STILL RECOVERING from March, are you? Well, guess what? All of us are. Year-end closing, appraisals to worry about, deadlines and targets that loomed closer than ever. Work pressures can bog any of us down. Combine that with life’s other responsibilities and the picture can be overwhelming. Anyt...
India-born British economist and a life peer in Britain’s House of Lords, Lord Meghnad Desai talks of his latest book, the economics academy, The Gandhi Memorial Trust, his love for movies, and more “Delighted. Call me tomorrow.” Not a usual reaction from a Lord and a top economist when you ...
AUSTRALIA ARE CRICKET WORLD CHAMPIONS
CRICKET// Australia outplayed New Zealand by 7 wickets to lift their fifth World Cup. In a fairy tale farewell, the Aussie skipper Michael Clarke hit 74 to register an emphatic win over the Kiwis. He walked into MCG to bat for his country one last time amidst a rousing reception. The MCG witnessed a...
AAP EXPELS YOGENDRA YADAV AND PRASHANT BHUSHAN
POLITICS// Two founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were sacked from the Aam Aadmi Party’s key panel for their controversial remarks against the party’s way of functioning. The duo had been demanding more transparency and internal democracy within the party. They openly hit out at...
Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee
AWARD// Former Prime Minster of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna on March 29. President Pranab Mukherjee, in a departure from protocol, carried the honour to his home for the ailing leader. It was a special gesture for the senior BJP ...
INDIA’S DAUGHTER BANNED IN INDIA, BBC AIRS IT IN THE UK
BAN// Documentary film India’s Daughter, based on the brutal gang rape case of a girl in 2012 in New Delhi, and the following public uprising, was broadcast outside India on March 8. Directed by Leslee Udwin, the film was a part of BBC’s ongoing Storyville series. A court stay obtained by the In...
BAN// The beef-loving people of Maharashtra will have to do without the red meat as a bill banning cow slaughter in Maharashtra got the President’s nod after 20 years. The bill was initiated during the earlier Sena-BJP government that ruled the state in 1996. The law spells out a sentence of five ...
RIP VINOD MEHTA: A MAN WHO LIVED HIS DREAM
OBITUARY// Senior journalist and former editor of Outlook, Vinod Mehta, passed away on March 8. He was 73. He had been in and out of AIIMS for several months and died of multi-organ failure. Born in Pawalpindi in 1942, Mehta was a renowned scribe and was appreciated for his bold journalism. He is su...
Delhi’s Aditi Arya crowned Miss India 2015
CORONATION// Gurgaon girl Aditi Arya was crowned Femina Miss India 2015 at the 52nd edition of the beauty pageant at Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. The first and second runners-up were Aafreen Rachel Vaz and Vartika Singh, respectively. Reigning Miss India Koyal Rana enthroned her successor Aditi with t...
Germanwings Airbus A320 crashes in France, 150 dead
TRAGEDY// An Airbus operated by Lufthansa’s Germanwings budget airline crashed in a remote snowy area of the French Alps and all 150 on board died. Flight 4U 9525 crashed on March 24. It was the first crash of a large passenger jet on French soil since the Concorde disaster just outside Paris in J...
Union Budget 2015: Centre to go all out for growth
BUDGET// Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first full budget of 2015-16 in Parliament on February 28, 2015. The budget was based on the premise that public investment in infrastructure growth would push the economy. Though the Opposition targeted the ruling party for an unrealistic budget ...
A woman knows the face of the man as a sailor knows the open sea SOMETIMES, WHEN I look over my shoulder, it seems like yesterday. The day is imprinted in my memory: June 14, 1998. I stepped aboard “MT Zagara” at Ravenna, my first merchant vessel, as a 19-year-old cadet officer. To say I was p...
Here’s a lowdown on how you can weave social media into the event’s fabric, so that the event buzz remains long after the credits have rolled Events, no matter how big or small, are inherently social by design, aren’t they? So it stands to reason that using social media for your events would ...
Where Islam wears a different face
Turkey has got it right. Religious shrines should inspire, not degrade the worshipper to the excesses of religiosity we were thrown into a panorama of domes and minarets from the moment we entered Istanbul. Everywhere we looked, the contours of a mosque pierced the mostly sunny blue skyline. It mad...
A Dalit child bride who fought hard against what life had offered her and went on to become a successful entrepreneur. A Padma Shree recipient, Kalpana Saroj’s story is one that inspires The music from the loudspeakers in the village still rings in her ears and she can almost feel the kumkum smot...
On March 7, a day before International Women’s Day, German Parliament passed a legislation that requires the country’s biggest companies to give 30 per cent of seats on non executive boards to women. The quotas will come into force in 2016, affecting no less than 100 top German companies. The qu...
Men in Blue miss their tryst with destiny
The game aside, as Australian skipper Michael Clarke has announced his retirement from the One-day cricket after the WC, the debate over Dhoni's future is certain to be picked over in next few days INDIA’S DREAM run in the World Cup came to an inglorious end when they succumbed to the formidable ...
Cementing communities and relationships
ACC Limited’s commitment to its CSR initiatives – be it solar power, health, education, environment consciousness or women’s empowerment – has led to happier communities, a proud workforce and a stronger company Established in 1936, ACC (formerly known as The Associated Cement Companies Lim...
Here are details of a life that have made our childhood more magical and have guided our adult lives to stop and smell the flowers on the way Ruskin Bond: The Mussoorie Years is author Ganesh Saili’s pictorial offering and a tribute to his friend for over fifty years, the gentle muse of the mount...
for moST, Dehradun, north of Delhi and the capital of Uttarakhand, is known world-over for its basmati rice, lip-smacking mangoes and litchi. But all that might change soon as Lokesh Ohri’s book Been There, Doon That? points out. Ohri has taken time off to delve in years of research and hard work...
Venice is a study in superlatives. The Queen of the Adriatic is so captivating, nothing compares to it. Warning: You won’t want to go back home Magical, mystical, awesome. A placid paradise. Venice, I thought, is one of the most unique cities of our planet. Laden with hefty luggage and suitcases,...
To call Central London's Borough Market as a wholesale and retail food market is limiting it. It's more like a foodie's paradise, a food-theme street, a treat ot the senses... There is a saying in Bengal —A true Bengali plans her next meal while still eating the current one. I am known to plan m...