Cover Story

ACING HER GAME

AS SANIA MIRZA TAKES A FEW MONTHS OFF FROM AHECTIC PLAYING SEASON TO SAVOUR GOLGAPPAS WITH ROGER FEDERER, SHE TALKS ABOUT HER FORM, EXPECTATIONS FROM RIO OLYMPICS AND WHO SHE MIGHT PARTNER WITH FOR THE DOUBLES It was in 2012, just before the London Olympics, that Sania Mirza was the centre of att...

Editorial

To new beginnings and more

We’ve all heard that bit of “Just one more day”. It could be just one more day to finish a project, or just one more day to complete that long pending assignment, or just one more day before you start getting into shape for that coveted dress. When I get tired of getting this just one more ...

Up-To-Date

TAPI PIPELINE MAY FOSTER ENERGY ACCORD BETWEEN INDIA, PAKISTAN

ENERGY ALLIANCE//The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan a...

The once-in-a-100-years rainfall

CALAMITY// On December 1 and 2, Chennai received 345 mm of rainfall. This is more rain than has ever fallen on the city in the past 100 years; in fact, since 1901, according to US space agency NASA. The city was completely flooded with many areas under six to 10 feet of water. Boats, rather than c...

10 BSF personnel killed as aircraft crashes near Delhi airport

TRAGEDY// Ten personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) were killed on December 22 as a small plane crashed near the Delhi airport just after take-off. All on board the B 200 Super King — three officers and seven senior technicians — were killed. The plane, a 22-year-old Beechcraft, took of...

Sonia, Rahul Gandhi granted bail in National Herald case

TRIAL// Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and party Vice President Rahul sought and got bail in the National Herald case after a local court rejected complainant Subramanian Swamy’s opposition to the relief for them on the ground that they are influential and can flee the country. Form...

New IPL teams

IPL// The cities of Pune and Rajkot will host two new Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. This was decided at an auction last month organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The two new city teams will replace Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which have been...

DELHI TO PLAY ODD-EVEN GAME WITH CARS

ENVIRONMENT// New Delhi has the worst air quality in the world, and with the winter setting in, cold air is making it difficult for the pollution to escape. With air quality so bad that anyone can get sick by just breathing the dirty air, the government of Delhi has decided to take some drastic st...

Paris accord shows collective wisdom of world leaders

  CLIMATE CHANGE: THE WORLD FINALLY AGREES ON A PLAN CONFERENCE// One couldn’t have asked for a bigger Christmas present. Nearly 200 countries came together in Paris, France, last month to agree on a plan to save Planet Earth by halting climate change. The agreement comes after 20 years of argu...

Foreign Despatches

IN A MATERIAL WORLD..

But not a material girl, especially when you realise what defines real happiness – the joy of giving and sharing BEING AN INDIAN, born and raised in an old colonial state of Assam and then spent over a decade in NCR, I grew up with a fascination towards the West and the life in developed countr...

Tech Talk

Big savings on gadgets

New Year is here and if you’ve been waiting to gift yourself some lovely new gadgets, here’s a little checklist of what could be the best gadgets that will also let you save some for other things APPLE iPHONE 6S Arguably one of the best phones to be launched this season, Apple’s latest iPh...

Platform1

The right time to wed

When's the right time to get married? Don't ask me, I have no clue! I LANDED in India to the wailing of YoYo Honey Singh and the rustling of crisp currency notes. Ah, I thought, it’s wedding season in Delhi. The son, who had arrived two weeks earlier and, in a weak moment, offered to pick me up...

Denomination

Revving the startup engine in India

How should India realign its regulatory regime to help grow startups, which have, of late, become one of the biggest employment generators in India? Even as the country’s economy was in doldrums in the past five years, it was a bunch of technology startups that kept India’s hopes afloat with ...

Health

HITTING THE ROAD

cardio-vascular workout. It involves a lifestyle change for the better, and endorphins, the healthy hormones that are released give you a natural high Idon’t know about you, but these are just 40 of the hundreds of thoughts that cross my mind when I run: Ah! Am so going to nail this run. Ok...

Looking Back

DESTINY’S FAVOURITE CHILD

It wasn’t just Waheeda Rehman’s acting prowess and dancing talent that got her noticed in Hindi movies. The enigma and grace she brought on the silver screen was one few can match even today Amitabh Bachchan has called her his favourite actress. Indeed, even now, as she was in her prime, Wahe...

Platform2

CHRONICLING THE SAVIOURS

A phenomenon in public service, the Sappers of the Indian Army have been the country's hope when devastation hits OUR INADEQUACIES in recounting the feats of outstanding dedication and verve of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army in providing succour to the people in distress and peril are ...

Issue

DELHI'S ANSWER TO POLLUTION WOES

Will the odd-even experiment work, or does delhi government need to go back to the drawing board for more constructive solutions to address the capital's dismal air quality? MEHAK CHOWDHARY// Ever since Delhi’s chief minister announced the odd-even scheme in Delhi to reduce vehicular traffic an...

Good Karma

RAG PICKERS TO RECYCLING MANAGERS

igotgarbage.com ushers in a paradigm shift in waste management and helps both the environment and the waste collectors Most of us living in the comforts and confines of our homes never give a second thought to what happens to the waste once we dispose it off. While we are quick to buy new things,...

Broad Canvas

CAST MATTERS

commercial films, TV serials and advertisements, directors hire him to hold acting workshops before their films go on the floors Mukesh Chhabra has an interesting hobby — he loves observing people’s faces. Whenever he’s out, he finds himself noticing people, their facial movements, their ha...

Reading Room

Tucked among the mountains

ON A cold winter evening, with my five-year-old tucked in bed, I start reading to her Stephen Alter’s latest novella, The Secret Sanctuary. The dedication says it all: “Dedicated to every student who has gazed through a window and wished that she or he could escape outdoors instead of being t...

Travelling with the writer

What differentiates this book on the stunning land called Ladakh from its counterparts is that here, words match the pictures, and vice versa ALL MY life, I’ve been torn between loving travelogues and hating them. I love them because they take me places whenever I’m unable to go places myself...

Hitchhiker’s Guide

Lost and Found, in Loas

The warmth, slow pace of life, and strong sense of community can be a refreshing change from the busyness and personal distance I was awakened daily by lively music and chanting from our village’s Buddhist temple at 4 in the morning. From my mattress on the grey tile floor, I rose to turn off t...

Garnish

INDIA ON YOUR PLATE

  Here’s our pick of fine-dining restaurants that not only serve the most authentic Indian cuisine but also make savouring a meal a memorable experience with their tasteful décor and elegance There is something intoxicating about its aroma, radical about its ingredients, eclectic about its pre...