Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, An Hachette UK company Pages: 291 Price: Rs.699 Levinson Wood clambers up steep mountains and treks through narrow passes, taking us on a journey that begins in Afghanistan, moves through Pakistan and India and ends in Bhutan. In his book, he explores and presents an animated vision of the paths he treads — many of them …

Publisher: Penguin Pages: 474 Price: Rs.599 ‘Conventional’ wisdom has it Pakistan, though planned and achieved as an Islamic nation-state, began its worrying tryst with radical Islamism in the 1970s when a civilian leader sought to use it to try to shore up his position, and the general who overthrew him, went in more deeper out of his own inclination and …

Every March 17th, thousands of people don their greenest garb, march in Irish pride parades, eat green clover-shaped cookies, and quaff frosty mugs of green beer in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. But do you really know who St. Patrick was and why he is celebrated? Patrick was born in AD 387 just south of Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, which …

St. Patrick’s Day celebrated annually on 17 March is named after St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland who is believed to have died on that day. The life and work of St. Patrick is shrouded in vagueness. We rely on the works of some 7th century hagiographers and the anonymous writer of the Annals of Ulster for information about …

A fortnight ago, when Delhi was abuzz with much activity following the Jawaharlal Nehru University fiasco, a small number of people were quietly trying to bring different communities together through Jashn-e-Rekhta. The Urdu festival, in its second edition at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, was organised for those who knew Urdu, wanted to know Urdu, loved it or …

Holi, the festival of colours, is celebrated at a time when nature renews and refreshes herself. With a little care, we can do the same and also sustain our youth and beauty. The dry “Gulal” and the wet colours of today are not derived from natural sources. They contain chemicals, shiny particles of mica and even lead, which not only …

I am dreaming of playing with colors and gulal, It is the Holi celebration after all. I can’t play inside my home, the carpets will get tainted, I cant’ play it in the yard, the grass and outer walls will get painted. I thought I would go to the temple, and enjoy the traditional Holi festivities, Once again I am …

Want to drive a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S or experience any other super car you may have only heard of? Want to ride a Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14 R or enjoy the raw power of Triumph Rocket 3 or any other super bike you may have only seen in pictures? Any of those ultra-luxury cars or monster bikes can all …

Folk singer Malini Awasthi is the recipient of Padma Shri 2016 and the award has made her happy not only for the recognition of her art but also for the genre she dabbles in. “I have long felt the pain as folk music does not get recognised as much as our other traditional art forms. The award means that the …

Lord Shiva is the deity of destruction and the dark forces. So, the dark night is naturally dear to him. The night is the time of the predators when they set out to enactnightly destruction of life. The dark forces set out to torment the world in the form of ghosts, spirits and shadow. The dark nights of the descending …