India Today

PATRON OF LITERATURE: Sanjiv Saraf at the Rekhta Foundation office (Photograph by Bandeep Singh) Delhi's Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium turned into a melting pot of Indian culture and literature over three days, December 13 to 15. Baitbaazi (anta

"It always seems impossible until it is done." -- Nelson Mandela Pathikrit Saha, 26, a food delivery executive in Kolkata, was boarding a local train when a seven-year-old boy tugged at his trousers, asking for money. Irritated, he slapped him. Full

In 2005, then Uttarakhand chief minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari had to withdraw a bill to take over the management of prominent temples in the state after his fellow Congress MLAs revolted. Fourteen years later, on the last day of the winter session, cu

The Preamble to the Constitution of India is unambiguous in its aims. To secure justice-social, economic and political-for its people. As we head into the third decade of the millennium, it is time for a reality check on how successful we have been i

The fault in their stars Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently stumbled and fell on the steps of the Atal Ghat on the banks of the Ganga in Kanpur. The PM had just chaired the first meeting of the National Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of R

The first issue of INDIA TODAY arrived on the stands at the worst time for press freedom. It was December 1975 and just four months after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government had declared an Emergency. Press censorship was the order of the day.

Lakhimibaruah, 70 MD, Konoklota Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank, Assam It was in February 1990 that Lakhimi Baruah, an employee in a state-owned cooperative bank, happened to read an article about an all-women cooperative bank in Surat. The fact that s

Before adjourning till February a case about the appointment of information commissioners, Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde had a few sharp words for the so-called abuse of the Right to Information Act by petitioners whose actions had caused paralys

P.VIJAYAN, 51 Inspector General of Police, KERALA Kerala inspector general of police Puthiyottil Vijayan is credited with introducing unique reform models and changing the image of the police in the state. In 2010, as Kozhikode city police chief, Vij

Rishitiwari, 49 Founder-secretary, RSSWLD, Greater Noida, UP Rishi Tiwari is founder-secretary of the Ranganathan Society for Social Welfare and Library Development (RSSWLD), an organisation working to disseminate knowledge, especially in rural are

Sanjayprashar, 48 Shipping company owner, Mumbai When an Indian sailor is stuck overseas, he usually remembers Captain Sanjay Prashar. The Mumbai-based shipping company owner is the lifeline for any Indian sailor in distress anywhere in the globe.

Jabirkarat, 30 Founder, Green Worms, Kozhikode Born to a middle-class family in Thamarassery, Kerala, Jabir Karat always wanted to do something different. A postgraduate in History from Delhi University, he opted to work in the Mumbai slums as part

Economists are not known for their timing or predictions. However, the release of Good Economics for Hard Times could not be better timed, given the recent award of the Nobel prize to its two authors. Approbative cover blurbs from Raghuram Rajan and

Nida khan, 24 Muslim social activist, Bareilly Abrilliant student from the start, Nida Khan finished schooling from St Francis Convent Bareilly with honours. In 2012, she enrolled for a B.Com degree in Bareilly College. In her third year, she receiv

Payal Jangid, 17, Tara Banjara, 16, Lalita Duhariya, 15 Teenage activists, Rajasthan Payal Jangid (17), Tara Banjara (16) and Lalita Duhariya (15) are the success stories of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), an initiative of Noble laureate Kailash Sa

K.Chandrashekhar, 53 CEO, Forus Health, Bengaluru Anandvinekar, 44 Ophthalmologist, Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute, Bengaluru When K. Chandrashekhar, an alumnus of BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta, began his stint in the semiconductor business in 198

Aparajitagogoi, 51 Head, Centre for Catalyzing Change, DELHI In 2001, on a bright sunny day, around 5,000 social activists marched towards Taj Mahal, India's most celebrated tourist destination, to bring one very disturbing statistic to the attenti

Panktijog, 38 Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad Pankti Jog's work can only be described as an essential service, especially in the times that we live in. She and her team at the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP) have helped train thousands o

Golden Eagle, Sandpiper, Rosy Pelicanwhat was it with birdwatching and Indian beers in the '70s? One theory was that it had to do with the range of bird-themed Haryana Tourism motels notorious for being dens of licentious inequity. The Eagle at least

Manoranjan Byapari, 69 Writer and activist, Kolkata Manoranjan Byapari, the celebrated Dalit Bengali writer, has taken on many odd jobs in life-as a rickshaw-puller, a sweeper, watchman, cook or whatever else came his way. Through all this, though, h

Madhuri Ghosh, 70 Founder, Bagnan I Mahila Bikash Cooperative Credit Society, HOWRAH In 1971, as part of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the Bagnan block of West Bengal's Howrah district, Madhuri Ghosh, then in her early 20s, would routinely hear learne

Nirmal Chandel, 53 Social activist, Himachal Pradesh Widowed at 23 and blamed for the misfortune, Nirmal Chandel spent a year in a dark corner of her in-laws' home. "I thought of ending my life once, but life had some other role for me in mind," says

Blind Spots is derived from the physiological blind spot in medical literature or the missing component in our vision. No two people see exactly alike and the brain interpolates the blind spot based on other information to conceptually complete the g

One of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran's favourite games as a child was to practise his table tennis skills against the walls of his home in Chennai. Each wall was named after a player he looked up to, one of them being the former World No. 1 Timo Boll. In Nov

Mohamed Shamnad, D.S.Midhun,Rojan Joseph, Prasoon Prakasan, 33 Our Family Clinic, Kochi After a five-year stint at village primary health centres in Kerala, four young doctors decided to quit their jobs. The four friends-Mohamed Shamnad, D.S. Midhun,

Screenwriter Jyoti Kapoor feels for women struggling with pregnancy. In last year's Badhaai Ho-for which she got a story credit-she delved into the stigma an unplanned pregnancy can invite on an older couple. In the upcoming Good Newwz (releasing on

Kolkata's Lee Road was recently renamed Satyajit Ray Dharani. Since 'dharani' means earth, the street, it can be said, encapsulates 'the world of Satyajit Ray'. The filmmaker had made Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) after moving here. He wrote his famous fi

Vijay Dhasmana, 45 Rewilder, Gurgaon, Haryana In times when degradation of forests and loss of green cover have become corollaries to development, Vijay Dhasmana is on a noble mission-growing forests. His "rewilding" initiative re-introduces native s

Pratyaya Amrit, 52 Principal Secretary, Bihar Energy Department and State Disaster Management Department, Patna When torrential rains wreaked havoc on the city of Patna last September-October, Pratyaya Amrit, principal secretary, Bihar energy departm

Never have I closed a book by Kalpish Ratna and not groaned in agony because I would have to wait a long time for a new one by this author duo. Synapse: Ratan Oak Stories, their latest book, a collection of shorts starring Dr Ratan Oak and his time-t

Shaheena Attarwala, 32 UX Design Leader, Zoomcar, BENGALURU As a seven-year-old in the slums of Mumbai, Attarwala had to carry a bucket of water with her to the public toilet every morning. The thin handle hurt her fingers and a lot of water would sp

Karen Campbell's historical romance novel The Sound of The Hours opens in 1943 Italy and details the horrors of the Second World War through its two main characters, 18-year-old Vittoria Guidi and black US soldier Frank Chapel who, as a part of the A

Labelled as autobiographical fiction, For the Love of a Man by Amrinder Bajaj tells the story of a woman who did not have the luxury to make the choices in her life but had to always accede to the wishes of the people around her. Even though the prot

Dancing in the Family: The Extraordinary Story of the First Family of Indian Classical Dance, is envisaged as a mammoth dance drama with three lead characters, a handful of supporting actors and many guest appearances; the costumes are charming, the