India’s bazaars have glittered this Diwali with the unmistakable glow of consumer confidence. The country’s festive sales crossed a staggering Rs. 6 lakh crore with goods alone accounting for Rs. 5.4 lakh crore and services contributing Rs. 65,000 crore. More remarkable still, the bulk of this spending flowed through India’s traditional markets rather than e-commerce platforms. After years of economic caution and digital dominance, Indians are once again shopping in person an

The grand old party’s opportunism and the rivalries of Bihar’s backward-class leaders have long entrenched a culture of political instability in the state. Satish Prasad Singh was Bihar’s first OBC Chief Minister for just five days before his government was toppled. The politics of Bihar has always been characterized by alliances and realignments, with the Congress party playing a particularly active role. This political manoeuvring often proved detrimental to the stability o

Globalisation taught the world to look at India as a market first and a culture second. Beauty pageant crowns once signalled the discovery of a lucrative consumer base. A similar shift is unfolding in education, where India’s enormous learner population has turned schooling itself into an export opportunity for others and a purchasing decision for us. India is now the world’s most populous country and has the largest cohort of young people, a demographic fact that powerfully

Devotees perform rituals at banks of the Yamuna river during 'Bhai Dooj' festival in Prayagraj on Thursday. A woman dressed in traditional attire applies 'tilak' on her forehead, as she poses for a picture ahead of the 'Chhath' festival at the Yamuna riverfront on Thursday. A camel herder arrives with his animals at the 'Camel Fair' in Pushkar, Ajmer on Thursday. An artiste performs with fire during the immersion of an idol of Goddess Kali after the Kali Puja festival in Kolk

I still recall one of the most captivating Diwalis I’ve experienced — the one I spent in Goa fourteen years ago. That year, we chose to celebrate uniquely at the Shri Mangeshi Temple, and residing within its walls made the occasion intensely personal and unforgettable. It became a treasured family celebration. My daughter was very young then, but to this day she distinctly remembers each lamp, each prayer, and every instance of that Diwali. The temple’s tranquil atmosphere, r

Mumbai: When Sam Watson sprints up a 15-metre wall, the world seems to slow down. The 19-year-old American speed climber, an Olympic medallist from Paris 2024 and current world-record holder at 4.64 seconds, has become the face of one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. On November 2, he will trade competition arenas for Mumbai’s High Rock in Powai, offering a rare day of workshops and conversations with India’s burgeoning community of climbers. Speed climbing, once a frin

Read & Lead Foundation President Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza with daughter Mariyam Mirza. Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In the new age controlled by smart-gadgets and social media, an academic from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has sparked a small, head-turning and successful - ‘savings and reading’ revolution among middle-school children. Launched in 2006, by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Mirza, the humble initiative turns 20 this year and witnessed over 60,000 free savings boxes (gu

Experts believe that its often a poor choice to judge a child or the parents for any public display of arrogance. Parenting is a matter of study today. At no point parents feel confident the upbringing path they have chosen is a right way. Some depend on child psychologists, some on elders while some think its gambling. A class 5 student from Gujarat, has sparked a massive debate with his conduct on the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The child appeared on the 17th s

People light firecrackers as part of Diwali festival celebrations in Kanpur. A man plucks lotus flowers from a pond for sale during the festive season in Birbhum. People carry a young girl dressed as a Kumari for worship during Kali Puja festivities in Agartala, Tripura on Tuesday. People light firecrackers as part of Diwali festival celebrations in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. A girl performs on a mallakhamb pole as fireworks light up the sky during the Diwali festival of light

A recent video of Muslim women offering namaz within the grounds of Pune’s iconicShaniwarwada fort palace-complex has ignited needless controversy amid the festive Diwali season. Built in 1732 by Peshwa Baji Rao I as the seat of the rapidly expanding Maratha power, its stone ramparts once echoed with the ambitions of empire. Three centuries later, they again now echo with the shrill sounds of political theatre. Shaniwarwada, after all, is not a mosque. It is a protected monum

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj is redrawing the political map of India’s most restless State. In Bihar, politics is not a spectator sport but a way of life. “We Biharis never stop opening the twin doors of railways and politics,” a young man from Bihari working at a Pune restaurant quipped to me. He may not own a smartphone, but he can recite the electoral arithmetic of his constituency with ease. Few other states live and breathe politics with such intensity. From the socialis

India’s math crisis will not be solved by rewriting syllabi with Sanskrit gloss, but by rebuilding its classrooms with skilled teachers. I still remember the moment that made me believe I was “bad at mathematics.” I must have been nine or ten. I had raised my hand in class and asked, “If 2 + 2 = 4 and 2 × 2 = 4, why is 3 + 3 = 6 and 3 × 3 = 9?” A simple question, really. One that any good teacher would have seen as a window into a child’s struggle to make sense of abstract co

Mumbaikar Leena Deosthalee finds a way to support the senior citizens through an old age home situated in Raigad Mumbai: A Mumbai resident Leena Deosthalee’s urge to serve her father in his illness has led to formation of one of the friendliest old age homes in Maharashtra - Chaitanya Jyeshtha Nagarik Sahaniwas situated at Jambhulpada in Sudhagad district of Raigad. Deosthalee, a retired banker, started this facility in 2012 to fulfil her desire to serve the elderly people as

Diwali whispers softly, ‘Slow down, light a lamp and let your soul shine a little brighter.’ Diwali, one of the most popular Hindu festivals, is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour across India. The festival, also known as Deepavali, is a five-day celebration that honours the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Story behind Diwali The story behind Diwali is associated with the Hindu epic, Ramayana. According to the epic, Diwa

Priests perform 'Maha Aarti' at Assi Ghat during Diwali in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning. A musician plays a flute during a smoggy morning, near India Gate in New Delhi on Monday. People visit the Taj Mahal during Diwali in Agra on Monday. Models wear creations from the Fauve collection during the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo on Sunday. Sumo wrestlers Daieisho and Roga, facing, compete in a Grand Sumo Tournament bout on the dohyo, the sacred sumo wrestling

Karnataka Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Congress-led government recently turned a welfare milestone into a global embarrassment. By flaunting two ‘world records’ certified by a dissolved British firm, the Congress regime there has revealed its craving for validation at any cost. On October 16, the Chief Minister triumphantly announced that Karnataka had “entered the global stage” with the Shakti Scheme and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC)

An avoidable death in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has exposed the grotesque inversion of priorities that defines Indian governance. In Ambernath, a patient’s life ebbed away as an ambulance stood waiting not for a citizen, but for a politician who happened to be Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The vehicle, belonging to Chhaya Sub-District Hospital, had been dispatched for the Deputy CM’s visit to inaugurate a local theatre named in memory of Shinde’s mentor, lat

The ‘No Kings’ rallies mark a reminder that America’s democracy, however young, still abhors autocracy in any form. Born out of rebellion against monarchy in 1776, America has long defined itself as a nation of citizens, not subjects. Its founding promise was that no man would ever rule by divine right or inherited privilege. Yet nearly 250 years later, that conviction is again being tested. Across major American cities, thousands have rallied under the banner ‘No Kings’ in a

As Pakistan and China dive deeper into undersea warfare, India’s ambitions remain stranded by delay, indecision, and the dead weight of bureaucracy. India’s undersea fleet is showing its age. Of the 17 conventional submarines currently in service, most are over three decades old - creaking veterans that are fast approaching retirement. The Navy’s three nuclear-powered boats offer some relief, and the six new Scorpene-class submarines, built with French help at Mazagon Dock in

Ambernath: A tragic incident in Ambernath has raised serious concerns over medical negligence and administrative priorities after Meena Balraman Suryawanshi, a resident of Swami Nagar, died when an ambulance was reportedly unavailable. The vehicle had been deployed for Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s visit to inaugurate the Dharmveer Anand Dighe Natyamandir. According to local residents, Meena Suryawanshi suddenly fell critically ill and was rushed to the Chhaya Sub-Dis