in charge of art direction while Birju Maharaj handled the choreography.
Vishwaroopam was made on a budget of ₹950 million. The film was released on 25 January 2013 worldwide except Tamil Nadu where it was banned due to protest by Islamic organisations which cited that Muslims were depicted in a negative manner. The ban on the film was lifted and it released on 7 February 2013 after a mutual agreement between Haasan and the organisations; the Hindi version was released on 1 February 2013. Both versions received generally positive reviews and were commercial successes at the box office, collectively grossing ₹2.2 billion overall. (Full article...) - Image 4The Sunrisers Hyderabad (often abbreviated as SRH) are a franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network who won the bid for the franchise at ₹850.5 million per year on a five-year deal in 2012 following the termination of the previous Hyderabad-based franchise, Deccan Chargers, from the IPL. Having made its first IPL playoffs appearance in its debut season in 2013, the team has qualified for the playoffs every year since the 2016 season. They have reached the finals twice, most recently during the 2018 season, and won their only title in the 2016 season after defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in the Final.
, the team was captained by Kane Williamson and coached by Tom Moody with Simon Helmot as assistant coach, Muttiah Muralitharan and Dale Steyn as bowling coaches, Brian Lara as batting coach and Hemang Badani as fielding coach. The team has played its home matches in the 55,000-capacity Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad since its inception. The coronavirus pandemic impacted the brand value of the Sunrisers Hyderabad which was estimated to be US$57.4million in 2020 as the overall brand of IPL was decreased to US$4.4billion, according to Brand Finance. (Full article...) - Image 5
Haider is a 2014 Indian crime-drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and produced by Bhardwaj and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as the eponymous protagonist, and co-stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan. Bhardwaj wrote the dialogues for the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with Basharat Peer. Bhardwaj also composed the music and Gulzar wrote the lyrics. The film is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and tells the story of Haider who searches for his missing father during the Kashmir conflict of 1995.
Produced on a budget of ₹240 million (US$2.9 million), Haider was released on 2 October 2014, and grossed ₹690 million (US$8.3 million) worldwide. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, performances of Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, music and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 36 awards. (Full article...) - Image 6Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema. He first appeared in the 1979 film Needa when he was four years old. He continued to perform as a child actor in several films, most of which featured his father Krishna. Following his role as the titular protagonist in Balachandrudu (1990) while still a child, his career went on hiatus so he could concentrate on his education until taking on his first lead role as an adult in the 1999 film Rajakumarudu, for which he won the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut. Afterwards, his career stagnated until successes like Murari (2001), Okkadu (2003) and Athadu (2005) brought him fame. In 2006, he played a gangster in the Puri Jagannadh-directed action-thriller Pokiri. The film became the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time, and according to Vogue India, cemented Babu's reputation as a "superstar".
In the wake of the failures of Sainikudu (2006) and Athidhi (2007), Babu took a long-term break from cinema for personal reasons. His next project, the fantasy action film Khaleja, was released in 2010 after significant delays. In 2011, he starred in Dookudu, which became the first Telugu film to gross over ₹1 billion. Businessman (2012), his next film, was well received and became one of the year's highest grossing Telugu films at a time that was particularly harsh on other big-budget productions. The following year, Babu co-starred alongside Venkatesh in the critically and commercially acclaimed drama film Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, which was considered the first Telugu multi-starrer in decades. He then featured in Sukumar's 2014 psychological thriller film 1: Nenokkadine. Although Babu's performance as a schizophrenic rock star was lauded by critics, the film itself received mixed reviews and failed to recover its budget. Aagadu, his next release that year, suffered a similar fate, despite the film's opening gross being his highest at the time. (Full article...) - Image 7
Ranbir Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He worked as an assistant director on the films Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) and Black (2005), before making his acting debut opposite Sonam Kapoor in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya (2007). It earned Kapoor the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He established himself in 2009 with leading roles in three films—the coming-of-age drama Wake Up Sid, the comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and the drama Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year. He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his combined work in these three films. In 2010, Kapoor played a character based on Arjuna and Michael Corleone in the commercially successful political thriller Raajneeti.
From 2011 to 2013, Kapoor's releases were among the highest-grossing Hindi films of their respective years. In Imtiaz Ali's musical Rockstar (2011), he played an aspiring singer, and in Anurag Basu's comedy-drama Barfi! (2012), he starred as a joyful deaf and mute man. His performance in both films was critically acclaimed and he earned two consecutive Best Actor awards at Filmfare and the former also earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. The romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) further established him as a star. (Full article...) - Image 8Padmaavat is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language epic period drama film directed and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji and features Aditi Rao Hydari, Jim Sarbh, Raza Murad, and Anupriya Goenka in supporting roles. The film's screenplay was written by Bhansali and Prakash Kapadia. Bhansali also composed the soundtrack of the film, with lyrics written by A. M. Turaz, Siddharth-Garima and Swaroop Khan. The original score of the film is composed by Sanchit Balhara. Padmaavat was edited by Rajesh G. Pandey while Sudeep Chatterjee is its cinematographer. Set in medieval Rajasthan in 1303 AD, Queen Padmavati of Mewar is married to a noble king and they live in a prosperous fortress with their subjects until an ambitious Sultan hears of Padmavati's beauty and becomes obsessed with having her.
Made on a budget of ₹2.15 billion (US$26 million), Padmaavat was released on 25 January 2018 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D formats, making it the first Indian film to be released in IMAX 3D. Despite not being released in some states of India, it grossed over ₹5.85 billion (US$70 million) at the box office, becoming a commercial success and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. The film won 25 awards from 68 nominations; its music, and the performance of Singh have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) - Image 9
The Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded to 153 members of the British Indian Army and civilians under its command, from 1857 until independence in 1947. The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command. The VC is traditionally presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture at Buckingham Palace, though in a large number of cases this was not possible and it was presented in the field by a prominent civil or military official. The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War.
Indian troops were not originally eligible for the VC, because since 1837 they had been eligible for the Indian Order of Merit—the oldest British gallantry award for general issue. When the VC was created, Indian troops were still controlled by the British East India Company, and did not come under Crown control until 1860. European officers and men serving with the East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit; the VC was extended to cover them in October 1857. It was only at the end of the 19th century that calls for Indian troops to be awarded the VC intensified. Indian troops became eligible for the award in 1911. The first awards to Indian troops appeared in The London Gazette on 7 December 1914 to Darwan Singh Negi and Khudadad Khan, whose gallantry on 31 October 1914 was nearly a month earlier than Negi's gallantry on 24/25 November. Negi was presented with the VC by King George V two days earlier, on 5 December 1914, during a visit to troops in France. He is one of a small number of soldiers presented with his award before it appeared in the London Gazette. (Full article...) - Image 10
Yash Chopra (1932–2012) was an Indian film director and producer known for his works in Bollywood. Acknowledged as one of the greatest filmmakers from the country, he was credited by the media for "changing the face of romance to become a brand" in the industry. He made his directorial debut with the family drama Dhool Ka Phool, which was produced by his elder brother Baldev Raj. The film, released in 1959, became a commercial success worldwide and gave him critical acclaim. Chopra's next film, Dharmputra (1961), failed to perform well at the box office but won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. In 1965, he directed the drama Waqt about a family who are separated due to a natural disaster. A commercial success, it was one of the earliest Indian films to star an ensemble cast and won a first Best Director trophy for him at the Filmfare Awards.
The 1980s was the most unsuccessful period of his career. Following the failure of his romantic drama Silsila (1981), which he co-wrote, directed and produced, Chopra's popularity began to wane. According to his biographer, the British academic Rachel Dwyer, this was because action and crime films were more popular at the time while most of his films were romances. Chopra experimented with making two action films, Mashaal (1984) and Vijay (1988), which underperformed financially but were well-received by critics. Chandni was his only box-office success of the decade. Starring Sridevi in the title role, the film tells the story of a young woman who is accused of being responsible for her lover's accident. Chopra's career began to revive since its premiere in 1989; the film was named the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 37th National Film Awards and considered one of his best films. (Full article...) - Image 11
Kahaani (transl. Story) is a 2012 Indian mystery thriller film directed and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh. The film stars Vidya Balan as the protagonist, and features Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Saswata Chatterjee in supporting roles. The film was edited by Namrata Rao, with the cinematography provided by Setu. Set in the city of Kolkata during the festivities of Durga Puja, Kahaani follows the life of a pregnant woman, Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan), in search of her husband, a man whose existence is denied by the people she encounters.
Made on a budget of ₹80 million (US$960,000), Kahaani was released on 9 March 2012 and grossed over ₹1.04 billion (US$12 million) worldwide after a 50-day theatrical run. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction and the performance of the lead actress. As of 2014, the film has won 28 awards. (Full article...) - Image 12
Anurag Kashyap is an Indian filmmaker and actor, known for his work in Hindi cinema. After writing a television series Kabhie Kabhie (1997), Kashyap co-wrote Ram Gopal Varma's crime drama Satya (1998). He later wrote and directed a short television film, Last Train to Mahakali (1999), and made his feature film debut with the yet-unreleased film Paanch. He next directed Black Friday (2007), a film on the 1993 Bombay bombings. Its release was barred by India's Censor Board for two years, but was eventually released in 2007 to positive reviews. The same year, he directed the critical and commercial failure No Smoking. Return of Hanuman (2007), an animated film, was Kashyap's next directorial venture. In 2009, he directed Dev.D, a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel Devdas, along with the political drama Gulaal. Despite positive reviews, the latter was a box-office failure.
Kashyap's production company Anurag Kashyap Films released its first film Udaan (2010)—a critical success that earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Story and Best Screenplay. He then directed one of the short films in the anthology film Mumbai Cutting. After directing the thriller That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011), the two-part crime film Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) was his next release, which garnered him the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue. In 2013, he directed a short film on eve teasing titled That Day After Everyday, and directed one segment of the anthology film Bombay Talkies (2013). In 2013, he co-produced The Lunchbox, a film that was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and the biographical drama Shahid. In 2011, Kashyap started another production company Phantom Films, whose first feature was the period drama Lootera (2013). (Full article...) - Image 13
Hrithik Roshan is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. As a child, he made uncredited appearances in three films directed by his maternal grandfather, J. Om Prakash, the first of which was in Aasha (1980). In 1986, Roshan played the adopted son of Rajinikanth's character in Prakash's crime drama Bhagwaan Dada. Roshan subsequently worked as an assistant director on four films, including Khudgarz (1987) and Karan Arjun (1995), all of which were directed by his father, Rakesh.
Roshan's first leading role came opposite Ameesha Patel in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), a highly successful romantic drama directed by his father, for which he won two Filmfare Awards—Best Male Debut and Best Actor. In 2001, Roshan played a supporting role in Karan Johar's lucrative ensemble melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.... This initial success was followed by roles in a series of critical and commercial failures, including Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage (2002) and Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), leading critics to believe that Roshan's career was over. His career prospects improved in 2003 when he played the role of a mentally disabled teenager in his father's science fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya. The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing Bollywood film of that year and earned Roshan the Best Actor – Critics and the Best Actor awards at Filmfare. His next release, the war drama Lakshya (2004), performed poorly at the box office despite earning positive reviews. (Full article...) - Image 14
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by critics as a notable achievement. As of January 2024, 170 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut, out of which nine are from the India national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls were taken against four different opponents – three each against Australia and West Indies, twice against England, and once Pakistan. The nine occasions have resulted in five wins, two losses and two draws. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eight different venues, six in India, three of which were taken at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
The first Indian to take a five-wicket haul was Mohammad Nissar who took 5 wickets for 93 runs during India's first Test, in June 1932 against England. Vaman Kumar, a leg spinner, was the next to achieve this feat. His figures of 5 wickets for 64 runs took India close to winning a match against Pakistan during the latter's tour of India in 1960–61. In December 1967, Syed Abid Ali took 6 wickets for 55 runs against Australia. The figures remain the best by an Indian fast bowler on debut. Narendra Hirwani's 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies, in January 1988, are the best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut. His aggregate of 16 wickets for 136 runs in the match are a record for any bowler on debut. As of February 2021, he is the only Indian cricketer to take ten or more wickets in a Test match on debut. (Full article...) - Image 15
Akshay Kumar is an Indian actor, television presenter, and film producer who works in Hindi-language films. He had a minor role in the 1987 Indian film Aaj. He debuted in a leading role with the film Saugandh (1991) before his breakthrough with Khiladi (1992), first film of the Khiladi series. In 1994, Kumar featured in 14 releases, including the successful Elaan, Mohra, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Suhaag and the romantic drama Yeh Dillagi, which earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination. He also found success with Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), which earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. However, several other of his 1990s releases performed poorly at the box office, leading to a brief setback in his film career.
The 1999 hit crime drama Jaanwar marked Kumar's comeback. His next films Hera Pheri (2000), Dhadkan (2000) and Ajnabee (2001) were well received. He played a negative role in the latter, winning the Filmfare Best Villain Award and then appeared in Andaaz (2003), Aitraaz (2004), Khakee (2004) and Waqt (2005). In this period, Kumar also proved himself as a great comic actor when he featured in financially successful comedies like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Namastey London (2007), Heyy Babyy (2007), Welcome (2007), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008), Housefull (2010) and Tees Maar Khan (2010). He won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award for Garam Masala. In 2004, he presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar. In 2008, he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company, and hosted the first season of the reality game show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi. Next year he was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the Indian film industry. Kumar hosted the first season of MasterChef India in 2010. In 2011 he founded another production company Grazing Goat Pictures, and produced the Indo-Canadian hockey-based film Breakaway, which became the highest grossing cross-cultural film at the Canadian box office. (Full article...) - Image 16In cricket, a batsman reaches a triple century if they score 300 or more runs in a single innings. The Ranji Trophy is the premier first-class cricket championship played in India. Conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it was founded in 1934 as "The Cricket Championship of India". , a triple century has been scored on 46 occasions by 41 different batsmen in the Ranji Trophy.
The first triple century in the Ranji Trophy was scored by Maharashtra's Vijay Hazare against Baroda in the 1939–40 season. , the most recent triple century in the tournament was scored by Prithvi Shaw from Mumbai, who made 379 against Assam in the 2022–23 season. The highest score in the competition was made by B. B. Nimbalkar, who scored 443 runs not out for Maharashtra against Kathiawar in the 1948–49 season. It is the only instance of a quadruple century in the tournament. The highest number of triple centuries are scored by Ravindra Jadeja, who has reached the milestone three times while playing for Saurashtra. Jadeja is followed by V. V. S. Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Wasim Jaffer, with two triple centuries each. Tamil Nadu's Woorkeri Raman and Arjan Kripal Singh are the only two batsmen to score triple centuries in the same innings. , five batsmen have scored 290–299 runs in an innings, and three of them were not out. (Full article...) - Image 17Test cricket is the longest form of cricket. The women's variant of the game includes four innings to be completed over four days of play with eleven players in each side. The first women's Test was played between England and Australia in 1934. However, India did not play Test cricket until 1973 when the Women's Cricket Association of India was formed. The Indian women's team played their first Test match in 1976, against the West Indies. The Women's Cricket Association of India was merged with the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2006 as part of the International Cricket Council's initiative to develop women's cricket.
India have played 40 Tests, starting with their first Test in 1976. They first won a Test in Patna (1976), in front of over 25,000 spectators, against the West Indies but did not win again until 2002, when they won against South Africa. The team has remained unbeaten since 2006, over the course of three Test matches. (Full article...) - Image 18
Katrina Kaif is a British actress who predominantly appears in Bollywood films. She made her film debut in the 2003 heist film Boom, a box office bomb. She then played the titular princess in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004). Kaif had her first success in Bollywood when she appeared opposite Salman Khan in David Dhawan's romantic comedy Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?. The 2006 musical romance Humko Deewana Kar Gaye saw Kaif pair opposite Akshay Kumar for the first of many films, though the film was a critical and financial failure. Beginning with Namastey London, the year 2007 marked a turning point in her career when all four releases proved to be successful at the box-office. Among these were two of the highest grossing productions of the year, the comedies Partner and Welcome. following year, Kaif appeared in three films including the action comedy Singh Is Kinng.
In 2009, Kaif received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kabir Khan's terrorism drama New York. Later that year, she starred opposite Ranbir Kapoor in the comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. In 2010, Kaif portrayed the role of a politician in Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti and an aspiring actress in Tees Maar Khan. While the former was a box-office hit, the latter was a critical and commercial failure. Kaif starred alongside an ensemble cast in Zoya Akhtar's comedy drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). She received her second Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of a runaway bride in the romantic comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011). (Full article...) - Image 19
Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who represented the India national football team as a forward between 2005 to 2024. He is the country's all-time top goal scorer and most-capped player. He has scored 94 goals in 151 official international appearances since his debut on 12 June 2005 against Pakistan.
On 9 December 2011, Chhetri netted twice in a match (also known as a brace) in India's 3–1 semi-final win over the Maldives in the 2011 SAFF Championship to take his tally to 31, thus becoming his country's all-time leading goalscorer surpassing the 29 set by I. M. Vijayan. With his 94 international goals, he is currently the third-highest international goalscorer among active players, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Lionel Messi of Argentina. He is also the highest active goalscorer from Asia. On 21 June 2023, Chhetri scored a hat-trick for India in a 4–0 win over the Pakistan to take his tally to 90 international goals, thus becoming the second-highest international goalscorer from Asia of all time. His tally of 94 puts him the fourth-highest goalscorer in the history of international football. (Full article...) - Image 20
Preity Zinta is an Indian actress, who has received several awards for her acting in Hindi films. Her career began in 1998 with Mani Ratnam's acclaimed drama Dil Se.. and the box office hit Soldier. Both films won her the award for Best Female Debut at the 44th Filmfare Awards. Her performance in Dil Se.. also earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the same ceremony, while Soldier won her three more Best Debut awards at other major ceremonies. Zinta received her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna. She followed these films with several critically and commercially successful films, such as Mission Kashmir (2000) and Dil Chahta Hai (2001), and her performances in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) and Armaan (2003) were praised.
Zinta won several awards for her performance in the romantic comedy-drama Kal Ho Naa Ho, including her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in top-grossing productions in India and abroad, including Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), all of which earned her different nominations at major award ceremonies, which, in addition to Filmfare, include such organisations as Screen, Zee Cine, the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), and Stardust, among others. After a relatively low phase, she started appearing in arthouse films, known in India as parallel cinema. She played her first international film role in Deepa Mehta's Canadian drama Heaven on Earth (2008, titled Videsh in India). Her portrayal in the film won her the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival, and she was a Best Actress nominee at several award functions in Canada, including the Genie Awards by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. (Full article...) - Image 21
Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team since 2007. He has made 48 centuries in international cricket—31 in One Day Internationals (ODI), 12 in Tests and 5 in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)—as of March 2024.
Sharma made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007. His first century came during the 2010 Tri-nation tournament in Zimbabwe when he made 114 against the hosts. In the 2013 bilateral series against Australia at home, he made two centuries, including a double-century. The next year, he scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The score remains the highest individual total by a batsman in the format . In January 2016, he made 171 not out against Australia; it remained the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia until England's Jason Roy made 180 in 2018. Sharma set the record for most centuries scored in a World Cup when he scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup. He has scored centuries against nine different opponents and has the joint second-highest number of centuries (eight) against Australia in the format. , Sharma has eight scores in excess of 150, and three double-centuries, both of which are records in ODIs. He has the second highest number of centuries for an active player in the format. (Full article...) - Image 22
Shriya Saran is an Indian actress and model who has appeared mostly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film Ishtam (2001) and had her first commercial success with Santosham (2002). The following year, she made her Hindi cinema debut with a supporting role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza. It was followed by the commercially successful crime drama Tagore (2003), in which she was paired opposite Chiranjeevi. The same year, she played a supporting role in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film Enakku 20 Unakku 18, which marked her debut in Tamil cinema. In 2005, she had ten releases including Mazhai, S. S. Rajamouli's Chatrapathi, and Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu, in which she was among the only three characters of the film. Saran's solitary release as a lead actress in 2006 was the Tamil film Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam.
In 2007, Saran was paired opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji. It was the most expensive film in Indian cinema and went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film to that point. The same year, she made a comeback to Hindi cinema with Mohit Suri's Awarapan, where she played a Muslim woman. Following that, she made her American cinema debut with James Dodson's The Other End of the Line (2008), in which she played an Indian woman who works in a call centre. Her subsequent releases include the Tamil films Kanthaswamy (2009) and Kutty (2010), and Pokkiri Raja (2010), which marked her debut in Malayalam cinema. (Full article...) - Image 23
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The name of a recipient, whose award has been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register. , none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during the 2010s have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards. (Full article...) - Image 24
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to cultural or natural heritage which have been nominated by countries which are signatories to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. India accepted the convention on 14 November 1977, making its sites eligible for inclusion on the list.
There are 42 World Heritage Sites in India. Out of these, 34 are cultural, seven are natural, and one, Khangchendzonga National Park, is of mixed type. India has the sixth-most sites worldwide. The first sites to be listed were the Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Agra Fort, and Taj Mahal, all of which were inscribed in the 1983 session of the World Heritage Committee. The most recent sites listed were Santiniketan and the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, in 2023. At different times, two sites were listed as endangered: the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary was listed between 1992 and 2011 due to poaching and the activities of Bodo militias, and the monuments at Hampi were listed between 1999 and 2006 due to risks from increased traffic and new constructions in surroundings. One site is transnational: The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier is shared with six other countries. In addition, India has 57 sites on its tentative list. (Full article...) - Image 25
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the awards have been constituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous, non-profit institution functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs. The awardees are decided by a jury constituted every year. They are announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.
Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the government has presented 54 Best Actor awards to 35 actors. The recipients receive a figurine, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹100,000 (US$1,200). Several actors have won the honour for more than one film in a given year. As of 2020, the only actor to have won the prize in consecutive years is Bharat Gopy, in 1982 and 1983. (Full article...)
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- Image 1Thiruvilaiyadal (transl. The Divine Game) is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film written, directed and co-produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Savitri, and K. B. Sundarambal, with T. S. Balaiah, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, T. R. Mahalingam, K. Sarangapani, Devika, Manorama, and Nagarajan in supporting roles. K. V. Mahadevan composed the film's soundtrack and score, and Kannadasan and Sankaradas Swamigal wrote the song lyrics.
Thiruvilaiyadal was inspired by the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam: a collection of sixty-four Shaivite devotional, epic stories, written in the 16th century by Paranjothi Munivar, which record the actions (and antics) of Shiva on Earth in a number of disguises to test his devotees. Thiruvilaiyadal depicts four of the stories. The first is about the poets Dharumi and Nakkeerar; the second concerns Dhakshayani. The third recounts how Shiva's future wife, Parvati, is born as a fisherwoman; Shiva, in the guise of a fisherman, finds her and marries her. The fourth story is about the singers Banabhathirar and Hemanatha Bhagavathar. (Full article...) - Image 2The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, formerly known as the National Adventure Awards is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest along with Edmund Hillary in 1953. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipients are honoured for their "outstanding achievement in the field of adventure activities on land, sea and air" over the last three years. The lifetime achievement is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence and have devoted themselves in the promotion of adventure sports. , the award comprises "a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay along with a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000)."
Instituted in 1993–1994, the first awards were given for the year 1994. The status of this award is considered to be equivalent to the Arjuna Award conferred in the field of sport. Since the year 2004, this award along with all the other six National Sports Awards are conferred in the same presidential ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan usually on 29 August each year. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 20 June. Typically one award in each of the four categories: Land adventure, Water (Sea) adventure, Air adventure and Lifetime achievement are given. The number may increase in a particular year for appropriate reasons and after approval. A five-member committee evaluates the achievements of a person in a particular category of adventure taking into consideration their last three years of performance for the first three categories. The committee later submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval. (Full article...) - Image 3
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam BR (/ˈɑːbdəl kəˈlɑːm/ ⓘ; 15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, he studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
Kalam was elected as the 11th president of India in 2002 with the support of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the then-opposition Indian National Congress. Widely referred to as the "People's President", he returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. (Full article...) - Image 4Puthiya Paravai (transl. New Bird) is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed by Dada Mirasi. Produced by Sivaji Ganesan, the film stars himself, B. Saroja Devi, M. R. Radha and Sowcar Janaki, with Nagesh, Manorama, V. K. Ramasamy, O. A. K. Thevar and S. V. Ramadas in supporting roles. The plot revolves around Gopal, who falls in love with Latha, a woman he recently befriended, when his presumed-dead wife Chitra arrives to tell him that she is still alive. He claims her to be an impostor but no one believes him.
Puthiya Paravai is the maiden Tamil production of Sivaji Films, later renamed Sivaji Productions, and the company's third overall production after the Hindi films Amardeep (1958) and Rakhi (1962). It is a remake of the Bengali film Sesh Anka (1963) which is itself inspired by the British film Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958). The screenplay was written by Nannu, and the dialogues by Aaroor Dass. Cinematography was handled by K. S. Prasad and editing by N. M. Shankar. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy while the lyrics were written by Kannadasan. (Full article...) - Image 5Kadhalikka Neramillai (transl. No Time for Love) is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar, who also conceived and co-wrote its script with Chitralaya Gopu. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Balaiah, Muthuraman, Nagesh, Rajasree, Sachu, Ravichandran and Kanchana. The latter two made their acting debut with this film.
The plot of Kadhalikka Neramillai revolves around Viswanathan, an estate owner who hopes to get his daughters Nirmala and Kanchana married to wealthy grooms. However, Nirmala falls in love with Ashok, a poor man who was once employed by Vishwanathan. To earn Viswanathan's approval, Ashok pretends to be the only heir of a rich businessman; he is supported by his friend Vasu, who poses as Ashok's fictional millionaire father Chidambaram. A comedy of errors ensues when Vasu discovers his lover Kanchana is Viswanathan's other daughter. (Full article...) - Image 6
In the 1889–90 cricket season, an English team managed by George Vernon and captained by Lord Hawke toured Ceylon and India. It was a pioneering tour being the first visit by an English team to India and the second to Ceylon, following the stopover by Ivo Bligh's team to Australia in 1882–83. Vernon's team, known as G. F. Vernon's XI, was entirely composed of players with amateur status and, in the absence of professionals, none of its matches have been recognised as first-class. In all, they played thirteen matches from 28 November 1889 to 1 March 1890, starting with two games in Ceylon before moving on to Calcutta where the Indian part of the tour began in late December.
Of the thirteen matches, Vernon's XI won ten (six by over an innings) and drew two. They were defeated only once, by the Parsis in a match which had great significance for the native communities living under the rule of the British Raj. The matches were all played under the Laws of Cricket which prevailed in England at the time, including the compulsory follow-on and the recently introduced 5-ball over. The tour was a success and it made a significant contribution to the growth and development of cricket in the sub-continent. (Full article...) - Image 7Srimanthudu (transl. Wealthy Man) is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Koratala Siva. The film is produced by Mythri Movie Makers and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Shruti Haasan, Jagapati Babu and Rajendra Prasad. Sampath Raj, Mukesh Rishi, Sukanya and Harish Uthaman appear in supporting roles. It was distributed globally by Eros International.
The film tells the story of Harsha Vardhan (Mahesh Babu), a young man who inherits a business empire from his father Ravikanth (played by Jagapati Babu). Urged by his friend Charuseela (Haasan) to learn about his and his father's ancestral roots in a remote village named Devarakota, Harsha adopts the village and spends some time trying to improve the standard of living of the local people and the infrastructure of the village. His efforts anger the local crime boss Sashi (played by Sampath Raj) and his brother Venkata Ratnam, a politician (played by Mukesh Rishi). (Full article...) - Image 8
The 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season had no bounds, but tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean tend to form between April and December, with peaks in May and November. The 1970 season saw a total of seven cyclonic storms, of which three developed into severe cyclonic storms. The Bay of Bengal was more active than the Arabian Sea during 1970, with all of the three severe cyclonic storms in the season forming there. Unusually, none of the storms in the Arabian Sea made landfall this year. The most significant storm of the season was the Bhola cyclone, which formed in the Bay of Bengal and hit Bangladesh on November 12. The storm killed at least 500,000, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone in recorded history. The season was also the deadliest tropical cyclone season globally, with 500,805 fatalities, mostly due to the aforementioned Bhola cyclone. (Full article...) - Image 9
The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11 attacks) were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Islamist organisation from Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai. The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, with more than 300 injured.
Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Cama Hospital, the Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and in a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College. There was also an explosion at Mazagaon, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle. By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Hotel had been secured by the Mumbai Police and security forces. On 29 November, India's National Security Guards (NSG) conducted Operation Black Tornado to flush out the remaining attackers; it culminated in the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj Hotel and ended the attacks. (Full article...) - Image 10
Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its inception.
During the silent film era, many individuals in the industry were Gujaratis. The language-associated industry dates back to 1932, when the first Gujarati talkie, Narsinh Mehta, was released. Until the independence of India in 1947, only twelve Gujarati films were produced. There was a spurt in film production in the 1940s focused on saint, sati or dacoit stories as well as mythology and folktales. In the 1950s–1960s, the trend continued with the addition of films on literary works. In the 1970s, the Government of Gujarat announced a tax exemption and subsidies which resulted in an increase in the number of films, but the quality declined. (Full article...) - Image 11Drishyam (transl. Visual) is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, as well as Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and Neeraj Madhav in supporting roles. The film was produced by Antony Perumbavoor for Aashirvad Cinemas. It is the first installment to the series followed by Drishyam 2. It follows the struggle of Georgekutty and his family, who come under suspicion when Varun Prabhakar, the son of the IG Geetha Prabhakar, goes missing.
The film began principal photography in the first week of October 2013 at Thodupuzha in Kerala, where the film was extensively shot. Filming was completed in 44 days which was originally scheduled for 52 days. The cinematography was done by Sujith Vaassudev and was edited by Ayoob Khan. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Anil Johnson and Vinu Thomas. (Full article...) - Image 12Kaksparsh is a 2012 Indian Marathi period drama film directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and produced by Aniruddha Deshpande and Medha Manjrekar. The film stars Sachin Khedekar, Priya Bapat, Medha Manjrekar, Savita Malpekar and Ketaki Mategaonkar. Based on a short story by Usha Datar by the same name, the film depicts the tumultuous events in a Chitpavan Brahmin family, set around 1930–1950 in Konkan. The film was a commercial success and got critical acclaim for its direction, screenplay by Girish Joshi and also for the performances by its actors, especially Khedekar for his portrayal of Hari Damle as a head of the family.
In 1989, the short story was adapted into a Marathi play Janmagaath with actor-director Vinay Apte playing the lead. Apte had desires to make a film based on it. However, his attempts were not successful. Sachin Khedekar, who went to play the lead in the cinematic adaptation of the story, had seen the play and came across the story again in 2007. Khedekar requested Girish Joshi to complete the adapted screenplay and together approached Manjrekar in 2009 to make a film on the story. Kaksparsh's shooting was completed in 26 days – from 5 to 30 December 2011 and was released on 4 May 2012, on the occasion of centenary of Indian Cinema. (Full article...) - Image 13Simplifly Deccan, formerly known as Air Deccan, was the first Indian low-cost carrier. Headquartered in Bengaluru, it operated domestic flights from seven base airports using a fleet of Airbus A320, ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft. The airline appealed to middle class travellers with low fares and a large route network. It employed several innovative methods to ensure the profitability of its business model. Nevertheless, Simplifly Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in April 2008. Kingfisher replaced the Deccan brand with Kingfisher Red in August 2008. (Full article...)
- Image 14Yevadu (transl. Who is he?) is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Vamsi Paidipally. The film stars Ram Charan, Shruti Haasan, and Amy Jackson while Allu Arjun and Kajal Aggarwal in cameo roles with Jayasudha, Sai Kumar, Rahul Dev and Brahmanandam play supporting roles. The film was produced by Dil Raju under the banner Sri Venkateswara Creations. Devi Sri Prasad composed the film's music, while Marthand K. Venkatesh was the film's editor. Vakkantham Vamsi co-wrote the film's script with Paidipally.
The core plot was partially inspired by John Woo's 1997 American film Face/Off, and revolves around two strangers, Satya and Charan. The film was made on a budget of ₹35 crore, and was officially launched on 9 December 2011. Principal photography began on 27 April 2012 and lasted until 22 July 2013. The majority of the film was shot in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, mostly in Ramoji Film City, while two songs were shot in Switzerland and Bangkok. (Full article...) - Image 15Munir Hussain (29 November 1929 – 29 July 2013) was a cricket commentator, administrator, and journalist from Pakistan who also played a first-class cricket match for Kalat in the 1969–70 season. He was the first to introduce Urdu commentary to cricket, and was the founder of the first Urdu cricket magazine, Akhbar-e-Watan. During the 1970s, Hussain commentated on the game for Pakistan Television (PTV) and Radio Pakistan, and wrote weekly columns on cricket for the Daily Jang for many years. He received many accolades for his work for cricket. ESPNcricinfo writer Saad Shafqat described him as "a pioneering commentator, groundbreaking publisher, Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) mandarin, and sagacious elder presence in the nation's cricket circles". He also served as the president of the KCCA. (Full article...)
- Image 16Baghban (transl. Gardener) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Ravi Chopra, co-written and produced by B. R. Chopra. It tells the story of an elderly couple, Raj (Amitabh Bachchan) and Pooja (Hema Malini), who have been married for 40 years. After Raj retires, they reunite with their four sons (Aman Verma, Samir Soni, Saahil Chadha, and Nasir Khan) to discuss who will support them. None of the sons want to take care of both parents, causing Raj and Pooja to live separately.
Baghban was conceived by producer and co-writer B. R. Chopra during his 1960s trip across Europe, when he visited a retirement home and was inspired by the householders' story. It was inspired by a Marathi movie "Tu Tithe Mi" by Smita Talwalkar. In one of the interview it was told that, special screening was set for Mr. Bachchan for the Marathi movie Tu Tithe Mi, later the movie was remade in Hindi as Baghban. Although the screenplay was finished in 1973, Chopra did not begin production for decades because he was busy with other projects. After he revived it, principal photography began in July 2002 in Film City with cinematographer Barun Mukherjee. During post-production, it was edited by Shailendra Doke, Godfrey Gonsalves, and Shashi Mane. Baghban's soundtrack was composed by Aadesh Shrivastava and Uttam Singh, with lyrics by Sameer. (Full article...) - Image 17
Giani Zail Singh (pronunciation, born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the seventh president of India from 1982 to 1987 and 9th Chief Minister of Punjab. He was the first Sikh to become president.
Born in Sandhwan in the princely state of Faridkot, Singh trained to be a granthi and was given the title of giani, meaning a learned man, while training at the Sikh Missionary School in Amritsar. Singh was associated with peasant agitations and the movement seeking a representative government in Faridkot. His political activism in the Praja Mandal, an organisation allied with the Indian National Congress, saw him sentenced to solitary confinement between 1938 and 1943. He led a flag satyagraha and formed a parallel government in Faridkot State which were called off only after the intervention of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel. The stints in jail inspired him to change his name to Zail Singh. (Full article...) - Image 18"The Inner Light" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by George Harrison. It was released on a non-album single in March 1968, as the B-side to "Lady Madonna". The song was the first Harrison composition to be issued on a Beatles single and reflects the band's embrace of Transcendental Meditation, which they were studying in India under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the time of the single's release. After "Love You To" and "Within You Without You", it was the last of Harrison's three songs from the Beatles era that demonstrate an overt Indian classical influence and are styled as Indian pieces. The lyrics are a rendering of chapter 47 from the Taoist Tao Te Ching, which he set to music on the recommendation of Juan Mascaró, a Sanskrit scholar who had translated the passage in his 1958 book Lamps of Fire.
Harrison recorded the instrumental track for "The Inner Light" in Bombay in January 1968, during the sessions for his Wonderwall Music soundtrack album. It is the only Beatles studio recording to be made outside Europe and introduced Indian instruments such as sarod, shehnai and pakhavaj to the band's sound. The musicians on the track include Aashish Khan, Hanuman Jadev and Hariprasad Chaurasia. Aside from Harrison's lead vocal, recorded in London, the Beatles' only contribution came in the form of group backing vocals over the song's final line. In the decade following its release, the song became a comparative rarity among the band's recordings; it has subsequently appeared on compilation albums such as Rarities; Past Masters, Volume Two; and Mono Masters. It is the only Beatles song to never appear on any official Beatles album. (Full article...) - Image 19
Kaumodaki (Sanskrit: कौमोदकी, romanized: Kaumodakī, lit. 'captivator of the mind') is the gadā (mace) of the Hindu deity Vishnu. Vishnu is often depicted holding the Kaumodaki in one of his four hands; his other attributes are the chakra, the conch and the lotus. The gada is also found in the iconography of some of Vishnu's avatars.
The name, 'Kaumodak' first appears in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, where it is associated with Vishnu's avatar, Krishna. The gada is depicted in images of Vishnu since c. 200 BCE. While initially unadorned, the size and shape of Kaumodaki vary in depictions. More elaborate design features like flutes and segments were added in depictions of Vishnu's gada. (Full article...) - Image 20
Blyth's kingfisher (Alcedo hercules) is the largest kingfisher in the genus Alcedo. Named for Edward Blyth, the species has also been known as Alcedo grandis and as the great blue kingfisher. Between 22 and 23 cm (8+5⁄8 and 9 in) long, the kingfisher has deep rufous underparts with a blackish blue breast patch, and brilliant cobalt blue or azure upperparts, tinged with purple. The wings are a dark blackish green, with blue speckles and tips to some of the feathers. The bill of the male is entirely black, while the female has a dark red lower mandible. The species is distinguished from the similar blue-eared kingfisher (Alcedo meninting) and common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) by its greater size, heavy black bill, and dark lores.
The species breeds between the months of March and June. It builds nests at the end of tunnels dug in the banks of streams or ravines. Four to six eggs are laid, with both sexes incubating. A shy bird, it frequents small waterways, feeding on fish and insects caught by diving from a shrub close to the water. It is found along streams in evergreen forest and adjacent open country between 200 and 1,200 m (660 and 3,900 ft), mainly between 400 and 1,000 m (1,300 and 3,300 ft). The species ranges from Nepal through India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Even within its preferred habitat the density of the species is low, and the population, though not thoroughly surveyed, is believed to be small, and declining further. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as "near threatened". (Full article...) - Image 21
A missed call is a telephone call that is deliberately terminated by the caller before being answered by its intended recipient, in order to communicate a pre-agreed message. It is a form of one-bit messaging.
Missed calls are common in emerging markets where mobile phones with limited outgoing calls are widely used; as the call is not actually completed and connected, it does not carry a cost to the caller, hence they can conserve their remaining prepaid credit. Specific patterns of consecutive missed calls have been developed in some countries to denote specific messages. Missed calls are also referred to in some parts of Africa as beeping, flashing in Nigeria, a flashcall in Pakistan, miskol in the Philippines and ring-cut in Sri Lanka. (Full article...) - Image 22Maharaj Kumar Hitendra Singh Narayan (1 July 1890 – 7 November 1920), commonly anglicised as Prince Hitendra Narayan, played first-class cricket for Somerset in 1909 and 1910. He later played in first-class matches for teams brought together by his brother, the Maharaja of Cooch Behar.
Known variously in his cricket career as "Kumar Narayan" or "Hitendra Narayan", he was educated at Eton College and Cambridge University and was a forceful right-handed batsman. His four first-class matches for Somerset in 1909 and 1910 were not successful, with a top score of just 16 in his first game, against the 1909 Australians. In 1918, he played three matches for his brother's scratch side against teams composed largely of expatriate Englishmen. The matches have first-class status although all three were of only two-days' duration; Narayan was not successful in any of them as a batsman. (Full article...) - Image 23
The Bharat Ratna (Hindi pronunciation: [bʰaːɾət̪ rət̪nə]; Jewel of India) is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinction of race, occupation, position or gender. The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the Government of India expanded the criteria to include "any field of human endeavor" in December 2011. The recommendations for the award are made by the Prime Minister to the President. The recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion with no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.
The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were: the former Governor-General of the Union of India C. Rajagopalachari, the former President of the Republic of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan; and the Indian physicist C. V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954. Since then, the award has been bestowed upon 53 individuals, including 18 who were awarded posthumously. The original statutes did not provide for posthumous awards but were amended in January 1966 to permit them to honor former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the first individual to be honored posthumously. In 2014, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, then aged 40, became the youngest recipient, while social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest recipient when he was awarded on his 100th birthday. Though usually conferred on India-born citizens, the award has been conferred on one naturalized citizen, Mother Teresa, and on two non-Indians: Abdul Ghaffar Khan (born in British India and later a citizen of Pakistan) and Nelson Mandela, a citizen of South Africa. (Full article...) - Image 24Major Shaitan Singh Bhati, PVC (1 December 1924 – 18 November 1962) was an Indian Army officer and recipient of India's highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra. Singh was born in Rajasthan. On completing his graduation, Singh joined the Jodhpur State Forces. He was transferred to the Kumaon Regiment after the princely state of Jodhpur was merged into India. He took part in operations in the Naga Hills and also in the 1961 Indian annexation of Goa.
During the Sino-Indian War, 13th Battalion of Kumaon Regiment was stationed in the Chushul sector. C Company, under the command of Singh, was holding a position at Rezang La. In the morning hours of 18 November 1962, the Chinese attacked. After several unsuccessful attacks from the front, the Chinese attacked from the rear. The Indians fought until their last rounds, before eventually being overpowered by the Chinese. During the battle, Singh continuously moved from post to post reorganizing the defences and boosting the morale of his men. As he moved between the posts without any cover, he was seriously wounded, and later succumbed to his injuries. For his actions on 18 November 1962, Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. (Full article...) - Image 25
The 1999 Odisha cyclone (IMD designation BOB 06, JTWC designation 05B) was the most intense recorded tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most destructive in the region. The 1999 Odisha cyclone organized into a tropical depression in the Andaman Sea on 25 October, though its origins could be traced back to an area of convection in the Sulu Sea four days prior. The disturbance gradually strengthened as it took a west-northwesterly path, reaching cyclonic storm strength the next day. Aided by highly favorable conditions, the storm rapidly intensified, attaining super cyclonic storm intensity on 28 October, before peaking on the next day with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph) and a record-low pressure of 912 mbar (hPa; 26.93 inHg). The storm maintained this intensity as it made landfall on Odisha on 29 October. The cyclone steadily weakened due to persistent land interaction and dry air, remaining quasi-stationary for two days before slowly drifting offshore as a much weaker system; the storm dissipated on 4 November over the Bay of Bengal.
Although its primary effects were felt in a localized area of India, the outer fringes of the super cyclone impacted Myanmar and Bangladesh. Ten people were killed in the former, while two were killed in the latter by the storm's rainbands. The storm was the most severe to strike Odisha in the 20th century, raking the state and adjacent areas with high storm surge, powerful winds, and torrential rainfall. The storm's impacts exacerbated the damage caused by a very severe cyclone that struck the same region less than two weeks earlier. The 5–6 m (16–20 ft) surge brought water up to 35 km (20 mi) inland, carrying along with it coastal debris and inundating towns and villages. The surge combined with heavy rains to produce widespread flooding, damaging around 1.6 million homes and causing rivers to breach 20,005 flood embankments. The storm's effects destroyed numerous crops, including sugar cane, rice, and other winter-time harvests. Although estimates of the death toll varied significantly—at times suggesting 30,000 fatalities—the Government of India enumerated 9,887 fatalities in the country, of which a majority were caused by storm surge; over 8,000 deaths occurred in Jagatsinghpur. The total damage cost of the destruction wrought by the super cyclone amounted to US$4.44 billion. (Full article...)
News
- 2 July 2024 – 2024 Hathras stampede
- At least 116 people are killed in a stampede at a religious gathering in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Hindustan Times)
- 29 June 2024 –
- Five Indian soldiers are killed in Ladakh, India, after their tank sinks in abruptly increased water levels in the Shyok River during a military exercise. (AP)
- 28 June 2024 –
- A roof at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, collapses amid heavy rains killing one person, injuring eight others, and leading to the cancellation of some domestic flights. (Reuters)
- 22 June 2024 – 2024 Tamil Nadu alcohol poisoning
- The death toll from the tainted liquor incident in Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, India, increases to 54. (Al Jazeera)
- 21 June 2024 –
- A court in Geneva, Switzerland, sentences Indian-born billionaire Prakash Hinduja and three of his family members to four years in prison for exploiting domestic workers at their villa in Cologny. (AP)
Did you know...
- ... that 24-year-old Mahasweta Chakraborty of Operation Ganga helped around 800 students return to India during the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that in 1943, Bhicoo Batlivala led a group of Indian women to the House of Commons to request the release of Gandhi from prison?
- ... that the first known texts written by Brazilian indigenous people, written in 1645, were only completely translated in 2021?
- ... that Indian harmonium player Appa Jalgaonkar stopped singing due to puberty?
- ... that in addition to creating milkshake products, Keventers Milkshake was also a major supplier of various milk products to the Indian Army for several decades up until the 1970s?
- ... that there is a dispute within the Indian communist movement on whether the Communist Party of India was founded in Tashkent in 1920 or Kanpur in 1925?
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