Portal:India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country from June 2023 onwards; and since 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 near 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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Shefali Shah (née Shetty; born 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Working primarily in independent Hindi films, she has received multiple local and foreign accolades for her performances. Shah's acting career started on the Gujarati stage before she debuted on television in 1993. After small parts on television and a brief stint with cinema in Rangeela (1995), she gained wider recognition in 1997 for her role in the popular series Hasratein. This was followed by lead roles in the TV series Kabhie Kabhie (1997) and Raahein (1999). A supporting role in the crime film Satya (1998) won her positive notice and a Filmfare Critics Award, and she soon shifted her focus to film acting starting with a lead role in the Gujarati drama Dariya Chhoru (1999).
Shah was selective about her roles through the following decades, resulting in intermittent film work, mostly in character parts and often to appreciation from critics. She appeared in the international co-production Monsoon Wedding (2001) and the mainstream comedy-drama Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005). In 2007, her portrayal of Kasturba Gandhi in the biographical drama Gandhi, My Father won her the Best Actress prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and she received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the drama film The Last Lear. Among her subsequent film roles, she played a leading part in Kucch Luv Jaisaa (2011) and was noted for her work in the social problem film Lakshmi (2014) and the ensemble drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). (Full article...) -
Kalidas (pronounced [kaːɭidaːs] transl. 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...) -
Typhoon Gay, also known as the Kavali Cyclone of 1989, was a small but powerful tropical cyclone which caused more than 800 fatalities in and around the Gulf of Thailand in November 1989. The worst typhoon to affect the Malay Peninsula in thirty-five years, Gay originated from a monsoon trough over the Gulf of Thailand in early November. Owing to favorable atmospheric conditions, the storm rapidly intensified, attaining winds over 120 km/h (75 mph) by 3 November. Later that day, Gay became the first typhoon since 1891 to make landfall in Thailand, striking Chumphon Province with winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). The small storm emerged into the Bay of Bengal and gradually reorganized over the following days as it approached southeastern India. On 8 November, Gay attained its peak intensity as a Category 5-equivalent cyclone with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). The cyclone then moved ashore near Kavali, Andhra Pradesh. Rapid weakening ensued inland, and Gay dissipated over Maharashtra early on 10 November.
The typhoon's rapid development took hundreds of vessels by surprise, leading to 275 offshore fatalities. Of these, 91 occurred after an oil drilling ship, the Seacrest, capsized amid 6–11 m (20–36 ft) swells. Across the Malay Peninsula, 588 people died from various storm-related incidents. Several towns in coastal Chumphon were destroyed. Losses throughout Thailand totaled ฿11 billion (US $497 million). Striking India as a powerful cyclone, Gay damaged or destroyed about 20,000 homes in Andhra Pradesh, leaving 100,000 people homeless. In that country, 69 deaths and ₹410 million (US $25.3 million) in damage were attributed to Gay. (Full article...) -
Phoolan Devi (Hindi: [pʰuː.lən d̪eː.ʋiː], 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 killed, 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, but 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...) -
Kalki Koechlin (/ˈkʌlki kɛˈklæ̃/ ⓘ; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in films and stage. Known for her unconventional body of work, particularly in Hindi films, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award. 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. She subsequently starred in two of the highest-grossing Hindi films of their respective years, the 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 also starred in and co-wrote the crime thriller That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011). (Full article...) -
Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (20 March 1782 – 18 November 1835) was an officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar. He combined his official role and his amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and geography of India, and in particular the area then known as Rajputana that corresponds to the present day state of Rajasthan, and which Tod referred to as Rajast'han.
Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland. He joined the East India Company as a military officer and travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army. He rose quickly in rank, eventually becoming captain of an escort for an envoy in a Sindian royal court. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, during which Tod was involved in the intelligence department, he was appointed Political Agent for some areas of Rajputana. His task was to help unify the region under the control of the East India Company. During this period Tod conducted most of the research that he would later publish. Tod was initially successful in his official role, but his methods were questioned by other members of the East India Company. Over time, his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly curtailed. In 1823, owing to declining health and reputation, Tod resigned his post as Political Agent and returned to England. (Full article...) -
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born Leon Dudley Sorabji; 14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer whose music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to works lasting several hours. One of the most prolific 20th-century composers, he is best known for his piano pieces, notably nocturnes such as Gulistān and Villa Tasca, and large-scale, technically intricate compositions, which include seven symphonies for piano solo, four toccatas, Sequentia cyclica and 100 Transcendental Studies. He felt alienated from English society by reason of his homosexuality and mixed ancestry, and had a lifelong tendency to seclusion.
Sorabji was educated privately. His mother was English and his father a Parsi businessman and industrialist from India, who set up a trust fund that freed his family from the need to work. Although Sorabji was a reluctant performer and not a virtuoso, he played some of his music publicly between 1920 and 1936. In the late 1930s, his attitude shifted and he imposed restrictions on performance of his works, which he lifted in 1976. His compositions received little exposure in those years and he remained in public view mainly through his writings, which include the books Around Music and Mi contra fa: The Immoralisings of a Machiavellian Musician. During this time, he also left London and eventually settled in the village of Corfe Castle, Dorset. Information on Sorabji's life, especially his later years, is scarce, with most of it coming from the letters he exchanged with his friends. (Full article...) -
The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognised.
The Indian roller occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Often found perched on roadside trees and wires, it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and has adapted well to human-modified landscapes. It mainly feeds on insects, especially beetles. The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. Adult males and females form pair bonds and raise the young together. The female lays 3–5 eggs in a cavity or crevice, which is lined with a thin mat of straw or feathers. The roller is the state bird of three Indian states. It is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. (Full article...) -
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a large cat and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is traditionally classified into nine recent subspecies, though some recognise only two subspecies, mainland Asian tigers and the island tigers of the Sunda Islands.
Throughout the tiger's range, it inhabits mainly forests, from coniferous and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the Russian Far East and Northeast China to tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The tiger is an apex predator and preys mainly on ungulates, which it takes by ambush. It lives a mostly solitary life and occupies home ranges, defending these from individuals of the same sex. The range of a male tiger overlaps with that of multiple females with whom he mates. Females give birth to usually two or three cubs that stay with their mother for about two years. When becoming independent, they leave their mother's home range and establish their own. (Full article...) -
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...) -
Sir 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...) -
Aitraaz (transl. Objection) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor.
Aitraaz tells the story of a man accused of sexual harassment by his female superior, and was released on 12 November 2004 to positive reviews. Chopra received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. Loosely based on the 1994 film Disclosure, the film was a major commercial success grossing ₹260 million at the box office against a budget of ₹110 million, and has been noted for its bold subject of male sexual harassment. (Full article...) -
Hrithik Roshan (Hindi: [ˈɾɪt̪ɪk ɾoːʃən]; 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...) -
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (L. cyclotis), and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea; extinct relatives include mammoths and mastodons. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive grey skin. The trunk is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs.
Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and are found in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible. They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch. (Full article...) -
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera, native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on medium-sized and large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator.
The lion inhabits grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia, from Southeast Europe to India, but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one population in western India. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern. (Full article...) -
Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 999 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...) -
The 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 two main tournaments—an Open event, enabling participation of players from all genders, and a Women's event, enabling participation of female players only—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...) -
Map 1: Mysore and Coorg in a map of peninsular India showing shifting boundaries
The political history of the region on the Deccan Plateau in west-central peninsular India (Map 1) that was later divided into Mysore state and Coorg province saw many changes after the fall of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in 1565. The rise of Sultan Haidar Ali in 1761 introduced a new period.
At the height of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Mysore and Coorg region was ruled by diverse chieftains, or rajas ("little kings"). Each raja had the right to govern a small region, but also an obligation to supply soldiers and annual tribute for the empire's needs. After the empire's fall and the subsequent eastward move of the diminished ruling family, many chieftains tried to loosen their imperial bonds and expand their realms. Sensing opportunity amidst the new uncertainty, various powers from the north invaded the region. Among these were the Sultanate of Bijapur to the northwest, the Sultanate of Golconda to the northeast, the newly-formed Maratha empire farther northwest, and the major contemporary empire of India, the Mughal, which bounded all on the north. For much of the 17th century the tussles between the little kings and the big powers, and amongst the little kings, culminated in shifting sovereignties, loyalties, and borders. By the turn of the 18th century, the political landscape had become better defined: the northwestern hills were being ruled by the Nayaka rulers of Ikkeri, the southwestern—in the Western Ghats—by the Rajas of Coorg, the southern plains by the Wodeyar rulers of Mysore, all of which were Hindu dynasties; and the eastern and northeastern regions by the Muslim Nawabs of Arcot and Sira. Of these, Ikkeri and Coorg were independent, Mysore, although much-expanded, was formally a Mughal dependency, and Arcot and Sira, Mughal subahs (or provinces). (Full article...) -
Shah Rukh Khan (pronounced [ˈʃaːɦɾʊx xäːn] ⓘ; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more than 100 films, and earned numerous accolades, including 14 Filmfare Awards. He has been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India, as well as the Order of Arts and Letters and Legion of Honour by the Government of France. Khan has a significant following in Asia and the Indian diaspora worldwide. In terms of audience size and income, several media outlets have described him as one of the most successful film stars in the world. Many of his films thematise Indian national identity and connections with diaspora communities, or gender, racial, social and religious differences and grievances.
Khan began his career with appearances in several television series in the late 1980s and made his Bollywood debut in 1992 with the musical romance Deewana. He was initially recognised for playing villainous roles in the films Baazigar (1993) and Darr (1993). Khan established himself by starring in a series of top-grossing romantic films, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). He earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of an alcoholic in the period romantic drama Devdas (2002), a NASA scientist in the social drama Swades (2004), a hockey coach in the sports drama Chak De! India (2007), and a man with Asperger syndrome in the drama My Name Is Khan (2010). Further commercial successes came with the romances Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), and with his expansion to comedies in Chennai Express (2013) and Happy New Year (2014). Following a brief setback and hiatus, Khan made a career comeback with the 2023 action thrillers Pathaan and Jawan, both of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films. (Full article...) -
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...) -
Vithoba (IAST: Viṭhobā), also known as Vitthala (IAST: Viṭṭhala), and Panduranga (IAST: Pāṇḍuraṅga), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu deity Vishnu in his avatar: Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort Rakhumai.
Vithoba is the focus of an essentially monotheistic, non-ritualistic bhakti-driven Varkari faith in Maharashtra and the Haridasa sect established in Dvaita Vedanta in Karnataka. Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on Shayani Ekadashi in the month of Ashadha, and Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of Kartika. (Full article...) -
Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (pronounced [kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ]; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker, and politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandi since June 2024. Known for her portrayals of strong-willed, unconventional women in female-led Hindi films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards, and has featured six times in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list. In 2020, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award.
At the age of sixteen, Ranaut briefly took up modelling before being trained under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She made her film debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster, for which she was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe... (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion (2008). For the last of these, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) but was criticised for being typecast in neurotic roles. A comic role in Tanu Weds Manu (2011) was well-received, though this was followed by a series of brief, glamorous roles. (Full article...) -
Hyderabad (Telugu: Haidarābād pronounced [ˈɦaɪ̯dəɾaːbaːd]ⓘ; 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$ 95 billion, Hyderabad has the sixth-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 the 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...) -
Pather Panchali (Bengali pronunciation: [pɔtʰer pãtʃali] ⓘ, transl. Song of the Little Road) is a 1955 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray in his directoral debut and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is an adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name and features Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta, and Chunibala Devi in major roles. The first film in The Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali depicts the childhood travails of the protagonist Apu and his elder sister Durga amid the harsh village life of their poor family.
The film was shot mainly on location, had a limited budget, featured mostly amateur actors, and was made by an inexperienced crew. Lack of funds led to frequent interruptions in production, which took nearly three years, but the West Bengal government pulled Ray out of debt by buying the film for the equivalent of $60,000, which it turned into a profit of $700,000 by 1980. The sitar player Ravi Shankar composed the film's soundtrack and score using classical Indian ragas. Subrata Mitra was in charge of the cinematography while editing was handled by Dulal Dutta. Following its premiere on 3 May 1955 during an exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art, Pather Panchali was released in Calcutta the same year to an enthusiastic reception. A special screening was attended by the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the Prime Minister of India. (Full article...) -
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...)
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Selected pictures
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Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India. Built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, in 1785, the building reflects a maturation of ornamented Mughal design (as seen in the Badshahi Mosque). -
Photograph credit: Jeevan JoseLeptosia nina, known as the psyche, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae (the sulphurs, yellows and whites), found in the Indian subcontinent, southeastern Asia, and Australia. It has a small wingspan of 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). The upper side of the otherwise white forewing has a large, somewhat pear-shaped, black spot; this spot is also present on the underside which is scattered with greenish dots and speckles, sometimes arranged in bands. This L. nina butterfly was photographed in Kerala, India. -
Photograph credit: Charles James SharpThe pied bush chat (Saxicola caprata) is a small passerine bird widely distributed in Asia. The males are black with white shoulder and vent patches, while the females are predominantly brownish. This species is insectivorous, and like other chats hunts from a prominent low perch. This female pied bush chat was photographed in Pench National Park, India. -
Photograph: VengolisDanaus genutia, also known as the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of butterfly found throughout India as well as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South-East Asia and Australia. It is a member of the Danainae group of brush-footed butterflies. Both sexes have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands, and the male has a pouch on its hindwing. The butterfly is found in scrub jungles, fallow land adjacent to habitation, and deciduous forests, preferring areas of moderate to heavy rainfall. Its most common food plants in peninsular India are small herbs, twiners and creepers from the family Asclepiadaceae. The caterpillar of D. genutia obtains poison by eating poisonous plants, which make the caterpillar and butterfly taste unpleasant to predators. It has some 16 subspecies and although its evolutionary relationships are not completely resolved, it appears to be most closely related to the Malay tiger (D. affinis) and the white tiger. -
Photo: YannWomen of the Gondi, the largest tribe of Indian aboriginals in central India. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in most Indian states. The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages, while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi. For many years during the British colonial period, the Gonds were considered to have performed human sacrifices, although this notion was later discredited. -
Papilio 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. -
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimMysore Palace, the official residence and seat of the Wodeyars — the rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore. Located in southern India, the kingdom is traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 as a vassal state to the Vijayanagara Empire before becoming independent in the 16th century. -
Photograph: 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. -
Photograph: Arthur Chapman; edit: Papa Lima Whiskey and Ryan KaldariBrahmaea wallichii, also known as the owl moth, is a moth from the family Brahmaeidae. With a wingspan of about 90–160 mm (3.5–6.3 in), it is one of the largest species of Brahmin moth. This nocturnal species is found in India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Japan. -
Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi KarimA panoramic view of Bangalore from Corporation Circle, with UB City to the left and Richmond area to the right. Kanteerava Indoor Stadium is in the foreground. The third largest city in India, the city is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its numerous IT exports. -
Photograph credit: Augustus BinuK. T. Thomas (born 30 January 1937) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, known for his strong opinions on Indian socio-political matters. He was selected as a district and sessions judge in 1977, and became a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1985. A decade later, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, on which he served until retiring in 2002. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2007 for services in the field of social affairs. -
Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe southern plains gray langur (Semnopithecus dussumieri) is a species of Old World monkey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is about 62 cm (24 in) tall and lives in groups in various forest habitats, feeding mainly on leaves, fruit and flowers in the canopy, supplementing these with insects, gum, grasses, herbs and roots. The monkeys are considered sacred in India, and some are used by Hindu priests for religious purposes. They have adapted to living in close proximity to humans in urban settings; they are often fed by humans and accept cakes, millet, and other foods. The species is protected by law in India, but some are still persecuted for damaging crops, hunted for food and captured for pets.
This photograph of a female southern plains gray langur was taken in Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The park was created on 1 June 1955 and was designated a tiger reserve in 1973. -
Photo: Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe glass house at Lal Bagh, a botanical garden in Bangalore, India. The garden was commissioned by the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760, and completed during the reign of his son Tipu Sultan. The glass house was modeled on London's Crystal Palace and constructed at the end of the 19th century. -
Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpThe nilgai or blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The sole member of the genus Boselaphus, the species was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. The nilgai stands 1–1.5 metres (3.3–4.9 ft) at the shoulder; males weigh 109–288 kilograms (240–635 lb), and the lighter females 100–213 kilograms (220–470 lb). A sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch. Sexual dimorphism is prominent – while females and juveniles are orange to tawny, adult males have a bluish-grey coat. Only males possess horns, which are 15–24 centimetres (5.9–9.4 in) in length.
This picture shows a male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. -
Photo credit: Luc ViatourA fire breather in the "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band" of India. Fire breathing, which is said to have originated in India, is the act of creating a large flame by spraying, with one's mouth, a flammable liquid upon an open flame. A number of legendary creatures are said to possess innate capabilities for fire breathing, most notably dragons.
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Featured list –
This is a Featured list, which the Wikipedia community considers to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.
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Priyanka Chopra won several awards, including the National and Filmfare awards for Best Actress for her performance in Fashion
Fashion is a 2008 Indian drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and produced by UTV Motion Pictures. The film features Priyanka Chopra in the lead role, with Kangana Ranaut, Mugdha Godse, Arbaaz Khan and Arjan Bajwa in supporting roles as well as several professional fashion models playing themselves. Bhandarkar co-wrote the film with Ajay Monga and Anuraadha Tewari. Deven Murdeshwar edited the film while the cinematography was provided by Mahesh Limaye. Salim–Sulaiman composed the musical score, with lyrics written by Irfan Siddiqui and Sandeep Nath. The film focuses on the transformation of Meghna Mathur, an aspiring fashion model played by Chopra, from a small-town girl to a supermodel in the Indian fashion industry.
Produced on a budget of ₹180 million (US$2.1 million), Fashion was released on 29 October 2008 to critical acclaim and box-office success. It grossed ₹600 million (US$6.9 million) and was noted for being commercially successful despite being a women-centric film with no male lead. Fashion received various awards and nominations, with praise for its direction, the performance of the cast, screenplay, editing, musical score, and costume design. (Full article...) -
The Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration bestowed on members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces for acts of valour or gallantry performed in the face of the enemy. In the British honours system and those of many Commonwealth nations it is the highest award a soldier can receive for actions in combat. It was established in 1856 and since then has been awarded 1,356 times, including to three recipients who were awarded the VC twice.
The British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, units composed of Nepalese soldiers—although originally led by British officers—has been a part of the army since 1815. When raised, it originally focused on conflicts in the Far East, but the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese hands necessitated that the brigade move its base to the UK. A battalion is still maintained in Brunei and as at 2016, units serve in Afghanistan. (Full article...) -
The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1967, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the NFDC to a director for their work within Indian cinema. It is presented by the president of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi.
The winner is given a "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹3,00,000. Including ties and repeat winners, the NFDC has presented a total of 53 Best Direction awards to 34 different directors. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than twenty languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of nine languages: Bengali (16 awards), Malayalam (14 awards), Hindi (11 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English, Kannada and Marathi (3 awards each), Assamese and Punjabi (1 each). (Full article...) -
Vishwaroopam 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...) -
Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. It was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his production company, Studio Green. The film features Karthi and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles, with Kalaiyarasan, Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles. The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai. His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area. When Kaali hears of this, he decides to avenge Anbu's death. The soundtrack and score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan while the cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G and Praveen K. L. respectively.
Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations; its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
Dixit in 2019
Indian actress Madhuri Dixit made her acting debut in 1984 with Abodh where she portrayed a young bride. Dixit went on to appear in several films over the next three years, including the dramas Awara Baap (1985) and Swati (1986), though none of them garnered her much recognition. The role of Mohini in N. Chandra's action romance drama Tezaab (1988) proved to be a breakthrough for Dixit. The film went on to become the highest-grossing film of that year. For her performance, Dixit received a Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. She achieved further success by featuring as the female lead in several top-grossing action-dramas, including Ram Lakhan (1989), Tridev (1989), and Kishen Kanhaiya (1990). The role of a wealthy brat in the 1990 romantic drama Dil earned Dixit her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The following year, she starred in another box-office hit Saajan, and won a second Best Actress award at Filmfare for portraying the role of a strong woman who rebels against her manipulative mother-in-law in the 1992 drama Beta.
She featured alongside Jackie Shroff and Sanjay Dutt in the action thriller Khalnayak (1993), one of the highest-grossing films of that year. Subsequently, she played an avenger in the drama Anjaam (1994) to positive reviews. Dixit's subsequent release was Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), a family drama which emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film to that point. The following year, she featured in Raja (1995) which was a blockbuster film of that year and Yaraana in which she played a woman who attempts an escape from her abusive husband. Both of her releases in 1996—Rajkumar and Prem Granth—were financial failures. Dixit's portrayal of a headstrong dancer in Yash Chopra's 1997 romance Dil To Pagal Hai was a major success, earning her a fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in the dramas Mrityudand (1997), Wajood (1998) and Pukar (2000). She portrayed five roles in the experimental film Gaja Gamini (2000). (Full article...) -
Mohabbatein (transl. Love Stories) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Aditya Chopra. It stars an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and the newcomers Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Jugal Hansraj, Kim Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, and Preeti Jhangiani. It tells the story of a fictional all-boys college Gurukul's principal Narayan Shankar (Bachchan) who prohibits his students from falling in love and will unhesitantly expel those who do not obey the rule. The rest of the film focuses on how the arrival of the violin teacher Raj Aryan Malhotra (Khan) changes his views. Mohabbatein's soundtrack was composed by Jatin–Lalit, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The film was shot by Manmohan Singh on sets designed by Sharmishta Roy, while the editor was V. Karnik.
The film opened at theatres on 27 October 2000 and was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the performances of Bachchan and Khan. Made on a production budget of ₹130 million (US$1.5 million), the film had a total gross of ₹900.1 million (US$10 million) becoming the year's highest-grossing Indian film. (Full article...) -
Barfi! is a 2012 Indian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Anurag Basu and produced by UTV Motion Pictures. The film features Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles, with Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Roopa Ganguly playing supporting roles. The screenplay which incorporates a nonlinear narrative was co-written by Basu with his wife Tani. Pritam Chakraborty composed the musical and background score while Akiv Ali edited the film, with the cinematography provided by Ravi Varman. Set between 1972 and 2012, the film narrates the story of the title character from Darjeeling and his relationships with two women, Shruti and the autistic Jhilmil.
Made on a budget of approximately ₹410 million (US$4.7 million), Barfi! opened worldwide on 14 September 2012 to widespread critical acclaim. It was a major commercial success, grossing ₹1.88 billion (US$22 million) at the box office. Barfi! has received various awards and nominations, with praise for its direction, the cast's performances, cinematography, screenplay, musical score, costume and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 70 awards. (Full article...) -
The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1984, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the NFDC to an actress for the best performance in a supporting role within Indian cinema. It is presented by the President of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi. Since the 70th National Film Awards, the name was changed to "Best Actress in a Supporting Role".
The winner is given a "Rajat Kamal" (Silver Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹2,00,000. Including ties and repeat winners, the NFDC has presented a total of 41 Best Supporting Actress awards to 35 different actresses. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than 20 languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of ten languages: Hindi (19 awards), Malayalam (7 awards), Bengali (4 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English (2 awards), Meitei (1 award), Marathi (1 award), Urdu (1 award), Haryanvi (1 award), Odia (1 award). (Full article...) -
Vikram Vedha is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film directed and written by the husband and wife duo Pushkar–Gayathri and produced by S. Sashikanth under the banner of YNOT Studios. R. Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi play the title characters Vikram and Vedha respectively. Shraddha Srinath, Kathir and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar play the other lead roles while Prem, Achyuth Kumar, Hareesh Peradi and Vivek Prasanna feature as supporting characters. Sam C. S. composed the film's soundtrack and score. Richard Kevin and P. S. Vinod was in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively.
A contemporary adaptation of the Indian folktale Baital Pachisi, the film follows Vikram, a police inspector who is decisive about good and evil, and the head of an encounter unit which is formed to track down and kill Vedha, a gangster. When the unit makes plans for another encounter, Vedha walks into the police station and voluntarily surrenders himself. He then tells Vikram three stories which bring about a change in the latter's perceptions of right and wrong. (Full article...) -
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as it appeared in July 2010, was the main venue for the 1982 Asiad.
The 1982 Asian Games (also known as the IX Asiad)[a] was a multi-sport event held in Delhi, India, from 12 November to 4 December 1982. A total of 3,411 athletes from 33 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in these games, competing in 147 events in 21 sports and 22 disciplines. The number of participating countries was the greatest in Asian Games history. Sport events of handball, equestrian, rowing and golf were included for the first time; while fencing and bowling were excluded. This medal table ranks the participating NOCs by the number of gold medals won by their athletes.
Athletes from 23 participating NOCs won at least one medal; athletes from 16 of these NOCs secured at least one gold. Athletes from China won 61 gold medals, the most of any nation at these Asiad, and led the gold-medal count for the first time in their Asiad history. Japan had won the greatest number of medals in previous editions of the Games. China first competed at the Asian Games in 1974, in Tehran, where it finished third. Athletes from both China and Japan won the most total medals with 153. China has secured the top medal spot in every Asiad since 1982. South Korea finished third in total medals. North Korea finished fifth in total medals, and fourth in the gold-medal count. Host nation India finished the games with 57 medals overall (13 gold, 19 silver and 25 bronze, its best performance since 1951), in fifth spot in terms of total gold medals. (Full article...) -
The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the chief executive authority of the BJP, and fills a number of roles, including chairing meetings of the National Executive of the party and appointing the presidents of party subsidiaries, such its youth wing and farmer's wing. Any candidate for the presidency needs to have been a member of the party for at least 15 years. The president is nominally elected by an electoral college composed of members drawn from the party's National and State councils, but in practice is a consensus choice of senior members of the party. The term of the president is three years long, and individuals may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The president usually does not also hold a post within a government, and party chiefs have resigned the position to assume posts in Cabinet.
After the party's foundation in 1980, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became its first president. He later became the prime minister of India, the only BJP president to serve in that position to date. In 1986, Lal Krishna Advani was sworn in as the party president and has been the longest serving president over three different periods. As of 2022, 11 people have served as the president of the BJP, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah who have also served two terms. J. P. Nadda is the most recent president, having been appointed in January 2020. (Full article...) -
The prime minister of India is the chief executive of the Government of India and chair of the Union Council of Ministers. Although the president of India is the constitutional, nominal, and ceremonial head of state, in practice and ordinarily, the executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers. The prime minister is the leader elected by the party with a majority in the lower house of the Indian parliament, the Lok Sabha, which is the main legislative body in the Republic of India. The prime minister and their cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha. The prime minister can be a member of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament. The prime minister ranks third in the order of precedence.
The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however, the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, unless a prime minister resigns. The prime minister is the presiding member of the Council of Ministers of the Union government. The prime minister unilaterally controls the selection and dismissal of members of the council; and allocation of posts to members within the government. This council, which is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha as per Article 75(3), assists the president regarding the operations under the latter's powers; however, by the virtue of Article 74 of the Constitution, such 'aid and advice' tendered by the council is binding. (Full article...) -
Rahul Dravid during the Australian tour of India in 2004
Rahul Dravid is a retired Indian international cricketer. in both Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket in matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nicknamed "The Wall" for his ability of "... fending off the fiercest, the fastest and the wiliest of bowlers around the world", he scored 36 centuries (scores of 100 runs or more) in Test cricket and 12 in One Day Internationals (ODI) between his debut in 1996 and retirement in 2011. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000, as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year and ICC Player of the Year in 2004.
Dravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations. (Full article...) -
Roshan in 2024
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...) -
James Faulkner is one of the only four bowlers to take multiple five-wicket hauls and the only to take multiple five-wicket hauls in the same season.
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. This is regarded as a notable achievement, especially in T20 cricket where a bowler can bowl a maximum of only 24 balls (4 overs). The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India, which has been held annually since its first season in 2008. So far, 34 five-wicket hauls have been taken by different bowlers, of which only two five-wicket hauls have been taken outside India. Players from twelve of the thirteen teams have taken five-wicket hauls; Kochi Tuskers Kerala is the only franchise for which a player has not taken a five-wicket haul.
The first five-wicket haul was taken by Sohail Tanvir of the Rajasthan Royals against the Chennai Super Kings on 4 May 2008. He finished the game with 6 wickets. The most economical five-wicket haul was taken by Akash Madhwal of the Mumbai Indians, who claimed five wickets with an economy rate of 1.43 in the 2023 season. Yuzvendra Chahal of the Rajasthan Royals took the least economical five-wicket haul, 5/40 bowling with an economy rate of 10.00 in 2021. Anil Kumble is the oldest bowler to take a five-wicket haul, achieving the feat at the age of 38, while Jaydev Unadkat is the youngest, he was 21 when he took his first five-for in 2013. (Full article...) -
Chopra at the 21st Lions Gold Awards where she won the Best Actress award for Mary Kom (2014)
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress who has received several awards and nominations including two National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, eight Producers Guild Film Awards, eight Screen Awards, six IIFA Awards, and two People's Choice Awards. In 2000, she participated in the Femina Miss India contest, where she finished second, winning the Femina Miss India World title. She then entered the Miss World pageant and was crowned Miss World 2000, becoming the fifth Indian to win the contest. Chopra made her Bollywood film debut with a supporting role in the 2003 spy thriller The Hero, which earned her the Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, her performance in the romantic musical Andaaz won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the same ceremony. For her portrayal of a seductress in the romantic thriller Aitraaz, Chopra won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role and received her second nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The same year, she was nominated for the IIFA Award for Best Actress for the romantic comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karogi.
Chopra starred as a troubled model in the drama Fashion (2008), for which she won many Best Actress awards in India including the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award in the same category. In 2010, she received several Best Actress nominations for playing a feisty Marathi woman in the caper thriller Kaminey, winning her second consecutive Producers Guild Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role after Fashion. The same year, she was nominated for the Screen Award for Best Actress for playing twelve distinct roles in the social comedy film What's Your Raashee?. For her portrayal of a serial killer, in the 2011 neo-noir 7 Khoon Maaf, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics), in addition to a Best Actress nomination at the same ceremony. (Full article...) -
Map shows the ruling parties in states and union territories
In the Republic of India, a chief minister is the head of government of each of the twenty-eight states and three of the eight union territories. According to the Constitution of India, at the state level, the governor is de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the state legislative assembly, the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the state government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Out of the thirty incumbents, except Tamil Nadu's M. K. Stalin, all other chief ministers also act as the leader of the house in their legislative assemblies. Given they have the assembly's confidence, the chief minister's term is usually for a maximum of five years; there are no limits to the number of terms they can serve.
Mamata Banerjee the Chief Minister of West Bengal, who has the longest continuous incumbency serving since 20 March 2011 (for 13 years, 275 days) is the only female Chief Minister. (Full article...) -
My Name Is Khan is a 2010 drama film directed by Karan Johar. The film features Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles with Jimmy Sheirgill, Zarina Wahab, Sonya Jehan, Vinay Pathak and Parvin Dabas playing supporting roles. Set in the United States, the film's story focuses on Rizwan Khan (Khan), a non-resident Indian with Asperger syndrome whose wife, Mandira (Kajol), has a child, Sameer, from a previous relationship. During the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Sameer dies as a result of a racist assault by school bullies. Mandira blames Sameer's death on Rizwan due to his religion, and tells him not to come back until he can convince the President of the United States that he is not a terrorist. Rizwan takes Mandira's words literally and tries to meet the President so as to win her back. My Name Is Khan was co-produced by Johar's brother, Hiroo Yash Johar, and Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, under the Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment banners respectively. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the soundtrack while Niranjan Iyengar and Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics for its songs. Ravi K. Chandran, Deepa Bhatia and Sharmishta Roy handled the cinematography, editing and production design respectively.
Produced on a budget of ₹850 million (about US$19 million in 2010), My Name Is Khan was released on 12 February 2010 and received positive reviews. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹2.048 billion (about US$45 million in 2010) worldwide. The film won 25 awards from 84 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
Sanjay Dutt at Mumbai Airport
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films as well as a few Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Punjabi films. He made his acting debut in 1981, opposite Tina Ambani, in his father Sunil Dutt's romantic action film Rocky (1981). Rocky was ranked at tenth highest-grossing Bollywood films of 1981. After appearing in a series of box office flops, he starred in Mahesh Bhatt's crime thriller film Naam (1986). Dutt received critical acclaim for his performance, and it became a turning point in his career.
In 1991, Dutt appeared in Lawrence D'Souza's Indian romantic drama film Saajan (1991), starring alongside Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan. For his performance, Dutt was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. He was nominated again for the same award for his performance in Khalnayak (1993). Dutt won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor—for portraying a young man who later becomes a gangster in Vaastav: The Reality (1999). He also received critical acclaim for his performance. Dutt next appeared in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's crime thriller film Mission Kashmir (2000). For his performance, Dutt was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. (Full article...) -
Ajith Kumar in 2025
Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Apart from a small role in the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar, his professional career began three years later with his debut as a lead actor in Tamil cinema with Amaravathi (1993). Despite being a moderate success, the film helped him obtain more modelling assignments. He followed it up the same year with Prema Pusthakam, his only Telugu film to date. After Amaravathi's release, Ajith opted against acting, and instead tried pursuing a career in auto racing. While training for an amateur race, he injured his back and underwent three major surgeries, leaving him bed-ridden for a year and a half. After recovering from the injury, he played supporting roles in Paasamalargal (1994) and Pavithra (1994). After this, he co-starred with Vijay in Rajavin Parvaiyile (1995). That same year, he had his breakthrough with the romantic thriller Aasai. His performance earned him critical acclaim and established him as an up-and-coming actor in Tamil cinema.
He was next seen as the main lead in Agathiyan's epistolary Kadhal Kottai (1996), a critical and commercial success. In 1997, he had five releases, all of which were commercial failures. Ajith's dual portrayal of twin brothers—where one is deaf-mute—in S. J. Suryah's Vaalee (1999) won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. Impressed with his performance in that film, Rajiv Menon cast Ajith in the ensemble drama Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) which was also commercial and critical success. The following year, he collaborated with debutant director AR Murugadoss on the action film Dheena. The film was successful in establishing his reputation as an action hero and earning him the nickname "Thala" ("leader"). He earned critical acclaim for his dual role performance in the vigilante film Citizen (2001), and the film was commercial success. and a Best Actor nomination at Filmfare for the drama Poovellam Un Vasam (2001). His last release of the year was Santosh Sivan's Hindi film Aśoka, where he played a brief antagonistic role opposite Shah Rukh Khan. His -role performance as twin brothers in K. S. Ravikumar's film Villain (2002) won him a second Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. (Full article...) -
Rohit Sharma has scored 49 centuries in international cricket.
Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team since 2007. He has made 49 centuries in international cricket—32 in One Day Internationals (ODI), 12 in Tests and 5 in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)— as of February 2025.
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. As of January 2020[update], 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...) -
Paradesi (transl. Vagabond) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written, produced and directed by Bala. The film features Atharvaa and Vedhika in the lead roles, with Sai Dhanshika, Uday Karthik, Riythvika and Jerry in supporting roles. The soundtrack and score were composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The cinematography was handled by Chezhiyan, while Kishore Te and L. V. K. Das were in charge of the editing. Based on Paul Harris Daniel's 1969 novel Red Tea, the film's story revolves around Raasa (Atharvaa), an unemployed villager who is misled into bonded labour at a tea plantation after being promised generous accommodation and wages by its supervisor (Jerry).
Paradesi was made on a budget of ₹400 million and was released on 15 March 2013 to critical acclaim, but failed at the box office. The film won 37 awards from 59 nominations; its direction, performances of the cast members, music, cinematography, and costumes have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...) -
Khan at an event in 2012
Salman Khan is an Indian actor and producer, known for his work in Hindi films. He made his film debut with a brief role in Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), before having his breakthrough with Sooraj Barjatya's blockbuster romance Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) that won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. In the early 1990s, he earned success with the action film Baaghi: A Rebel for Love (1990) and the romance Sanam Bewafa, Saajan (both 1991). His other releases during this period failed commercially, resulting in a brief setback in his career.
The success of the family drama Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) and the melodramatic action Karan Arjun (1995) revitalised Khan's career and established him in Bollywood. Also in 1994, he co-starred with Aamir Khan in the comedy movie Andaz Apna Apna, which was poorly received at that time, but later became a cult film in India. Among his three film releases of 1996 were Sanjay Leela Bhansali's critically acclaimed musical drama Khamoshi and the Raj Kanwar-directed drama Jeet. The following year, he played dual roles in David Dhawan's comedy Judwaa. In 1998, Khan featured in Sohail Khan's Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, and appeared briefly in the romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, both of which ranked among the top-earning Bollywood productions of 1998. For the latter, he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. (Full article...) -
Virender Sehwag has represented Delhi Daredevils in 86 matches, more than any other player.
The Delhi Capitals are a franchise cricket team based in Delhi, India, and are one of the teams participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Capitals played their first match in the first season of the IPL against the Rajasthan Royals. The Capitals reached the IPL playoffs three times, and have topped the group stage table twice. Their performances in the competition have resulted in their qualification for the 2009 and 2012 Champions League Twenty20, in which they reached the semi-finals on the second occasion. In total, 108 players have played for the Capitals, of whom Virender Sehwag has played the most matches: 86 since his debut for the franchise in 2008.
The leading run-scorer for the Capitals is Sehwag with 2,382 runs. Rishabh Pant's innings of 128 not out against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 is the highest individual score in an innings by a Capitals batsman. David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan both have scored two centuries each for the Capitals, whereas Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Kevin Pietersen, Quinton de Kock, Sanju Samson, and Pant have scored one each. JP Duminy has the team's best batting average: 44.13. Among Capitals's bowlers, Amit Mishra has taken more wickets than any other, with 90. The best bowling average is Doug Bracewell's 10.66, though among bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs, Farveez Maharoof has the best average with 19.25. Mishra has the best bowling figures in an innings: he got a five wicket haul against the Deccan Chargers in a 2008 match, while conceding only 17 runs. Dinesh Karthik has taken the most catches as wicket-keeper for the Capitals, with 30, while also making the most stumpings: 15. Sehwag has claimed the highest number of catches among fielders, taking 30. (Full article...)
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Mahākāśyapa (Pali: Mahākassapa) was one of the principal disciples of Gautama Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple, being foremost in ascetic practice. Mahākāśyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community following the parinirvāṇa (death) of the Buddha, presiding over the First Buddhist Council. He was considered to be the first patriarch in a number of Early Buddhist schools and continued to have an important role as patriarch in the Chan/Zen tradition. In Buddhist texts, he assumed many identities, that of a renunciant saint, a lawgiver, an anti-establishment figure, but also a "guarantor of future justice" in the time of Maitreya, the future Buddha—he has been described as "both the anchorite and the friend of mankind, even of the outcast".
In canonical Buddhist texts in several traditions, Mahākāśyapa was born as Pippali in a village and entered an arranged marriage with a woman named Bhadra-Kapilānī. Both of them aspired to lead a celibate life, however, and they decided not to consummate their marriage. Having grown weary of the agricultural profession and the damage it did, they both left the lay life behind to become mendicants. Pippali later met the Buddha, under whom he was ordained as a monk, named Kāśyapa, but later called Mahākāśyapa to distinguish him from other disciples. Mahākāśyapa became an important disciple of the Buddha, to the extent that the Buddha exchanged his robe with him, which was a symbol of the transmittance of the Buddhist teaching. He became foremost in ascetic practices and attained enlightenment shortly after. He often had disputes with Ānanda, the attendant of the Buddha, due to their different dispositions and views. Despite his ascetic, strict and stern reputation, he paid an interest in community matters and teaching, and was known for his compassion for the poor, which sometimes caused him to be depicted as an anti-establishment figure. He had a prominent role in the cremation of the Buddha, acting as a sort of eldest son of the Buddha, as well as being the leader in the subsequent First Council. He is depicted as hesitatingly allowing Ānanda to participate in the council, and chastising him afterwards for a number of offenses the latter was regarded to have committed. (Full article...) -
Durga Shakti Nagpal (born 25 June 1985) is an Indian bureaucrat and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre and 2010 batch. She's currently posted as a DM & Collector of Lakhimpur Kheri. She came into public view after launching a massive drive against corruption and illegal sand mining within her jurisdiction of Gautam Budh Nagar as Joint Magistrate. In July 2013, she was suspended by the Akhilesh Yadav led Government of UP for allegedly demolishing an illegal mosque wall in Kadalpur village near Jewar, which resulted in severe opposition as it was perceived to be based on flimsy grounds.
There was a growing demand from various political parties, associations of Indian bureaucrats, and by the general public on online social media for her suspension to be revoked. Her suspension was revoked by the Government of UP on 26 September 2013 and she was transferred to Kanpur Dehat. (Full article...) -
Siddhantasara (pronounced [sɪd'ðantsar]; transl. The Gist of Principles) is a 1889 Gujarati book on the history of philosophy by Indian writer and philosopher Manilal Dwivedi. It is a historical critique of the world's religious philosophies. The book deals with the evolution of religious sentiment and attempts to establish the superiority of the Advaita philosophy over other religious philosophies.
Siddhantasara received positive reviews and became a landmark in the history of Gujarati literature but was also criticised because of the logical lapses and inconsistencies in the author's arguments. Manishankar Bhatt (known as Kavi Kant) published his review as a book titled Siddhantasaranu Avalokan (Analysis of Siddhantasara). Siddhantasara is considered by critics to be Manilal's most important work, and has been seen as a response to the cultural agenda and reform activities of colonial India at the time. (Full article...) -
Anushka Sharma (pronounced [əˈnʊʃka ˈʃərma]; born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Her awards include a Filmfare Award. She has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 in the 2010s and was featured by Forbes Asia in their 30 Under 30 list of 2018.
Born in Ayodhya and raised in Bangalore, Sharma had her first modelling assignment for the fashion designer Wendell Rodricks in 2007 and later moved to Mumbai to pursue a full-time career as a model. She made her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the top-grossing romantic film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and rose to prominence with starring roles in Yash Raj Films' romances Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012); winning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. Sharma went on to earn praise for playing strong-willed women in the crime thriller NH10 (2015), and the dramas Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), and Sui Dhaaga (2018). Her highest-grossing releases came with the sports drama Sultan (2016), and Rajkumar Hirani's films PK (2014) and Sanju (2018). The poorly received Zero (2018) was followed by a hiatus from acting. (Full article...) -
Colonel Kekhashru Maneksha Mistry (7 November 1874 – 22 July 1959) was an Indian cricketer who was a member of the first all-Indian cricket team to tour England in 1911. A left-handed batsman and a left-arm bowler, he was considered one of India's first all-rounders. Mistry was a member of the Parsees cricket team in the Bombay Presidency tournaments and also played for the Maharaja of Patiala's team.
Mistry was an aide to the maharaja, Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, an association that continued until the maharaja's death, and was referred to as the 'grand old man of Indian cricket'. (Full article...) -
The Oath of the Vayuputras is the third book of Amish Tripathi, third book of Amishverse, and also the third book of Shiva Trilogy. The book was released on 27 February 2013, through Westland Press and completes the mythical story about an imaginary land Meluha and how its inhabitants were saved by a barbarian named Shiva. Starting from where the previous installment left off, Shiva discovers what is the true evil in The Oath of the Vayuputras. Shiva then declares a holy war on those who seek to continue to use it, mainly the Emperors Daksha and Dilipa, who are being controlled by the sage Bhrigu. The battle rages on and Shiva travels to the land of Pariha to consult with Vayuputras, a legendary tribe. By the time he returns, the war has ended with Sati, his wife, being murdered. An enraged Shiva destroys the capital of Meluha and Somras is wiped out of history. The story concludes with Shiva and his associates being popularized as Gods for their deeds and accomplishments.
Tripathi had confirmed in September 2011 that he was writing The Oath of the Vayuputras, with Westland announcing the release date as 27 February 2013. The book was longer than the previous installments of the series and Tripathi clarified that all the loose ends left out in the previous book would be addressed, with the death of certain characters. Following the release of the cover art, it was announced that the publication rights of the books have been bought by both US and UK publisher houses. Like The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas, the book contained innovative marketing techniques, including launching interactive apps, merchandise and a music album titled Vayuputras, containing music inspired by different events in the series. (Full article...) -
Three athletes from India participated in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, held between 12 and 28 February 2010. The country's participation in Vancouver marked its eighth appearance at the Winter Olympics since its debut in 1964.
The India team consisted of skiers Jamyang Namgial and Tashi Lundup apart from luger Shiva Keshavan. Keshavan was the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony. None of them won a medal, and as of these Games, India had not earned a Winter Olympic medal. Lundup served as the flag-bearer during the closing ceremony. (Full article...) -
Murali Kartik (pronunciation, born 11 September 1976) is a Cricket commentator and former Indian cricketer who sporadically represented the national team from 2000 to 2007. He was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He was not selected for international matches during his prime years due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the Indian squad. A left-handed batsman who had some success with the bat at first-class level with 21 half-centuries, Murli was not able to repeat such performances at international level.
After starting out in the Delhi junior system, Murali moved through the age group ranks at Railways and was selected for the Indian Under-19 team. He made his first-class debut in 1996–97 and after a few productive seasons at the domestic level, made his Test debut in early 2000 as Kumble's bowling partner. However, he ran into disciplinary problems and was expelled from the National Cricket Academy in the same year. At the same time, new national captain Sourav Ganguly was reluctant to entrust him with responsibility. Ganguly called for off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to be recalled in 2001 and was rewarded with a series-winning performance against Australia. This entrenched the off-spinner in the team and left Kartik on the outer. (Full article...) -
Nenjil Or Aalayam (transl. A Temple in the Heart) is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed, produced and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Kalyan Kumar, Devika and R. Muthuraman while Nagesh, Manorama and Kutty Padmini play supporting roles. The original soundtrack album and background score were composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Kannadasan.
The film revolves around a young woman named Seetha, her husband Venu and Murali, who was Seetha's lover. Due to his tenure overseas, Seetha's parents force her to marry another person. A few years later, Venu contracts cancer and Seetha brings him to Chennai to meet a cancer specialist who, to her dismay, is revealed to be Murali. Realising that something is worrying Seetha, Venu gives her the freedom to marry Murali after his death. The remainder of the film shows how Murali sacrifices his love for the sake of the couple's happiness and cures Venu. (Full article...) -
No One Killed Jessica is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Gupta. It stars Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji. Based on the Jessica Lal murder case, the film revolves around a bartender who dies after being shot by a politician's son and her sister's struggle to find justice for her death.
Made on a budget of ₹9 crore (US$1.0 million), No One Killed Jessica was released theatrically on 7 January 2011. The film received widespread critical acclaim for its screenplay and cast performances and emerged as a sleeper hit, grossing ₹45.72 crore (US$5.3 million) approximately in its theatrical run. It was nominated for Best Film, Best Director (Gupta), and Best Actress (Balan) at the 57th Filmfare Awards, where it won Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji). (Full article...) -
Meena Kumari is a biography by Vinod Mehta about the Indian actress of the same name. It details her birth in 1933 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), her 33-year-long acting career, her marriage to Kamal Amrohi, and her death in 1972. It also includes Mehta's analysis on her career and film roles. The first edition published in October 1972 by Jaico Publishing House was praised by critics, but its second edition, Meena Kumari: The Classic Biography, released on 10 July 2013 by HarperCollins, met with mixed criticism.
Luiz Vaz of Jaico Publishing House approached Mehta, then a copywriter, to write a biography on Kumari soon after her death in March 1972. Though unfamiliar with Bollywood, Mehta took the opportunity to expand his scope of work. In research, he met her family members and contemporaries, and also collected archived film magazines. His writing style is influenced by New Journalism, where the authors are placed as the narrative's core and refer to themselves with first-person pronouns. (Full article...) -
My Friend Pinto is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language musical comedy film written and directed by Raaghav Dar, in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Prateik Babbar as Michael Pinto, a well intentioned simpleton and follows his misadventures over the course of New Year's Eve in Mumbai. Produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala, and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, it has elements of picaresque, slapstick comedy and multiple musical sequences. The film features Kalki Koechlin, Arjun Mathur, Shruti Seth, Makarand Deshpande, Rajendranath Zutshi and Divya Dutta in supporting roles.
Although Dar had written the script while working as an assistant director on Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008), it was not until he met Bhansali that he began working on a proper screenplay. Conceived as a musical comedy, My Friend Pinto had multiple sequences choreographed by Longinus Fernandes, featuring Babbar and Koechlin primarily. Principal photography was done over a period of two and a half years in South Mumbai, mostly during night. The film's soundtrack was composed by the music director duo Ajay–Atul, while Hitesh Sonik composed the background score and a surplus song. (Full article...) -
The four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), also called chousingha, is a small bovid antelope native to central, South and Western India, along with a smaller population in Nepal. The sole member of the genus Tetracerus, the chousingha was first scientifically described in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville. Three regional subspecies are currently recognised. The four-horned antelope has a yellowish-tan, sometimes reddish or goldenrod coat. It is slender with thin legs and a short tail. It stands nearly 55–64 cm (22–25 in) at the shoulder and weighs about 17–22 kg (37–49 lb). Its four horns are unique among antelopes and distinguish it from most other bovids. The longer pair of straight, spike-like horns is atop its head between the ears, while the other, shorter pair is on the forehead; its posterior horns are always longer than the anterior horns, which may even present as merely fur-covered "studs". While the posterior horns measure 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in), the anterior ones are usually 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long.
The four-horned antelope is diurnal (active mainly during the day) and typically solitary by nature, though some antelope may form loose groups of three to five animals, usually one or more adults, possibly accompanied by calves. This elusive antelope feeds on grasses, herbs, shrubs, foliage, flowers and fruits. It needs to drink water frequently; as such it stays in places near water sources. The breeding behaviour of the four-horned antelope has not been well studied. The age at which they reach sexual maturity and the season when mating occurs have not been understood well. Gestation lasts about eight months, following which one or two calves are born. They are kept concealed for the first few weeks of their birth. The young remain with the mother for about a year. (Full article...) -
Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei (transl. Pulikesi XXIII, the king of nuisance) is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language historical-comedy film written and directed by Chimbu Deven in his directoral debut .The film stars Vadivelu in his debut as a solo lead actor. Monica and Tejashree play the female leads, while Manorama, Nassar, Ilavarasu, Sreeman and Nagesh play supporting roles. Sabesh–Murali composed the soundtrack album and background score. S. Shankar produced and distributed the film under his production banner S Pictures.
Set in the late 18th century during the early stages of the British Raj, the film tells the story of twin brothers separated at birth. Pulikesi XXIII, the foolish elder brother, becomes a puppet of his uncle, the Chief Minister, while Ukraputhan, the wise younger brother, becomes a patriot intent on saving his land and his brother. (Full article...) -
Chhinnamasta (Sanskrit: छिन्नमस्ता, Chinnamastā :"She whose head is severed"), often spelled Chinnamasta, and also called Chhinnamastika, Chhinnamasta Kali, Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa (in western states of India), is a Hindu goddess (Devi). She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra, and a ferocious aspect of Mahadevi, the Hindu Mother goddess. The self-decapitated nude goddess, usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple, holding her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another. Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants.
Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions. She symbolises both aspects of Devi: a life-giver and a life-taker. She is considered both a symbol of sexual self-control and an embodiment of sexual energy, depending upon interpretation. She represents death, temporality, and destruction as well as life, immortality, and recreation. The goddess conveys spiritual self-realization and the awakening of the kundalini – spiritual energy. The legends of Chhinnamasta emphasise her self-sacrifice – sometimes coupled with a maternal element – sexual dominance, and self-destructive fury. (Full article...) -
Abu'l Hasan, Emperor Jahangir at the jharoka window of the Agra Fort, c. 1620, Aga Khan Museum
Jharokha Darshan (Persian: جهروکه درشن) (Hindi: झरोखा दर्शन) was a daily practice of addressing the public audience (darshan) at the balcony (jharokha) at the forts and palaces of medieval kings in India. It was an essential and direct way of communicating face-to-face with the public, and was a practice which was adopted by the Mughal emperors. The balcony appearance in the name of Jharokha Darshan also spelled jharokha-i darshan was adopted by the 16th-century Mughal Emperor Akbar, even though it was contrary to Islamic injunctions. Earlier, Akbar's father Emperor Humayun had also adopted this Hindu practice of appearing before his subjects at the jharokha to hear their public grievances.
Darshan is a Sanskrit word which means "sight" and "beholding" (also means: "the viewing of an idol or a saint") which was adopted by Mughals for their daily appearance before their subjects. This also showed a Hindu influence, It was first practiced by Humayun before Akbar adopted it as a practice at sunrise. Jharokha is an easterly facing "ornate bay-window", canopied, throne-balcony, the "balcony for viewing" (an oriel window projecting out of the wall) provided in every palace or fort where the kings or emperors resided during their reign. Its architecture served not only the basic need for lighting and ventilation but also attained a divine concept during the reign of Mughals. The jharokha appearances by the Mughals have been depicted by many paintings. (Full article...) -
The Bobbili Fort, located in the Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, was built during the middle of the 19th century in Bobbili. It has a historical link to the nearby mud fort of the same name which was destroyed during the Bobbili war in 1757 in a feud between the Rajas of Bobbili and the neighbouring Maharaja of Vizianagaram.
Chinna Ranga Rao, who survived the Battle of Bobbili as a child was, at a later date, installed as the Raja of Bobbili. The successors of his lineage constructed the present Bobbili Fort following their improved economic conditions in the middle of the 19th century. (Full article...) -
Armaan (transl. Desire) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language medical drama film that was co-written and directed by Honey Irani. Starring the ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Gracy Singh, and Randhir Kapoor, the film is set in a hospital and follows the travails of its principal, Dr. Akash (Anil Kapoor), to sustain the institution financially. Meanwhile, a mentally unstable woman named Sonia (Zinta) comes into his life and offers to help by donating to the hospital on the condition that Akash marries her.
Irani wrote the story of Armaan and also wrote the screenplay with Javed Akhtar. Principal photography (handled by Ravi Varman) took place in India and Africa, and Shirish Kunder edited the film. It was released on 16 May 2003 and declared a commercial failure, only earning ₹149.2 million (US$1.7 million) against a ₹100 million (US$1.2 million) budget. Although the film garnered mixed reviews, critics praised Irani's direction and the actors' performances, particularly those of Bachchan and Zinta. Zinta received nominations for her performance as the film's antagonist at the Filmfare Awards, the Producers Guild Film Awards, and the Screen Awards. (Full article...) -
Raja Sir Panaganti Ramarayaningar KCIE (9 July 1866 – 16 December 1928), also known as the Raja of Panagal, was a zamindar of Kalahasti, a Justice Party leader and the First Minister of Madras Presidency from 11 July 1921 to 3 December 1926.
Ramarayaningar was born in Srikalahasti, Chittoor district on 9 July 1866, and fostered in the Vadama Calamur family, whose pro-Brahmin, Mylapore clique influence and political moderation he would come to fiercely oppose. He was educated in Madras and obtained degrees in Sanskrit, law, philosophy and Dravidian languages before entering politics. He was one of the founder-members of the Justice Party and served as its president from 1925 to 1928. (Full article...) -
Wazir (transl. Vizier) is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Bejoy Nambiar and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Written and edited by Abhijat Joshi and Chopra, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar alongside Aditi Rao Hydari, Manav Kaul and Neil Nitin Mukesh (as the title character). John Abraham makes a special appearance. The film's dialogue and additional dialogue were written by Abhijeet Deshpande and Gazal Dhaliwal, respectively. The music was composed by several artists including Shantanu Moitra, Ankit Tiwari, Advaita, Prashant Pillai, Rochak Kohli and Gaurav Godkhindi, with the background score composed by Rohit Kulkarni. Sanu Varghese served as the film's cinematographer.
Based on an original story by Chopra, Wazir follows the story of a suspended Anti-Terrorism Squad officer who befriends a chess player who is a wheelchair user. The idea of the film came to Chopra in the 1990s and he started writing it in English with Joshi over a period of four years starting in 2000. It was supposed to be Chopra's first Hollywood film, with Dustin Hoffman playing the protagonist. However, its producer died and the film was shelved for nearly eight years. Chopra and Joshi later re-wrote the script so it could be produced as a Hindi film. Principal photography began on 28 September 2014. (Full article...) -
The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Bangladesh and West Bengal), from starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions, poor British wartime policies and lack of health care. Millions were impoverished as the crisis overwhelmed large segments of the economy and catastrophically disrupted the social fabric. Eventually, families disintegrated; men sold their small farms and left home to look for work or to join the British Indian Army, and women and children became homeless migrants, often travelling to Calcutta or other large cities in search of organised relief.
Bengal's economy had been predominantly agrarian at that time, with between half and three-quarters of the rural poor subsisting in a "semi-starved condition". Stagnant agricultural productivity and a stable land base were unable to cope with a rapidly increasing population, resulting in both long-term decline in per capita availability of rice and growing numbers of the land-poor and landless labourers. A high proportion laboured beneath a chronic and spiralling cycle of debt that ended in debt bondage and the loss of their landholdings due to land grabbing. (Full article...) -
Kosala (English: Cocoon), sometimes spelled Kosla, is a Marathi novel by Indian writer Bhalchandra Nemade, published in 1963. Regarded as Nemade's magnum opus, and accepted as a modern classic of Marathi literature, the novel uses the autobiographical form to narrate the journey of a young man, Pandurang Sangvikar, and his friends through his college years.
Kosala is considered to be the first existentialist novel in Marathi literature. Since its publication, its open-ended nature and potential for varied interpretations have been viewed as ground-breaking. The novel has become a modern classic of post-1960 Marathi fiction, and has been translated into eight South Asian languages and into English. (Full article...) -
1: Nenokkadine (transl. 1: I am alone) is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Sukumar. Produced by 14 Reels Entertainment and distributed by Eros International, the film stars Mahesh Babu and Kriti Sanon (in her film debut) in lead roles. Nassar, Pradeep Rawat, and Kelly Dorji appear in supporting roles. The story follows Gautham, a rock musician suffering from schizophrenia and missing 25 percent of his brain's grey matter, as he embarks on a quest to find his parents with the help of his girlfriend, Sameera, a journalist.
Sukumar began working on the film's script after completing 100% Love (2011), using a bus driver's tale about a boy claiming his parents were murdered on his bus as the foundation. 1: Nenokkadine features cinematography by R. Rathnavelu and editing by Karthika Srinivas. The music was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. Principal photography commenced in April 2012 and concluded in October 2013. Filming took place in various locations including London, Belfast, Bangkok, and Indian cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, and Bangalore. Produced on a budget of ₹60–70 crore, it was the most expensive Telugu film at the time of its release. (Full article...) -
7 Khoon Maaf (transl. 7 Murders Forgiven; read as "Saat Khoon Maaf"), released internationally as Seven Sins Forgiven, is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role, with Vivaan Shah, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan, Alexander Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Usha Uthup in supporting roles. The film tells the story of a femme fatale, Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes, an Anglo-Indian woman who causes six deaths in an unending quest for love. She was a real woman and lived in Bengal. Her grave is situated in Chuchura, district town of Hooghly.
7 Khoon Maaf is an adaptation of the short story "Susanna's Seven Husbands" by Ruskin Bond. After Bhardwaj saw the possibility of a script in the short story, he requested Bond to develop the story for a film adaptation. Bond expanded his 4-page short story into an 80-page novella, and later Bhardwaj co-wrote the script with Matthew Robbins. The film's musical score was composed by Bhardwaj, and Gulzar wrote the lyrics. Principal photography started in Kashmir before moving to Coorg, where extensive filming was done. (Full article...) -
Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, Educationalist
and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as Bande Mataram. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British colonial rule, until 1910 was one of its influential leaders, and then became a spiritual reformer, introducing his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution.
Aurobindo studied for the Indian Civil Service at King's College, in Cambridge, England. After returning to India he took up various civil service works under the Maharaja of the princely state of Baroda and became increasingly involved in nationalist politics in the Indian National Congress and the nascent revolutionary movement in Bengal with the Anushilan Samiti. He was arrested in the aftermath of a number of bombings linked to his organization in a public trial where he faced charges of treason for Alipore Conspiracy. However, Sri Aurobindo could only be convicted and imprisoned for writing articles against British colonial rule in India. He was released when no evidence could be provided, following the murder of a prosecution witness, Narendranath Goswami, during the trial. During his stay in the jail, he had mystical and spiritual experiences, after which he moved to Pondicherry, leaving politics for spiritual work. (Full article...)
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News
- 15 February 2025 – 2025 New Delhi railway station stampede
- A crowd crush kills at least 18 people, including three children, and injures ten others at New Delhi railway station in New Delhi, India. (BBC News) (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
- 14 February 2025 –
- Ten people are killed and 19 others are injured in a collision between a car and a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims heading to Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. (DW)
- 9 February 2025 – Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- Thirty-one Maoist militants and two security forces are killed during a shootout around Indravati River in Chhattisgarh, India. (Al Jazeera)
- 7 February 2025 –
- German Federal Police detains 16 Indian nationals found in a van in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, including 15 passengers and the driver, as they attempt to enter the country without valid documents. (DW)
- 29 January 2025 – 2025 Prayag Kumbh Mela
- At least 30 people are killed in a crowd crush at a Hindu festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. (BBC News)
Did you know...
- ... that Indian field hockey player Sukhbir Singh Gill continued to play professionally after being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2006?
- ... that witch-hunts in India are still prevalent?
- ... that St Mary's Anglican Church, Busselton, Australia, has been a part of six dioceses, namely Canterbury, Calcutta, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Bunbury?
- ... that the restoration of Neknampur Lake was recognised "as the best model of lake restoration in India"?
- ... that the horse Sardar was gifted to Jacqueline Kennedy during her 1962 goodwill tour of Pakistan?
- ... 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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