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Portal:India

January 06, 2023

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Introduction

Taj Mahal, Agra, India
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India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. (Full article...)

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  • Core Western Ganga Territory

    Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga (modern Odisha and Northern Andhra Pradesh). The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India, a geo-political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE, initially ruling from Kolar and later, moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district.

    After the rise of the imperial Chalukyas of Badami, the Gangas accepted Chalukya overlordship and fought for the cause of their overlords against the Pallavas of Kanchi. The Chalukyas were replaced by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta in 753 CE as the dominant power in the Deccan. After a century of struggle for autonomy, the Western Gangas finally accepted Rashtrakuta overlordship and successfully fought alongside them against their foes, the Chola Dynasty of Tanjavur. In the late 10th century, north of Tungabhadra river, the Rashtrakutas were replaced by the emerging Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola Dynasty saw renewed power south of the Kaveri river. The defeat of the Western Gangas by Cholas around 1000 resulted in the end of the Ganga influence over the region. (Full article...)
  • INS Vikrant in 1984

    Indian Navy Ship Vikrant (from Sanskrit vikrānta, "courageous") was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II, but was put on hold when the war ended. India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957, and construction was completed in 1961. Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

    In its later years, the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft, before being decommissioned in January 1997. She was preserved as a museum ship in Naval Docks, Mumbai until 2012. In January 2014, the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court. (Full article...)
  • Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford (28 October 1886 – 28 November 1957) was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as the archaeological officer of the Ordnance Survey (OS) and also wrote a range of books on archaeological subjects.

    Born in Bombay, British India, to a wealthy middle-class Scottish family, Crawford moved to England as an infant and was raised by his aunts in London and Hampshire. He studied geography at Keble College, Oxford, and worked briefly in that field before devoting himself professionally to archaeology. Employed by the philanthropist Henry Wellcome, Crawford oversaw the excavation of Abu Geili in Sudan before returning to England shortly before the First World War. During the conflict he served in both the London Scottish Regiment and the Royal Flying Corps, where he was involved in ground and aerial reconnaissance along the Western Front. After an injury forced a period of convalescence in England, he returned to the Western Front, where he was captured by the German Army in 1918 and held as a prisoner of war until the end of the conflict. (Full article...)
  • Indian roller in Kanha National Park, India

    The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognised.

    The Indian roller occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Often found perched on roadside trees and wires, it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and has adapted well to human-modified landscapes. It mainly feeds on insects, especially beetles. The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. Adult males and females form pair bonds and raise the young together. The female lays 3–5 eggs in a cavity or crevice, which is lined with a thin mat of straw or feathers. The roller is the state bird of three Indian states. It is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. (Full article...)
  • Aitraaz (transl. Objection) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor with Amrish Puri, Annu Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vivek Shauq, Preeti Puri and Upasana Singh in supporting roles.

    Aitraaz tells the story of a man accused of sexual harassment by his female superior, and was released on 12 November 2004 to positive reviews. Chopra received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. Loosely based on the 1994 film Disclosure, the film was a commercial success grossing ₹260 million at the box office against a budget of ₹80 million, and has been noted for its bold subject of sexual harassment. (Full article...)
  • Murray in 1928

    Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom, she worked at University College London (UCL) from 1898 to 1935. She served as President of the Folklore Society from 1953 to 1955, and published widely over the course of her career.

    Born to a wealthy middle-class English family in Calcutta, British India, Murray divided her youth between India, Britain, and Germany, training as both a nurse and a social worker. Moving to London, in 1894 she began studying Egyptology at UCL, developing a friendship with department head Flinders Petrie, who encouraged her early academic publications and appointed her Junior Professor in 1898. In 1902–03 she took part in Petrie's excavations at Abydos, Egypt, there discovering the Osireion temple and the following season investigated the Saqqara cemetery, both of which established her reputation in Egyptology. Supplementing her UCL wage by giving public classes and lectures at the British Museum and Manchester Museum, it was at the latter in 1908 that she led the unwrapping of Khnum-nakht, one of the mummies recovered from the Tomb of the Two Brothers – the first time that a woman had publicly unwrapped a mummy. Recognising that British Egyptomania reflected the existence of a widespread public interest in Ancient Egypt, Murray wrote several books on Egyptology targeted at a general audience. (Full article...)
  • Pinto in 2014

    Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, she took part in amateur plays. After graduation, she briefly worked as a model and then as a television presenter.

    Pinto rose to prominence with her film debut in the drama Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Drama, and won the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Performance for Slumdog Millionaire. Her biggest commercial success came with the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). Her performance as the title character in Michael Winterbottom's Trishna (2011) garnered her widespread recognition and praise. (Full article...)

  • Rashtrakuta (IAST: rāṣṭrakūṭa) (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from manapur a city in Central or West India. Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur and the rulers of Kannauj. Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas, their native homeland and their language.

    The Elichpur clan was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas, and during the rule of Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base. This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753 AD. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa were gaining force in eastern and northwestern India respectively. An Arabic text, Silsilat al-Tawarikh (851), called the Rashtrakutas one of the four principal empires of the world. (Full article...)
  • Keechaka Vadham (transl. The Extermination of Keechaka) is an Indian silent film produced, directed, filmed and edited by R. Nataraja Mudaliar. The first film to have been made in South India, it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar's production house, India Film Company. As the members of the cast were Tamils, Keechaka Vadham is considered to be the first Tamil film. No print of it is known to have survived, making it a lost film.

    The screenplay, written by C. Rangavadivelu, is based on an episode from the Virata Parva segment of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, focusing on Keechaka's attempts to woo Draupadi. The film stars Raju Mudaliar and Jeevarathnam as the central characters. (Full article...)
  • Basohli miniature, c. 1730. National Museum, New Delhi.

    Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago.

    Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits. (Full article...)

  • The 2000 Sri Lanka cyclone (IMD designation: BOB 06 JTWC designation: 04B) was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Sri Lanka since 1978. The fourth tropical storm and the second severe cyclonic storm of the 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed from an area of disturbed weather on December 25, 2000. It moved westward, and quickly strengthened under favorable conditions to reach top wind speeds of 75 mph (120 km/h). The cyclone hit eastern Sri Lanka at peak strength, then weakened slightly while crossing the island before making landfall over southern India on December 28. The storm degenerated into a remnant low later that day, before merging with another trough on the next day.

    The storm was the first cyclone over Sri Lanka with winds of at least hurricane strength since a cyclone of 1978 hit the island in the 1978 season, as well as the first tropical storm to hit the island since 1992. The storm was also the first December tropical cyclone of hurricane intensity in the Bay of Bengal since 1996. It produced heavy rainfall and strong winds, damaging or destroying tens of thousands of houses and leaving up to 500,000 homeless. At least nine people died as a result of the cyclone. (Full article...)
  • Jinnah in 1945

    Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Urdu pronunciation: [moɦəmːəd̪ əliː d͡ʒɪnːɑːɦ], Gujarati pronunciation: [məɦ(ə)məd̪ əli d͡ʒʱiɽ̃ɑ]; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.

    Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi, Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London. Upon his return to India, he enrolled at the Bombay High Court, and took an interest in national politics, which eventually replaced his legal practice. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century. In these early years of his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, in which Jinnah had also become prominent. Jinnah became a key leader in the All-India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha, which he regarded as political anarchy. (Full article...)
  • Kaif in 2019

    Katrina Kaif (pronounced [kəˈʈriːna kɛːf]; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in addition to three Filmfare nominations. Though reception to her acting has varied, she is noted for her dancing ability in various successful item numbers.

    Born in Hong Kong, Kaif lived in several countries before she moved to London for three years. She received her first modelling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model. At a fashion show in London, Indian filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom (2003), a critical and commercial failure. While Kaif established a successful modelling career in India, she initially had difficulty finding film roles due to her poor command of Hindi. After appearing in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004), Kaif earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005) and Namastey London (2007). Further success followed with a series of box-office hits, but she was criticised for her acting, repetitive roles, and inclination to male-dominated films. (Full article...)
  • Mayabazar (transl. Market of Illusions) is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, with a few differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, which is based on the characters of the epic Mahabharata. It revolves around the roles of Krishna (N. T. Rama Rao) and Ghatotkacha (S. V. Ranga Rao), as they try to reunite Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Telugu: Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Tamil: Gemini Ganesan) with his love, Balarama's daughter (Savitri). The Telugu version features Gummadi, Mukkamala, Ramana Reddy, and Relangi in supporting roles, with D. Balasubramaniam, R. Balasubramaniam, V. M. Ezhumalai, and K. A. Thangavelu playing those parts in the Tamil version.

    The first mythological film produced by their studio, Mayabazar marked a milestone for Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani. In addition to the technical crew, 400 studio workers – including light men, carpenters, and painters – participated in the development of the film. Director Reddy was meticulous with the pre-production and casting phases, which took nearly a year to complete. Though Rama Rao was initially reluctant to play the lead role, his portrayal of Krishna received acclaim and yielded more offers to reprise the same role in several unrelated films. The soundtrack features twelve songs, with most of the musical score composed by Ghantasala. Telugu lyrics were written by Pingali Nagendrarao and Tamil lyrics were written by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. One of those songs, Lahiri Lahiri, was accompanied by the first illusion of moonlight in Indian cinema, shot by cinematographer Marcus Bartley. (Full article...)
  • Zinta in 2018

    Preity G Zinta (pronounced [ˈpriːt̪i ˈzɪɳʈa]; born 31 January 1975) is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi films. After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se.. in 1998, followed by a role in Soldier in the same year. These performances earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna (2000). She subsequently established a career as a leading actress of Hindi cinema with a variety of character types. Her roles, often deemed culturally defiant, along with her unconventional screen persona have been credited with contributing to a change in the concept of Indian film heroines, and won her several accolades.

    Following critically appreciated roles in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002), and Armaan (2003), Zinta received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003). She starred in two consecutive annual top-grossing films in India, Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and Veer-Zaara (2004), and was noted for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), top-grossing productions in overseas markets. For her first international role in the Canadian drama Heaven on Earth (2008) she was awarded the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress and nominated for the Genie Award for Best Actress. She followed this with a hiatus from acting work for several years, with the exception of her self-produced comeback film, Ishkq in Paris (2013), which failed to leave a mark. (Full article...)
  • The frontispiece of the 1920 edition of Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han

    Lieutenant-Colonel James Tod (20 March 1782 – 18 November 1835) was an officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar. He combined his official role and his amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and geography of India, and in particular the area then known as Rajputana that corresponds to the present day state of Rajasthan, and which Tod referred to as Rajast'han.

    Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland. He joined the East India Company as a military officer and travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army. He rose quickly in rank, eventually becoming captain of an escort for an envoy in a Sindian royal court. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, during which Tod was involved in the intelligence department, he was appointed Political Agent for some areas of Rajputana. His task was to help unify the region under the control of the East India Company. During this period Tod conducted most of the research that he would later publish. Tod was initially successful in his official role, but his methods were questioned by other members of the East India Company. Over time, his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly curtailed. In 1823, owing to declining health and reputation, Tod resigned his post as Political Agent and returned to England. (Full article...)
  • Collins on an 1899 postcard

    Arthur Edward Jeune Collins (18 August 1885 – 11 November 1914) was an English cricketer and soldier. He held, for 116 years, the record of highest score in cricket: as a 13-year-old schoolboy, he scored 628 not out over four afternoons in June 1899. Collins's record-making innings drew a large crowd and increasing media interest; spectators at the Old Cliftonian match being played nearby were drawn away to watch the junior school house cricket match in which Collins was playing. Despite this achievement, Collins never played first-class cricket. Collins's 628 not out stood as the record score until January 2016 when an Indian boy, Pranav Dhanawade, scored 1009 in a single innings.

    Collins joined the British Army in 1902 and studied at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before becoming an officer in the Royal Engineers. He served in France during the First World War, where he was killed in action in 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. Collins had been mentioned in despatches and also represented the Royal Military Academy at cricket and rugby union. (Full article...)
  • Abbott, c. 1903, by Charles Dana Gibson

    Margaret Ives Abbott (June 15, 1878 – June 10, 1955) was an American amateur golfer. She was the first American woman to win an Olympic event: the women's golf tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

    Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, in 1878, Abbott moved with her family to Chicago in 1884. She joined the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, where she was coached by Charles B. Macdonald and H. J. Whigham. In 1899, she traveled with her mother to Paris to study art. In October 1900, along with her mother, she signed up for a women's golf tournament without realizing that it was the second modern Olympics. Abbott won the tournament with a score of 47 strokes; her mother tied for seventh place. Abbott received a porcelain bowl as a prize. (Full article...)
  • The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries, when the empires that evolved in the Karnataka region of India made a lasting impact on the subcontinent. Before this, alien empires held sway over the region, and the nucleus of power was outside modern Karnataka. The medieval era can be broadly divided into several periods: The earliest native kingdoms and imperialism; the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region; and the domination of the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion. The origins of the rise of the Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth-century birth of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi, the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit. This is the historical starting point in studying the development of the region as an enduring geopolitical entity and of Kannada as an important regional language.

    In the southern regions of Karnataka, the Western Gangas of Talakad were contemporaries of the Kadambas. The Kadambas and Gangas were followed by the imperial dynasties of the Badami Chalukya Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, the Western Chalukya Empire, the Hoysala Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire, all patronising the ancient Indic religions while showing tolerance to the new cultures arriving from the west of the subcontinent. The Muslim invasion of the Deccan resulted in the breaking away of the feudatory Sultanates in the 14th century. The rule of the Bahamani Sultanate of Bidar and the Bijapur Sultanate from the northern Deccan region caused a mingling of the ancient Hindu traditions with the nascent Islamic culture in the region. The hereditary ruling families and clans ably served the large empires and upheld the local culture and traditions. The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565 brought about a slow disintegration of Kannada-speaking regions into minor kingdoms that struggled to maintain autonomy in an age dominated by foreigners until unification and independence in 1947. (Full article...)
  • Territory of the Hoysalas and their neighbouring kingdoms in Western India, the Seuna Yadavas and Silharas in c. 1200[image reference needed]

    Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire (1025–1343) in what is now southern India. The empire was established by Nripa Kama II, came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana (1108–1152), and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji dynasty invaders in 1311.

    Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths, and to a lesser extent that of the Vaishnava faith. The earliest well-known brahmin writers in Kannada were from the Hoysala court. While most of the courtly textual production was in Kannada, an important corpus of monastic Vaishnava literature relating to Dvaita (dualistic) philosophy was written by the renowned philosopher Madhvacharya in Sanskrit. (Full article...)
  • Aravan worshipped at Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore. A cobra hood is sheltering Aravan's head.

    Iravan also known as Iravat and Iravant, is a minor character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The son of Pandava prince Arjuna (one of the main heroes of the Mahabharata) and the Naga princess Ulupi, Iravan is the central deity of the
    cult     of Kuttantavar (Kuttandavar) which is also the name commonly given to him in that tradition—and plays a major role in the sect of Draupadi. Both these cults are of Tamil origin, from a region of the country where he is worshipped as a village deity and is known as Aravan. He is also a patron god of well-known transgender communities called Thirunangai (also Aravani in Tamil, and Hijra throughout South Asia).

    The Mahabharata portrays Iravan as dying a heroic death in the 18-day Kurukshetra War (Mahabharata war), the epic's main subject. However, the South Indian traditions have a supplementary practice of honouring Aravan's self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war. The Kuttantavar tradition focuses on one of the three boons granted to Aravan by the god Krishna in honour of this self-sacrifice. Aravan requested that he be married before his death. Krishna satisfied this boon in his female form, Mohini. In Koovagam (கூவாகம்), Tamil Nadu, this incident is re-enacted in an 18-day festival, first by a ceremonial marriage of Aravan to Thirunangai and male villagers (who have taken vows to Aravan) and then by their widowhood after ritual re-enactment of Aravan's sacrifice. Local tradition has it that Aravan is a form of Shiva, hence locally called Kutandavar.[1] (Full article...)
  • Territory of the Western Chalukyas (c. 1100 CE) in India (modern boundaries shown) and the empire's capital, Kalyani, in the modern Bidar district, Karnataka state, India

    A large body of Western Chalukya literature in the Kannada language was produced during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire (973–1200 CE) in what is now southern India. This dynasty, which ruled most of the western Deccan in South India, is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya Dynasty after its royal capital at Kalyani (now Basavakalyan), and sometimes called the Later Chalukya Dynasty for its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. For a brief period (1162–1183), the Kalachuris of Kalyani, a dynasty of kings who had earlier migrated to the Karnataka region from central India and served as vassals for several generations, exploited the growing weakness of their overlords and annexed the Kalyani. Around 1183, the last Chalukya scion, Someshvara IV, overthrew the Kalachuris to regain control of the royal city. But his efforts were in vain, as other prominent Chalukya vassals in the Deccan, the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas and the Seunas destroyed the remnants of the Chalukya power.

    Kannada literature from this period is usually categorised into the linguistic phase called Old-Kannada. It constituted the bulk of the Chalukya court's textual production and pertained mostly to writings relating to the socio-religious development of the Jain faith. The earliest well-known writers belonging to the Shaiva faith are also from this period. Under the patronage of Kalachuri King Bijjala II, whose prime minister was the well-known Kannada poet and social reformer Basavanna, a native form of poetic literature called Vachana literature (lit "utterance", "saying" or "sentence") proliferated. The beginnings of the Vachana poetic tradition in the Kannada-speaking region trace back to the early 11th century. Kannada literature written in the champu metre, composed of prose and verse, was popularised by the Chalukyan court poets. However, with the advent of the Veerashaiva (lit, "brave devotees of the god Shiva") religious movement in the mid-12th century, poets favoured the native tripadi (three-line verse composed of eleven ganas or prosodic units), hadugabba (song-poem) and free verse metres for their poems. (Full article...)

  • Tripura (/ˈtrɪpʊrə, -ərə/, Bengali:[ˈtri̯puraˈ] (listen) ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491 km2 (4,051 sq mi); and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east and by Bangladesh to the north, south and west. Tripura is divided into 8 districts and 23 sub-divisions, where Agartala is the capital and the largest city in the state. Tripura has 19 different tribal communities with a majority of the Bengali population. Bengali, English and Kokborok are the state's official languages.

    The area of modern Tripura — ruled for several centuries by the Manikya Dynasty — was part of the Tripuri Kingdom (also known as Hill Tippera). It became a princely state under the British Raj during its tenure, and acceded to independent India in 1947. It merged with India in 1949 and was designated as a 'Part C State' (union territory). It became a full-fledged state of India in 1972. (Full article...)
  • Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (transl. "The Big-Hearted Will Take the Bride"), also known by the initialism DDLJ, is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. Released on 20 October 1995, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. The plot revolves around Raj and Simran, two young non-resident Indians, who fall in love during a vacation through Europe with their friends. Raj tries to win over Simran's family so the couple can marry, but Simran's father has long since promised her hand to his friend's son. The film was shot in India, London, and Switzerland, from September 1994 to August 1995.

    With an estimated total gross of ₹2 billion ($60 million) worldwide, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1995 and one of the most successful Indian films in history. It won 10 Filmfare Awards—the most for a single film at that time—and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Its soundtrack album became one of the most popular of the 1990s. (Full article...)
  • Male lion in Okonjima, Namibia

    The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans.

    The lion inhabits grasslands, savannas and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia from Southeast Europe to India, but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one population in western India. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern. (Full article...)
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Selected pictures

  • Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
    The mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra, India. This red sandstone building, on the western side of the complex, faces the west side of the mausoleum. In the forefront is a howz, meant for ablution. On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab ("answer"), a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern; this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance. Both were constructed in 1643.
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  • Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
    The Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India. Built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, in 1785, the building reflects a maturation of ornamented Mughal design (as seen in the Badshahi Mosque).
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  • Photo: Marcin Białek
    Duladeo Temple, dated to circa A.D. 1000–1150, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. It is located in Khajuraho, India.
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  • Photograph credit: Jeevan Jose
    Papilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a woodland species, often seen on forest paths and near streams. The larvae feed on trees in the family Rutaceae, such as citrus. Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves, relying on their cryptic colouring, which resembles bird droppings, for protection. Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations, and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the substratum. This adult male P. polymnestor butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of Kerala.
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  • Photo: Yann
    Women of the Gondi, the largest tribe of Indian aboriginals in central India. They are classified as a scheduled tribe in most Indian states. The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages. About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages, while the rest speak Indo-Aryan languages including Hindi. For many years during the British colonial period, the Gonds were considered to have performed human sacrifices, although this notion was later discredited.
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  • Photograph: Jkadavoor
    A mating pair of Papilio demoleus, a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly, photographed at Kadavoor, Kerala, India. After successful mating the female goes from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf, and flies off as soon as the egg is laid.
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  • Photo credit: Dan Brady
    Pigments for sale at a market stall in Goa, India. Many pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colourants, ground into a fine powder. This powder is then added to a vehicle or matrix, a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a binder, before it is applied. Unlike a dye, a pigment generally is insoluble.
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  • Photograph: Augustus Binu
    Arundhati Roy (b. 1961) is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997 Man Booker Prize with her debut novel The God of Small Things. Born in Shillong, Meghalaya, Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting (and later marrying) director Pradip Krishen. She wrote The God of Small Things over a four-year period ending in 1996; it was published the following year and received positive international reviews, although in India the work was controversial. She has continued to write essays and articles, but has yet to publish another novel.
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  • Photograph: Augustus Binu
    Odissi is an ancient classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha, India. Historically, it has been performed predominantly by women, and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas, particularly of Vaishnavism (Vishnu as Jagannath), but also of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya, as well as Hindu goddesses (Shaktism). Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas, culture fusion, themes and plays.

    Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of a basic dance motif called the Bhangas (symmetric body bends, stance). It involves the lower, mid, and upper body as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance.
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  • Photograph: Augustus Binu
    Chandiroor Divakaran (b. 1946) is a Malayalam–language poet and folk song writer from Kerala, India. He has published numerous collections of poetry since his debut collection, Radha, in 1965.
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  • Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
    The nilgai or blue bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The sole member of the genus Boselaphus, the species was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. The nilgai stands 1–1.5 metres (3.3–4.9 ft) at the shoulder; males weigh 109–288 kilograms (240–635 lb), and the lighter females 100–213 kilograms (220–470 lb). A sturdy thin-legged antelope, the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back, a deep neck with a white patch on the throat, a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft, and white facial spots. A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch. Sexual dimorphism is prominent – while females and juveniles are orange to tawny, adult males have a bluish-grey coat. Only males possess horns, which are 15–24 centimetres (5.9–9.4 in) in length.

    This picture shows a male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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  • Photograph credit: Prathyush Thomas
    Macrotyloma uniflorum, commonly known as horse gram, is a legume native to tropical southern Asia. The plant grows from a rhizome, sending up annual shoots to a height of 60 cm (24 in). The flowers are cream, yellow or pale green and are followed by short pods. The seeds, pictured here, have been consumed in India for at least 4,000 years and are used both for animal feed and human consumption, including Ayurvedic cuisine. In other tropical countries in southeastern Asia, and in northern Australia, the plant is grown mainly as a fodder crop and for use as green manure. It is a drought-tolerant plant, largely cultivated in areas with low rainfall.
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  • Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
    Bangles on display in Bangalore, India. These rigid bracelets are usually made from metal, wood, or plastic and are traditionally worn by women in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, it is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks.
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  • Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
    The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a member of the bird family Coraciidae, the rollers. It occurs widely from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and is designated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The bird is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is commonly found in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and is often seen perched on roadside bare trees and wires, which give it a good view of the ground below where it finds its prey. Its diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but also includes spiders, scorpions, amphibians and small reptiles. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird.

    This picture shows an Indian roller of the benghalensis subspecies, photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
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  • Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp
    Danaus genutia, the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, south-eastern Asia and Australia. It prefers areas of moderate to heavy rainfall, and typical habitats include scrubby jungle, deciduous forests and fallow land near habitations. The insect sequesters toxins from plants, and advertises its unpalatability by having prominent markings and striking colour patterns. This adult male common tiger, of the subspecies D. g. genutia, was photographed in Kerala, India.
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Featured list – show another

This is a Featured list, which the Wikipedia community considers to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.
  • Several governors, lieutenant governors and administrators pose with the Vice President of India on the eve of ‘2021 Governors Conference’, at Vice President's House, in New Delhi in November 2021.


    In the Republic of India, according to the Article 154 of Constitution of India, a governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-eight states. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure.

    The governor is de jure head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, which thus holds de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend president's rule, or reserve bills for the president's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the union government–appointed governor. (Full article...)
  • Test cricket is the longest form of cricket. The women's variant of the game includes four innings to be completed over four days of play with eleven players in each side. The first women's Test was played between England and Australia in 1934. However, India did not play Test cricket until 1973 when the Women's Cricket Association of India was formed. The Indian women's team played their first Test match in 1976, against the West Indies. The Women's Cricket Association of India was merged with the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2006 as part of the International Cricket Council's initiative to develop women's cricket.

    India have played 37 Tests, starting with their first Test in 1976 and including their most recent one in 2021. They first won a Test in Patna (1976), in front of over 25,000 spectators, against the West Indies but did not win again until 2002, when they won against South Africa. The team has remained unbeaten since 2006, over the course of three Test matches. (Full article...)
  • The 2020 recipient Sachidanandan KR

    The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1967, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the DFF to a director for their work within Indian cinema. It is presented by the president of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

    The winner is given a "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh (US$3,100). Including ties and repeat winners, the DFF has presented a total of 53 Best Direction awards to 34 different directors. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than twenty languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of nine languages: Bengali (16 awards), Malayalam (14 awards), Hindi (11 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English and Kannada (3 awards each), Marathi (2 awards), Assamese and Punjabi (1 each). (Full article...)
  • A portrait of Satyajit Ray


    Satyajit Ray (listen; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian filmmaker who worked prominently in Bengali cinema and who has often been regarded as one of the greatest directors of world cinema. Ray was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) to a Bengali family and started his career as a junior visualiser. His meeting with French film director Jean Renoir, who had come to Calcutta in 1949 to shoot his film The River (1951), and his 1950 visit to London, where he saw Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves) (1948), inspired Ray to become a film-maker. Ray made his directorial debut in 1955 with Pather Panchali and directed 36 films, comprising 29 feature films, five documentaries, and two short films.

    Although Ray's work generally received critical acclaim, his film Pather Panchali and Ashani Sanket (1973) were criticised for "exporting poverty" and "distorting India's image abroad". His Apu Trilogy (1955–1959) appeared in Time's All-Time 100 Movies in 2005. Aside from directing, Ray composed music and wrote screenplays for films, both his own and those by other directors. Often credited as a fiction writer, illustrator, and calligrapher; Ray authored several short stories and novels in Bengali, most of which were aimed at children and adolescents. Some of his short stories have been adapted into films by other directors, including his only son, Sandip Ray. Considered a cultural icon in India and acknowledged for his contribution to Indian cinema, Ray has influenced several filmmakers around the world, including Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, James Ivory, François Truffaut and Carlos Saura. (Full article...)

  • M. G. Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known by his initials "MGR", was an Indian actor, director and producer who had an extensive career primarily in Tamil language films. After starring in numerous commercially successful films from the 1950s to the early 1970s, he has continued to hold a matinée idol status in Tamil Nadu. Ramachandran made his debut in Ellis R. Dungan's 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi, where he played a police inspector. He followed it with a string of minor appearances and supporting roles in many films, notably Ashok Kumar (1941), where he played the general of emperor Ashoka's army, and as a captain in Dungan's Meera (1945).

    Ramachandran's breakthrough came with his first lead role in A. S. A. Sami's swashbuckler film Rajakumari (1947) where he played a villager who marries a princess. Based on the Arabian Nights, Rajakumari was a commercially successful venture. He established himself as an action hero akin to Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks in Tamil cinema with Manthiri Kumari (1950) and Marmayogi (1951). Both films had political undertones which earned Ramachandran a Robin Hood persona of being a champion for the downtrodden. His performance as the caring brother Rajendran who tries to keep his family together in En Thangai (1952) earned him critical acclaim. In 1953, he made his debut in Malayalam films opposite B. S. Saroja in Genova. Ramachandran continued to play roles which enabled him to adopt his ideas of fighting injustice meted out to the poor such as an outlaw in Malaikkallan (1954), and Nadodi Mannan (1958). In the latter, he featured in dual roles, as a king and a commoner, for the first time in his career. Both Malaikkallan and Nadodi Mannan were commercially successful, becoming the highest-grossing films of their respective release years. In addition to social dramas, Ramachandran received positive feedback and commercial success for swashbuckler films such as Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum (1956), the first South Indian full-length colour film, Madurai Veeran (1956), Chakravarthi Thirumagal and Mahadevi (both released in 1957). (Full article...)
  • Anil Kumble, India's leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs


    In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and fewer than 40 bowlers have taken more than 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.
    Anil Kumble is a former Test and One Day International (ODI) cricketer who represented India. He is a right-arm leg spin (legbreak googly) bowler. Kumble has taken 619 wickets in Test cricket and 337 wickets in ODI cricket. With 37 five-wicket hauls, Kumble has the highest number of Test and combined international five-wicket hauls among Indian cricketers and fourth highest among all players, after Muttiah Muralitharan, Richard Hadlee, and Shane Warne.

    Kumble made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka and his Test debut against England, both in 1990. His first five-wicket haul was against South Africa at Johannesburg (November, 1992) in the second Test of India's tour. He has claimed the most of his five-wicket hauls against Australia, ten of them, all in Test matches. His best performance was against Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla in 1999; Kumble took all ten wickets during the second innings, just the second person to do so, after Jim Laker, and in the process ensured India of their first Test victory against Pakistan in twenty years. The feat also ranks as the second best bowling figures in Test history. Twenty of Kumble's Test cricket five-wicket hauls have come in victory for India, while five have been in defeats. Kumble has also taken two five-wicket hauls in ODIs. His first ODI five-wicket haul was against the West Indies during the final of the 1993 Hero Cup when he took six wickets for twelve runs, a record for India in One Day Internationals. The performance ensured India's victory and Kumble was adjudged man of the match. His other ODI five-wicket haul was against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in 1994. (Full article...)
  • Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (English: You Live Only Once) is a 2011 Indian coming-of-age film directed by Zoya Akhtar, who also co-wrote the film along with Reema Kagti. It is produced by Excel Entertainment. The film stars an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar, with Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin in supporting roles. The musical score for the film was composed by the trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Its cinematography was provided by Carlos Catalan. The film narrates the story of three friends on a bachelor trip and how each of them discover themselves and overcome their problems and insecurities.

    Made on a budget of ₹550 million (US$6.9 million), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was released on 5 July 2011 and grossed over ₹1.53 billion (US$19 million) worldwide. Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, surveyed 7 reviews and judged 100 percent to be positive. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, screenplay, and the performances of its cast. As of 2015, the film has won 33 awards from 66 nominations. (Full article...)
  • Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith. It was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his production company, Studio Green. The film features Karthi and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles, with Kalaiyarasan, Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles. The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai. His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area. When Kaali hears of this, he decides to avenge Anbu's death. The soundtrack and score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan while the cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G and Praveen K. L. respectively.

    Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations; its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)
  • Shriya at 62nd Filmfare awards (South)

    Shriya Saran is an Indian actress and model who has appeared mostly in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film Ishtam (2001) and had her first commercial success with Santosham (2002). The following year, she made her Hindi cinema debut with a supporting role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza. It was followed by the commercially successful crime drama Tagore (2003), in which she was paired opposite Chiranjeevi. The same year, she played a supporting role in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual film Enakku 20 Unakku 18, which marked her debut in Tamil cinema. In 2005, she had ten releases including Mazhai, S. S. Rajamouli's Chatrapathi, and Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu, in which she was among the only three characters of the film. Saran's solitary release as a lead actress in 2006 was the Tamil film Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam.

    In 2007, Saran was paired opposite Rajinikanth in S. Shankar's Sivaji. It was the most expensive film in Indian cinema and went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film to that point. The same year, she made a comeback to Hindi cinema with Mohit Suri's Awarapan, where she played a Muslim woman. Following that, she made her American cinema debut with James Dodson's The Other End of the Line (2008), in which she played an Indian woman who works in a call centre. Her subsequent releases include the Tamil films Kanthaswamy (2009) and Kutty (2010), and Pokkiri Raja (2010), which marked her debut in Malayalam cinema. (Full article...)
  • Amitabh Bachchan received several accolades for his performance in Mohabbatein

    Mohabbatein (transl. Love Stories) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Aditya Chopra. It stars an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and the newcomers Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Jugal Hansraj, Kim Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, and Preeti Jhangiani. It tells the story of the all-boys college Gurukul's principal Narayan Shankar (Bachchan) who prohibits his students from falling in love and will unhesitantly expel those who do not obey the rule. The rest of the film focuses on how the arrival of the violin teacher Raj Aryan Malhotra (Khan) changes his views. Mohabbatein's soundtrack was composed by Jatin–Lalit, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The film was shot by Manmohan Singh on sets designed by Sharmishta Roy, while the editor was V. Karnik.

    The film opened at theatres on 27 October 2000 and was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the performances of Bachchan and Khan. Made on a production budget of ₹130 million (US$1.6 million), the film had a total gross of ₹900.1 million (US$11 million) becoming the year's highest-grossing Indian film. (Full article...)
  • Citation plaque

    The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral.

    From 1965 till 1981, the award was given to the authors for their "most outstanding work" and consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950. The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during the preceding twenty years, excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to ₹1.5 lakh (equivalent to ₹26 lakh or US$33,000 in 2020) from 1981. (Full article...)
  • Matondkar in 2010

    Urmila Matondkar is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films. She has appeared in over 60 films. She has been praised by the critics for her acting and dancing skills. She made her screen debut as a child artist in B.R. Chopra's Karm (1977), and later appeared in Shekhar Kapur's critically acclaimed Masoom (1983). After making her debut as the heroine in 1989 Malayalam thriller Chanakyan, Urmila began a full-time acting career, with a leading role in the 1991 action Narsimha. She rose to prominence with Ram Gopal Varma's blockbuster Rangeela (1995). Her portrayal of an aspiring actress, Mili Joshi, opposite Aamir Khan received praise from critics, and garnered her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

    In 1997, Urmila received a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Judaai. The following year, she starred in the crime drama Satya, which has been cited as one of the greatest films of Indian cinema, for which she received another nomination for Best Actress. The same year, her dance performance in the item number "Chamma Chamma" from China Gate won her rave reviews. In 1999, she received praise for playing a psychopath in the thriller Kaun and a reserved girl in the romantic comedy Khoobsurat, a box office success. Her other four releases of the year including Jaanam Samjha Karo, and Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain were commercial failures. She played an obsessive lover in the 2001 romantic drama Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, which earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role. (Full article...)
  • Sheoo Mewalal, the first hat-trick scorer for India since independence

    The first player ever to score a hat-trick (three or more goals in a match) for India in an international football match was R. Lumsden. He achieved the feat in an official friendly match against Australia on 24 September 1938, at the Sydney Showground, although India lost the match 4–5. This is the only instance when India have lost a game in which a player scored a hat-trick for the team. Lumsden was the only footballer to score a hat-trick for India before independence. Since independence in 1947, ten Indian players have scored a hat-trick in an international football match. No Indian player has ever scored more than three goals in a single game. The first player after independence to score a hat-trick for India was Sheoo Mewalal in a 4–0 victory over Burma in the 1952 Colombo Quadrangular Tournament.

    K. Appalaraju and Sunil Chhetri are the only Indian footballers to have scored a hat-trick more than once. Appalaraju achieved the feat twice in the two-legged tie against Ceylon during the 1964 Olympic Qualifiers. Chhetri has achieved the feat three times, the latest of which came in India's 5–0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the opening match of the 2018 Intercontinental Cup. This is also the most recent instance of an Indian player scoring a hat-trick in an international football match. Chhetri's first hat-trick came in the final of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup against Tajikistan, which helped India not only to win the cup but also to qualify directly for the AFC Asian Cup in 2011, the first time in 27 years that the team reached the final tournament. (Full article...)

  • The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The names of recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which processes require the authority of the president, are archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register; none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 2000–2009 have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.

    When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards. (Full article...)
  • Kumar in 2015

    Akshay Kumar is an Indian naturalised Canadian actor, television presenter and film producer who works in Hindi-language films. He appeared as unnoticed minor role in the 1987 Indian film Aaj. Although He debuted in a leading role with Saugandh (1991) before breakthrough with the suspense thriller Khiladi (1992), first film of the Khiladi series. He established himself as an action hero with Deedar (1992), Mohra (1994), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Suhaag (1994), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and earned his first Filmfare Awards nominations for the romantic films Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dil To Pagal Hai (1997). However, several other of his 90s releases performed poorly at the box office leading to a brief setback.

    The hit crime drama Jaanwar (1999) and psychological thriller Sangharsh (1999) met with critical acclaim and marked his comeback. In 2000, Kumar worked in Priyadarshan's comedy Hera Pheri and the love triangle Dhadkan. He played a negative role in Ajnabee (2001) to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award and appeared in Andaaz (2003), Aitraaz (2004), Khakee (2004) and
    Aan: Men at Work (2004)
    Waqt (2005). He further gained widespread recognition with slapstick comedy roles in the financial hits Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005),
    Bhagam Bhag (2006), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Welcome (2007), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Singh Is Kinng (2008), Housefull (2010) and Tees Maar Khan (2010) and he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award for Garam Masala. In 2004, he also presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar. (Full article...)
  • My Name Is Khan is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Karan Johar. The film features Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles with Jimmy Sheirgill, Zarina Wahab, Sonya Jehan, Vinay Pathak and Parvin Dabas playing supporting roles. Set in the United States, the film's story focuses on Rizwan Khan (Khan), a non-resident Indian suffering from Asperger syndrome whose wife, Mandira (Kajol), has a child, Sameer, from a previous relationship. During the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Sameer dies as a result of a racist assault by school bullies. Mandira blames Sameer's death on Rizwan due to his religion, and tells him not to come back until he can convince the President of the United States that he is not a terrorist. Rizwan takes Mandira's words literally and tries to meet the President so as to win her back. My Name Is Khan was co-produced by Johar's brother, Hiroo Yash Johar, and Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, under the Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment banners respectively. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the soundtrack while Niranjan Iyengar and Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics for its songs. Ravi K. Chandran, Deepa Bhatia and Sharmishta Roy handled the cinematography, editing and production design respectively.

    Produced on a budget of ₹850 million (about US$19 million in 2010), My Name Is Khan was released on 12 February 2010 and received positive reviews. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹2.048 billion (about US$45 million in 2010) worldwide. The film won 25 awards from 84 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)


  • The Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded to 153 members of the British Indian Army and civilians under its command, from 1857 until independence in 1947. The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command. The VC is traditionally presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture at Buckingham Palace, though in a large number of cases this was not possible and it was presented in the field by a prominent civil or military official. The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War.

    Indian troops were not originally eligible for the VC, because since 1837 they had been eligible for the Indian Order of Merit—the oldest British gallantry award for general issue. When the VC was created, Indian troops were still controlled by the British East India Company, and did not come under Crown control until 1860. European officers and men serving with the East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit; the VC was extended to cover them in October 1857. It was only at the end of the 19th century that calls for Indian troops to be awarded the VC intensified. Indian troops became eligible for the award in 1911. The first awards to Indian troops appeared in The London Gazette on 7 December 1914 to Darwan Singh Negi and Khudadad Khan. Negi was presented with the VC by King George V two days earlier, on 5 December 1914, during a visit to troops in France. He is one of a small number of soldiers presented with his award before it appeared in the London Gazette. (Full article...)

  • Haider is a 2014 Indian crime-drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and produced by Bhardwaj and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as the eponymous protagonist, and co-stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Shraddha Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan. Bhardwaj wrote the dialogues for the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with Basharat Peer. Bhardwaj also composed the music and Gulzar wrote the lyrics. The film is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and tells the story of Haider who searches for his missing father during the Kashmir conflict of 1995.

    Produced on a budget of ₹240 million (US$3.0 million), Haider was released on 2 October 2014, and grossed ₹690 million (US$8.6 million) worldwide. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, performances of Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, music and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 36 awards. (Full article...)

  • The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The name of a recipient, whose award has been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register. , none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during the 2010s have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.

    When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards. (Full article...)
  • Dadasaheb Phalke, often credited as "the father of Indian cinema", made India's first full-length feature Raja Harishchandra (1913).


    The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹1,000,000 (US$13,000).

    Presented first in 1969, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke's contribution to Indian cinema. Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as and often regarded as "the father of Indian cinema", was an Indian filmmaker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). (Full article...)
  • The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, where India played their first ever Twenty20 International


    A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket match between two representative teams, each having T20I status as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first such match was played between Australia and New Zealand on 17 February 2005. The Indian cricket team played its first T20I match—under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag—during the 2006–07 series in South Africa; India defeated the hosts by six wickets in the one-off match and claimed the series.

    As of 5 January 2023, 102 players have represented India in T20Is. India won the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20, defeating Pakistan in the final by five runs. (Full article...)

  • Thani Oruvan is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Mohan Raja, who also co-wrote the screenplay and dialogues with the duo Subha. The film features Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swami and Nayanthara in the lead roles. Thambi Ramaiah, Ganesh Venkatraman, Mugdha Godse and Nassar play supporting roles. The film's story focuses on Mithran (Ravi), an IPS officer, who learns of the plans of scientist and businessman Siddharth Abhimanyu (Swami) to sabotage a deal to make generic medicines available at low cost for poor people. Siddharth succeeds in his plan and begins indulging in a game of cat and mouse with Mithran. The rest of the story revolves around how Mithran overcomes the obstacles set by Siddharth. Produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram, Kalpathi S. Ganesh and Kalpathi S. Suresh under their company AGS Entertainment, the film's soundtrack and score were composed by Hiphop Tamizha. Ramji and Gopi Krishna handled the cinematography and editing respectively.

    Made on a budget of ₹200 million, Thani Oruvan was released on 28 August 2015 and received positive reviews. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹1.05 billion worldwide. The film won 15 awards from 37 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)
  • The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1984, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the DFF to an actress for the best performance in a supporting role within Indian cinema. It is presented by the President of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

    The winner is given a "Rajat Kamal" (Silver Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹50,000 (US$780). Including ties and repeat winners, the DFF has presented a total of 39 Best Supporting Actress awards to 35 different actresses. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than 20 languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of ten languages: Hindi (18 awards), Malayalam (7 awards), Bengali (4 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English (2 awards), Meitei (1 award), Marathi (1 award), Urdu (1 award), Haryanvi (1 award), Odia (1 award) . (Full article...)
  • Rohit Sharma has scored 41 centuries in international cricket.

    Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team since 2007. He has made 41 centuries in international cricket—29 in One Day Internationals (ODI), 8 in Tests and 4 in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is)—as of July 2022, Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest number of T20I centuries.

    Sharma made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007. His first century came during the 2010 Tri-nation tournament in Zimbabwe when he made 114 against the hosts. In the 2013 bilateral series against Australia at home, he made two centuries, including a double-century. The next year, he scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The score remains the highest individual total by a batsman in the format . In January 2016, he made 171 not out against Australia; it remained the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia until England's Jason Roy made 180 in 2018. Sharma set the record for most centuries scored in a World Cup when he scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup. He has scored centuries against nine different opponents and has the joint second-highest number of centuries (eight) against Australia in the format. , Sharma has eight scores in excess of 150, and three double-centuries, both of which are records in ODIs. He has the second highest number of centuries for an active player in the format. (Full article...)
  • The Indian Test team that toured England in 1932

    In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by critics as a notable achievement. As of July 2022, 161 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut, out of which nine are from the India national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls were taken against four different opponents – three each against Australia and West Indies, twice against England, and once Pakistan. The nine occasions have resulted in five wins, two losses and two draws. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eight different venues, six in India, three of which were taken at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

    The first Indian to take a five-wicket haul was Mohammad Nissar who took 5 wickets for 93 runs during India's first Test, in June 1932 against England. Vaman Kumar, a leg spinner, was the next to achieve this feat. His figures of 5 wickets for 64 runs took India close to winning a match against Pakistan during the latter's tour of India in 1960–61. In December 1967, Syed Abid Ali took 6 wickets for 55 runs against Australia. The figures remain the best by an Indian fast bowler on debut. Narendra Hirwani's 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies, in January 1988, are the best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut. His aggregate of 16 wickets for 136 runs in the match are a record for any bowler on debut. As of February 2021, he is the only Indian cricketer to take ten or more wickets in a Test match on debut. (Full article...)
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portal, india, wikimedia, portal, portal, maintenance, status, june, 2018, this, portal, subpages, have, been, checked, editor, needed, please, take, care, when, editing, especially, using, automated, editing, software, learn, update, maintenance, information,. Wikimedia portal Portal maintenance status June 2018 This portal s subpages have been checked by an editor and are needed Please take care when editing especially if using automated editing software Learn how to update the maintenance information here Parent portals Geography Asia India Portal topics Activities Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Random portal Welcome to the India Portal IntroductionTaj Mahal Agra India ShortcutsP INWP PIN India officially the Republic of India Hindi Bharat Gaṇarajya is a country in South Asia It is the seventh largest country by area the second most populous country and the most populous democracy in the world Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south the Arabian Sea on the southwest and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west China Nepal and Bhutan to the north and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east In the Indian Ocean India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand Myanmar and Indonesia Full article source source track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track track National Anthem of India More about India Refresh with new selections below purge Featured article show anotherThis is a Featured article which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia Image 1 Core Western Ganga TerritoryWestern Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga modern Odisha and Northern Andhra Pradesh The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India a geo political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE initially ruling from Kolar and later moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district After the rise of the imperial Chalukyas of Badami the Gangas accepted Chalukya overlordship and fought for the cause of their overlords against the Pallavas of Kanchi The Chalukyas were replaced by the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta in 753 CE as the dominant power in the Deccan After a century of struggle for autonomy the Western Gangas finally accepted Rashtrakuta overlordship and successfully fought alongside them against their foes the Chola Dynasty of Tanjavur In the late 10th century north of Tungabhadra river the Rashtrakutas were replaced by the emerging Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola Dynasty saw renewed power south of the Kaveri river The defeat of the Western Gangas by Cholas around 1000 resulted in the end of the Ganga influence over the region Full article Image 2 INS Vikrant in 1984Indian Navy Ship Vikrant from Sanskrit vikranta courageous was a Majestic class aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy The ship was laid down as HMS Hercules for the British Royal Navy during World War II but was put on hold when the war ended India purchased the incomplete carrier in 1957 and construction was completed in 1961 Vikrant was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy and played a key role in enforcing the naval blockade of East Pakistan during the Indo Pakistani War of 1971 In its later years the ship underwent major refits to embark modern aircraft before being decommissioned in January 1997 She was preserved as a museum ship in Naval Docks Mumbai until 2012 In January 2014 the ship was sold through an online auction and scrapped in November 2014 after final clearance from the Supreme Court Full article Image 3 Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford 28 October 1886 28 November 1957 was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan A keen proponent of aerial archaeology he spent most of his career as the archaeological officer of the Ordnance Survey OS and also wrote a range of books on archaeological subjects Born in Bombay British India to a wealthy middle class Scottish family Crawford moved to England as an infant and was raised by his aunts in London and Hampshire He studied geography at Keble College Oxford and worked briefly in that field before devoting himself professionally to archaeology Employed by the philanthropist Henry Wellcome Crawford oversaw the excavation of Abu Geili in Sudan before returning to England shortly before the First World War During the conflict he served in both the London Scottish Regiment and the Royal Flying Corps where he was involved in ground and aerial reconnaissance along the Western Front After an injury forced a period of convalescence in England he returned to the Western Front where he was captured by the German Army in 1918 and held as a prisoner of war until the end of the conflict Full article Image 4 Indian roller in Kanha National Park IndiaThe Indian roller Coracias benghalensis is a bird of the family Coraciidae It is 30 34 cm 12 13 in long with a wingspan of 65 74 cm 26 29 in and weighs 166 176 g 5 9 6 2 oz The face and throat are pinkish the head and back are brown with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight The sexes are similar in appearance Two subspecies are recognised The Indian roller occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian subcontinent Often found perched on roadside trees and wires it is common in open grassland and scrub forest habitats and has adapted well to human modified landscapes It mainly feeds on insects especially beetles The species is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season Adult males and females form pair bonds and raise the young together The female lays 3 5 eggs in a cavity or crevice which is lined with a thin mat of straw or feathers The roller is the state bird of three Indian states It is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List Full article Image 5 Aitraaz transl Objection is a 2004 Indian Hindi language romantic thriller film directed by Abbas Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai It stars Akshay Kumar Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor with Amrish Puri Annu Kapoor Paresh Rawal Vivek Shauq Preeti Puri and Upasana Singh in supporting roles Aitraaz tells the story of a man accused of sexual harassment by his female superior and was released on 12 November 2004 to positive reviews Chopra received widespread critical acclaim for her performance Loosely based on the 1994 film Disclosure the film was a commercial success grossing 260 million at the box office against a budget of 80 million and has been noted for its bold subject of sexual harassment Full article Image 6 Murray in 1928Margaret Alice Murray 13 July 1863 13 November 1963 was an Anglo Indian Egyptologist archaeologist anthropologist historian and folklorist The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom she worked at University College London UCL from 1898 to 1935 She served as President of the Folklore Society from 1953 to 1955 and published widely over the course of her career Born to a wealthy middle class English family in Calcutta British India Murray divided her youth between India Britain and Germany training as both a nurse and a social worker Moving to London in 1894 she began studying Egyptology at UCL developing a friendship with department head Flinders Petrie who encouraged her early academic publications and appointed her Junior Professor in 1898 In 1902 03 she took part in Petrie s excavations at Abydos Egypt there discovering the Osireion temple and the following season investigated the Saqqara cemetery both of which established her reputation in Egyptology Supplementing her UCL wage by giving public classes and lectures at the British Museum and Manchester Museum it was at the latter in 1908 that she led the unwrapping of Khnum nakht one of the mummies recovered from the Tomb of the Two Brothers the first time that a woman had publicly unwrapped a mummy Recognising that British Egyptomania reflected the existence of a widespread public interest in Ancient Egypt Murray wrote several books on Egyptology targeted at a general audience Full article Image 7 Pinto in 2014Freida Selena Pinto born 18 October 1984 is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films Born and raised in Mumbai Maharashtra she resolved at a young age to become an actress As a student at St Xavier s College Mumbai she took part in amateur plays After graduation she briefly worked as a model and then as a television presenter Pinto rose to prominence with her film debut in the drama Slumdog Millionaire 2008 which is a loose adaptation of the novel Q amp A 2005 by Indian author Vikas Swarup She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Drama and won the Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Performance for Slumdog Millionaire Her biggest commercial success came with the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011 Her performance as the title character in Michael Winterbottom s Trishna 2011 garnered her widespread recognition and praise Full article Image 8 Rashtrakuta IAST raṣṭrakuṭa r 753 982 CE was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th century copper plate grant detailing their rule from manapur a city in Central or West India Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur and the rulers of Kannauj Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas their native homeland and their language The Elichpur clan was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas and during the rule of Dantidurga it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta rising to power in South India in 753 AD At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa were gaining force in eastern and northwestern India respectively An Arabic text Silsilat al Tawarikh 851 called the Rashtrakutas one of the four principal empires of the world Full article Image 9 Keechaka Vadham transl The Extermination of Keechaka is an Indian silent film produced directed filmed and edited by R Nataraja Mudaliar The first film to have been made in South India it was shot in five weeks at Nataraja Mudaliar s production house India Film Company As the members of the cast were Tamils Keechaka Vadham is considered to be the first Tamil film No print of it is known to have survived making it a lost film The screenplay written by C Rangavadivelu is based on an episode from the Virata Parva segment of the Hindu epic Mahabharata focusing on Keechaka s attempts to woo Draupadi The film stars Raju Mudaliar and Jeevarathnam as the central characters Full article Image 10 Basohli miniature c 1730 National Museum New Delhi Ganesha Sanskrit गण श IAST Gaṇesa also known as Ganapati Vinayaka and Pillaiyar is one of the best known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect His image is found throughout India Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and includes Nepal Sri Lanka Thailand Indonesia Java and Bali Singapore Malaysia Philippines and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji Guyana Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago Although Ganesha has many attributes he is readily identified by his elephant head He is widely revered more specifically as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom As the god of beginnings he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters and learning during writing sessions Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits Full article Image 11 The 2000 Sri Lanka cyclone IMD designation BOB 06 JTWC designation 04B was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Sri Lanka since 1978 The fourth tropical storm and the second severe cyclonic storm of the 2000 North Indian Ocean cyclone season it developed from an area of disturbed weather on December 25 2000 It moved westward and quickly strengthened under favorable conditions to reach top wind speeds of 75 mph 120 km h The cyclone hit eastern Sri Lanka at peak strength then weakened slightly while crossing the island before making landfall over southern India on December 28 The storm degenerated into a remnant low later that day before merging with another trough on the next day The storm was the first cyclone over Sri Lanka with winds of at least hurricane strength since a cyclone of 1978 hit the island in the 1978 season as well as the first tropical storm to hit the island since 1992 The storm was also the first December tropical cyclone of hurricane intensity in the Bay of Bengal since 1996 It produced heavy rainfall and strong winds damaging or destroying tens of thousands of houses and leaving up to 500 000 homeless At least nine people died as a result of the cyclone Full article Image 12 Jinnah in 1945Muhammad Ali Jinnah Urdu pronunciation moɦemːed eliː d ʒɪnːɑːɦ Gujarati pronunciation meɦ e med eli d ʒʱiɽ ɑ born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai 25 December 1876 11 September 1948 was a barrister politician and the founder of Pakistan Jinnah served as the leader of the All India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947 and then as the Dominion of Pakistan s first governor general until his death Born at Wazir Mansion in Karachi Jinnah was trained as a barrister at Lincoln s Inn in London Upon his return to India he enrolled at the Bombay High Court and took an interest in national politics which eventually replaced his legal practice Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century In these early years of his political career Jinnah advocated Hindu Muslim unity helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All India Muslim League in which Jinnah had also become prominent Jinnah became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League and proposed a fourteen point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent In 1920 however Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha which he regarded as political anarchy Full article Image 13 Kaif in 2019Katrina Kaif pronounced keˈʈriːna kɛːf born Katrina Turquotte 16 July 1983 is a British actress who works in Hindi language films One of the highest paid actresses in India she has received accolades including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards in addition to three Filmfare nominations Though reception to her acting has varied she is noted for her dancing ability in various successful item numbers Born in Hong Kong Kaif lived in several countries before she moved to London for three years She received her first modelling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model At a fashion show in London Indian filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom 2003 a critical and commercial failure While Kaif established a successful modelling career in India she initially had difficulty finding film roles due to her poor command of Hindi After appearing in the Telugu film Malliswari 2004 Kaif earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya 2005 and Namastey London 2007 Further success followed with a series of box office hits but she was criticised for her acting repetitive roles and inclination to male dominated films Full article Image 14 Mayabazar transl Market of Illusions is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K V Reddy It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner Vijaya Productions The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil with a few differences in the cast The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam which is based on the characters of the epic Mahabharata It revolves around the roles of Krishna N T Rama Rao and Ghatotkacha S V Ranga Rao as they try to reunite Arjuna s son Abhimanyu Telugu Akkineni Nageswara Rao Tamil Gemini Ganesan with his love Balarama s daughter Savitri The Telugu version features Gummadi Mukkamala Ramana Reddy and Relangi in supporting roles with D Balasubramaniam R Balasubramaniam V M Ezhumalai and K A Thangavelu playing those parts in the Tamil version The first mythological film produced by their studio Mayabazar marked a milestone for Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani In addition to the technical crew 400 studio workers including light men carpenters and painters participated in the development of the film Director Reddy was meticulous with the pre production and casting phases which took nearly a year to complete Though Rama Rao was initially reluctant to play the lead role his portrayal of Krishna received acclaim and yielded more offers to reprise the same role in several unrelated films The soundtrack features twelve songs with most of the musical score composed by Ghantasala Telugu lyrics were written by Pingali Nagendrarao and Tamil lyrics were written by Thanjai N Ramaiah Dass One of those songs Lahiri Lahiri was accompanied by the first illusion of moonlight in Indian cinema shot by cinematographer Marcus Bartley Full article Image 15 Zinta in 2018Preity G Zinta pronounced ˈpriːt i ˈzɪɳʈa born 31 January 1975 is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi films After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal psychology Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier in the same year These performances earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna 2000 She subsequently established a career as a leading actress of Hindi cinema with a variety of character types Her roles often deemed culturally defiant along with her unconventional screen persona have been credited with contributing to a change in the concept of Indian film heroines and won her several accolades Following critically appreciated roles in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke 2001 Dil Chahta Hai 2001 Dil Hai Tumhaara 2002 and Armaan 2003 Zinta received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho 2003 She starred in two consecutive annual top grossing films in India Koi Mil Gaya 2003 and Veer Zaara 2004 and was noted for her portrayal of independent modern Indian women in Salaam Namaste 2005 and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna 2006 top grossing productions in overseas markets For her first international role in the Canadian drama Heaven on Earth 2008 she was awarded the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress and nominated for the Genie Award for Best Actress She followed this with a hiatus from acting work for several years with the exception of her self produced comeback film Ishkq in Paris 2013 which failed to leave a mark Full article Image 16 The frontispiece of the 1920 edition of Tod s Annals and Antiquities of Rajast hanLieutenant Colonel James Tod 20 March 1782 18 November 1835 was an officer of the British East India Company and an Oriental scholar He combined his official role and his amateur interests to create a series of works about the history and geography of India and in particular the area then known as Rajputana that corresponds to the present day state of Rajasthan and which Tod referred to as Rajast han Tod was born in London and educated in Scotland He joined the East India Company as a military officer and travelled to India in 1799 as a cadet in the Bengal Army He rose quickly in rank eventually becoming captain of an escort for an envoy in a Sindian royal court After the Third Anglo Maratha War during which Tod was involved in the intelligence department he was appointed Political Agent for some areas of Rajputana His task was to help unify the region under the control of the East India Company During this period Tod conducted most of the research that he would later publish Tod was initially successful in his official role but his methods were questioned by other members of the East India Company Over time his work was restricted and his areas of oversight were significantly curtailed In 1823 owing to declining health and reputation Tod resigned his post as Political Agent and returned to England Full article Image 17 Collins on an 1899 postcardArthur Edward Jeune Collins 18 August 1885 11 November 1914 was an English cricketer and soldier He held for 116 years the record of highest score in cricket as a 13 year old schoolboy he scored 628 not out over four afternoons in June 1899 Collins s record making innings drew a large crowd and increasing media interest spectators at the Old Cliftonian match being played nearby were drawn away to watch the junior school house cricket match in which Collins was playing Despite this achievement Collins never played first class cricket Collins s 628 not out stood as the record score until January 2016 when an Indian boy Pranav Dhanawade scored 1009 in a single innings Collins joined the British Army in 1902 and studied at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich before becoming an officer in the Royal Engineers He served in France during the First World War where he was killed in action in 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres Collins had been mentioned in despatches and also represented the Royal Military Academy at cricket and rugby union Full article Image 18 Abbott c 1903 by Charles Dana GibsonMargaret Ives Abbott June 15 1878 June 10 1955 was an American amateur golfer She was the first American woman to win an Olympic event the women s golf tournament at the 1900 Summer Olympics Born in Calcutta now Kolkata India in 1878 Abbott moved with her family to Chicago in 1884 She joined the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton Illinois where she was coached by Charles B Macdonald and H J Whigham In 1899 she traveled with her mother to Paris to study art In October 1900 along with her mother she signed up for a women s golf tournament without realizing that it was the second modern Olympics Abbott won the tournament with a score of 47 strokes her mother tied for seventh place Abbott received a porcelain bowl as a prize Full article Image 19 The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries when the empires that evolved in the Karnataka region of India made a lasting impact on the subcontinent Before this alien empires held sway over the region and the nucleus of power was outside modern Karnataka The medieval era can be broadly divided into several periods The earliest native kingdoms and imperialism the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region and the domination of the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion The origins of the rise of the Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth century birth of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit This is the historical starting point in studying the development of the region as an enduring geopolitical entity and of Kannada as an important regional language In the southern regions of Karnataka the Western Gangas of Talakad were contemporaries of the Kadambas The Kadambas and Gangas were followed by the imperial dynasties of the Badami Chalukya Empire the Rashtrakuta Empire the Western Chalukya Empire the Hoysala Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire all patronising the ancient Indic religions while showing tolerance to the new cultures arriving from the west of the subcontinent The Muslim invasion of the Deccan resulted in the breaking away of the feudatory Sultanates in the 14th century The rule of the Bahamani Sultanate of Bidar and the Bijapur Sultanate from the northern Deccan region caused a mingling of the ancient Hindu traditions with the nascent Islamic culture in the region The hereditary ruling families and clans ably served the large empires and upheld the local culture and traditions The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565 brought about a slow disintegration of Kannada speaking regions into minor kingdoms that struggled to maintain autonomy in an age dominated by foreigners until unification and independence in 1947 Full article Image 20 Territory of the Hoysalas and their neighbouring kingdoms in Western India the Seuna Yadavas and Silharas in c 1200 image reference needed Hoysala literature is the large body of literature in the Kannada and Sanskrit languages produced by the Hoysala Empire 1025 1343 in what is now southern India The empire was established by Nripa Kama II came into political prominence during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana 1108 1152 and declined gradually after its defeat by the Khalji dynasty invaders in 1311 Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio religious developments of the Jain and Veerashaiva faiths and to a lesser extent that of the Vaishnava faith The earliest well known brahmin writers in Kannada were from the Hoysala court While most of the courtly textual production was in Kannada an important corpus of monastic Vaishnava literature relating to Dvaita dualistic philosophy was written by the renowned philosopher Madhvacharya in Sanskrit Full article Image 21 Aravan worshipped at Sri Mariamman Temple Singapore A cobra hood is sheltering Aravan s head Iravan also known as Iravat and Iravant is a minor character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata The son of Pandava prince Arjuna one of the main heroes of the Mahabharata and the Naga princess Ulupi Iravan is the central deity of the cult of Kuttantavar Kuttandavar which is also the name commonly given to him in that tradition and plays a major role in the sect of Draupadi Both these cults are of Tamil origin from a region of the country where he is worshipped as a village deity and is known as Aravan He is also a patron god of well known transgender communities called Thirunangai also Aravani in Tamil and Hijra throughout South Asia The Mahabharata portrays Iravan as dying a heroic death in the 18 day Kurukshetra War Mahabharata war the epic s main subject However the South Indian traditions have a supplementary practice of honouring Aravan s self sacrifice to the goddess Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war The Kuttantavar tradition focuses on one of the three boons granted to Aravan by the god Krishna in honour of this self sacrifice Aravan requested that he be married before his death Krishna satisfied this boon in his female form Mohini In Koovagam க வ கம Tamil Nadu this incident is re enacted in an 18 day festival first by a ceremonial marriage of Aravan to Thirunangai and male villagers who have taken vows to Aravan and then by their widowhood after ritual re enactment of Aravan s sacrifice Local tradition has it that Aravan is a form of Shiva hence locally called Kutandavar 1 Full article Image 22 Territory of the Western Chalukyas c 1100 CE in India modern boundaries shown and the empire s capital Kalyani in the modern Bidar district Karnataka state IndiaA large body of Western Chalukya literature in the Kannada language was produced during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire 973 1200 CE in what is now southern India This dynasty which ruled most of the western Deccan in South India is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya Dynasty after its royal capital at Kalyani now Basavakalyan and sometimes called the Later Chalukya Dynasty for its theoretical relationship to the 6th century Chalukya dynasty of Badami For a brief period 1162 1183 the Kalachuris of Kalyani a dynasty of kings who had earlier migrated to the Karnataka region from central India and served as vassals for several generations exploited the growing weakness of their overlords and annexed the Kalyani Around 1183 the last Chalukya scion Someshvara IV overthrew the Kalachuris to regain control of the royal city But his efforts were in vain as other prominent Chalukya vassals in the Deccan the Hoysalas the Kakatiyas and the Seunas destroyed the remnants of the Chalukya power Kannada literature from this period is usually categorised into the linguistic phase called Old Kannada It constituted the bulk of the Chalukya court s textual production and pertained mostly to writings relating to the socio religious development of the Jain faith The earliest well known writers belonging to the Shaiva faith are also from this period Under the patronage of Kalachuri King Bijjala II whose prime minister was the well known Kannada poet and social reformer Basavanna a native form of poetic literature called Vachana literature lit utterance saying or sentence proliferated The beginnings of the Vachana poetic tradition in the Kannada speaking region trace back to the early 11th century Kannada literature written in the champu metre composed of prose and verse was popularised by the Chalukyan court poets However with the advent of the Veerashaiva lit brave devotees of the god Shiva religious movement in the mid 12th century poets favoured the native tripadi three line verse composed of eleven ganas or prosodic units hadugabba song poem and free verse metres for their poems Full article Image 23 Tripura ˈ t r ɪ p ʊr e er e Bengali ˈtri puraˈ listen is a state in Northeast India The third smallest state in the country it covers 10 491 km2 4 051 sq mi and the seventh least populous state with a population of 36 71 lakh 3 67 million It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east and by Bangladesh to the north south and west Tripura is divided into 8 districts and 23 sub divisions where Agartala is the capital and the largest city in the state Tripura has 19 different tribal communities with a majority of the Bengali population Bengali English and Kokborok are the state s official languages The area of modern Tripura ruled for several centuries by the Manikya Dynasty was part of the Tripuri Kingdom also known as Hill Tippera It became a princely state under the British Raj during its tenure and acceded to independent India in 1947 It merged with India in 1949 and was designated as a Part C State union territory It became a full fledged state of India in 1972 Full article Image 24 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge transl The Big Hearted Will Take the Bride also known by the initialism DDLJ is a 1995 Indian Hindi language musical romance film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra Released on 20 October 1995 the film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol The plot revolves around Raj and Simran two young non resident Indians who fall in love during a vacation through Europe with their friends Raj tries to win over Simran s family so the couple can marry but Simran s father has long since promised her hand to his friend s son The film was shot in India London and Switzerland from September 1994 to August 1995 With an estimated total gross of 2 billion 60 million worldwide Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was the highest grossing Indian film of 1995 and one of the most successful Indian films in history It won 10 Filmfare Awards the most for a single film at that time and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Its soundtrack album became one of the most popular of the 1990s Full article Image 25 Male lion in Okonjima NamibiaThe lion Panthera leo is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India It has a muscular broad chested body short rounded head round ears and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail It is sexually dimorphic adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane It is a social species forming groups called prides A lion s pride consists of a few adult males related females and cubs Groups of female lions usually hunt together preying mostly on large ungulates The lion is an apex and keystone predator although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans The lion inhabits grasslands savannas and shrublands It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats but when persecuted it adapts to being active at night and at twilight During the Neolithic period the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia from Southeast Europe to India but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub Saharan Africa and one population in western India It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43 since the early 1990s Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern Full article More featured articles Selected picturesImage 1 Taj Mahal MosquePhoto Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe mosque at the Taj Mahal complex in Agra India This red sandstone building on the western side of the complex faces the west side of the mausoleum In the forefront is a howz meant for ablution On the eastern side of the complex is the jawab answer a mirror image of the mosque except for the missing mihrab and different floor pattern this jawab was mainly intended for architectural balance Both were constructed in 1643 More selected pictures Image 2 Bara ImambaraPhotograph Muhammad Mahdi KarimThe Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow India Built by Asaf ud Daula Nawab of Awadh in 1785 the building reflects a maturation of ornamented Mughal design as seen in the Badshahi Mosque More selected pictures Image 3 Duladeo TemplePhoto Marcin BialekDuladeo Temple dated to circa A D 1000 1150 is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva It is located in Khajuraho India More selected pictures Image 4 Papilio polymnestorPhotograph credit Jeevan JosePapilio polymnestor the blue Mormon is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka It is a woodland species often seen on forest paths and near streams The larvae feed on trees in the family Rutaceae such as citrus Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves relying on their cryptic colouring which resembles bird droppings for protection Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the substratum This adult male P polymnestor butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of Kerala More selected pictures Image 5 Gondi peoplePhoto YannWomen of the Gondi the largest tribe of Indian aboriginals in central India They are classified as a scheduled tribe in most Indian states The Gondi language is related to Telugu and other Dravidian languages About half of Gonds speak Gondi languages while the rest speak Indo Aryan languages including Hindi For many years during the British colonial period the Gonds were considered to have performed human sacrifices although this notion was later discredited More selected pictures Image 6 Papilio demoleus matingPhotograph JkadavoorA mating pair of Papilio demoleus a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly photographed at Kadavoor Kerala India After successful mating the female goes from plant to plant laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf and flies off as soon as the egg is laid More selected pictures Image 7 PigmentPhoto credit Dan BradyPigments for sale at a market stall in Goa India Many pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colourants ground into a fine powder This powder is then added to a vehicle or matrix a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a binder before it is applied Unlike a dye a pigment generally is insoluble More selected pictures Image 8 Arundhati RoyPhotograph Augustus BinuArundhati Roy b 1961 is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997 Man Booker Prize with her debut novel The God of Small Things Born in Shillong Meghalaya Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting and later marrying director Pradip Krishen She wrote The God of Small Things over a four year period ending in 1996 it was published the following year and received positive international reviews although in India the work was controversial She has continued to write essays and articles but has yet to publish another novel More selected pictures Image 9 OdissiPhotograph Augustus BinuOdissi is an ancient classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Odisha India Historically it has been performed predominantly by women and expressed religious stories and spiritual ideas particularly of Vaishnavism Vishnu as Jagannath but also of other traditions such as those related to Hindu gods Shiva and Surya as well as Hindu goddesses Shaktism Modern Odissi productions by Indian artists have presented a diverse range of experimental ideas culture fusion themes and plays Odissi is learnt and performed as a composite of a basic dance motif called the Bhangas symmetric body bends stance It involves the lower mid and upper body as three sources of perfecting expression and audience engagement with geometric symmetry and rhythmic musical resonance More selected pictures Image 10 Chandiroor DivakaranPhotograph Augustus BinuChandiroor Divakaran b 1946 is a Malayalam language poet and folk song writer from Kerala India He has published numerous collections of poetry since his debut collection Radha in 1965 More selected pictures Image 11 NilgaiPhotograph credit Charles J SharpThe nilgai or blue bull Boselaphus tragocamelus is the largest Asian antelope and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent The sole member of the genus Boselaphus the species was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766 The nilgai stands 1 1 5 metres 3 3 4 9 ft at the shoulder males weigh 109 288 kilograms 240 635 lb and the lighter females 100 213 kilograms 220 470 lb A sturdy thin legged antelope the nilgai is characterised by a sloping back a deep neck with a white patch on the throat a short crest of hair along the neck terminating in a tuft and white facial spots A column of pendant coarse hair hangs from the dewlap ridge below the white patch Sexual dimorphism is prominent while females and juveniles are orange to tawny adult males have a bluish grey coat Only males possess horns which are 15 24 centimetres 5 9 9 4 in in length This picture shows a male nilgai in a potato field at Jamtra in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh More selected pictures Image 12 Macrotyloma uniflorumPhotograph credit Prathyush ThomasMacrotyloma uniflorum commonly known as horse gram is a legume native to tropical southern Asia The plant grows from a rhizome sending up annual shoots to a height of 60 cm 24 in The flowers are cream yellow or pale green and are followed by short pods The seeds pictured here have been consumed in India for at least 4 000 years and are used both for animal feed and human consumption including Ayurvedic cuisine In other tropical countries in southeastern Asia and in northern Australia the plant is grown mainly as a fodder crop and for use as green manure It is a drought tolerant plant largely cultivated in areas with low rainfall More selected pictures Image 13 BanglesPhotograph Muhammad Mahdi KarimBangles on display in Bangalore India These rigid bracelets are usually made from metal wood or plastic and are traditionally worn by women in India Nepal Pakistan and Bangladesh In India it is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks More selected pictures Image 14 Indian rollerPhotograph credit Charles J SharpThe Indian roller Coracias benghalensis is a member of the bird family Coraciidae the rollers It occurs widely from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and is designated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List The bird is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season It is commonly found in open grassland and scrub forest habitats and is often seen perched on roadside bare trees and wires which give it a good view of the ground below where it finds its prey Its diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers but also includes spiders scorpions amphibians and small reptiles The largest population occurs in India and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird This picture shows an Indian roller of the benghalensis subspecies photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh More selected pictures Image 15 Danaus genutiaPhotograph credit Charles James SharpDanaus genutia the common tiger or striped tiger is a species of brush footed butterfly found in Sri Lanka India Myanmar south eastern Asia and Australia It prefers areas of moderate to heavy rainfall and typical habitats include scrubby jungle deciduous forests and fallow land near habitations The insect sequesters toxins from plants and advertises its unpalatability by having prominent markings and striking colour patterns This adult male common tiger of the subspecies D g genutia was photographed in Kerala India More selected pictures Featured list show anotherThis is a Featured list which the Wikipedia community considers to be the best lists on English Wikipedia Image 1 Several governors lieutenant governors and administrators pose with the Vice President of India on the eve of 2021 Governors Conference at Vice President s House in New Delhi in November 2021 In the Republic of India according to the Article 154 of Constitution of India a governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty eight states The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years and holds office at the president s pleasure The governor is de jure head of the state government all its executive actions are taken in the governor s name However the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers headed by the chief minister which thus holds de facto executive authority at the state level The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to appoint or dismiss a ministry recommend president s rule or reserve bills for the president s assent Over the years the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the union government appointed governor Full article Image 2 Test cricket is the longest form of cricket The women s variant of the game includes four innings to be completed over four days of play with eleven players in each side The first women s Test was played between England and Australia in 1934 However India did not play Test cricket until 1973 when the Women s Cricket Association of India was formed The Indian women s team played their first Test match in 1976 against the West Indies The Women s Cricket Association of India was merged with the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 2006 as part of the International Cricket Council s initiative to develop women s cricket India have played 37 Tests starting with their first Test in 1976 and including their most recent one in 2021 They first won a Test in Patna 1976 in front of over 25 000 spectators against the West Indies but did not win again until 2002 when they won against South Africa The team has remained unbeaten since 2006 over the course of three Test matches Full article Image 3 The 2020 recipient Sachidanandan KRThe National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India s National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals DFF an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Since 1967 the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the DFF to a director for their work within Indian cinema It is presented by the president of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi The winner is given a Swarna Kamal Golden Lotus certificate and a cash prize of 2 5 lakh US 3 100 Including ties and repeat winners the DFF has presented a total of 53 Best Direction awards to 34 different directors Although Indian cinema produces films in more than twenty languages the performances of films that have won awards are of nine languages Bengali 16 awards Malayalam 14 awards Hindi 11 awards Tamil 4 awards English and Kannada 3 awards each Marathi 2 awards Assamese and Punjabi 1 each Full article Image 4 A portrait of Satyajit RaySatyajit Ray listen 2 May 1921 23 April 1992 was an Indian filmmaker who worked prominently in Bengali cinema and who has often been regarded as one of the greatest directors of world cinema Ray was born in Calcutta now Kolkata to a Bengali family and started his career as a junior visualiser His meeting with French film director Jean Renoir who had come to Calcutta in 1949 to shoot his film The River 1951 and his 1950 visit to London where he saw Vittorio De Sica s Ladri di biciclette Bicycle Thieves 1948 inspired Ray to become a film maker Ray made his directorial debut in 1955 with Pather Panchali and directed 36 films comprising 29 feature films five documentaries and two short films Although Ray s work generally received critical acclaim his film Pather Panchali and Ashani Sanket 1973 were criticised for exporting poverty and distorting India s image abroad His Apu Trilogy 1955 1959 appeared in Time s All Time 100 Movies in 2005 Aside from directing Ray composed music and wrote screenplays for films both his own and those by other directors Often credited as a fiction writer illustrator and calligrapher Ray authored several short stories and novels in Bengali most of which were aimed at children and adolescents Some of his short stories have been adapted into films by other directors including his only son Sandip Ray Considered a cultural icon in India and acknowledged for his contribution to Indian cinema Ray has influenced several filmmakers around the world including Wes Anderson Martin Scorsese James Ivory Francois Truffaut and Carlos Saura Full article Image 5 M G Ramachandran in Mohini 1948 M G Ramachandran 17 January 1917 24 December 1987 popularly known by his initials MGR was an Indian actor director and producer who had an extensive career primarily in Tamil language films After starring in numerous commercially successful films from the 1950s to the early 1970s he has continued to hold a matinee idol status in Tamil Nadu Ramachandran made his debut in Ellis R Dungan s 1936 film Sathi Leelavathi where he played a police inspector He followed it with a string of minor appearances and supporting roles in many films notably Ashok Kumar 1941 where he played the general of emperor Ashoka s army and as a captain in Dungan s Meera 1945 Ramachandran s breakthrough came with his first lead role in A S A Sami s swashbuckler film Rajakumari 1947 where he played a villager who marries a princess Based on the Arabian Nights Rajakumari was a commercially successful venture He established himself as an action hero akin to Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks in Tamil cinema with Manthiri Kumari 1950 and Marmayogi 1951 Both films had political undertones which earned Ramachandran a Robin Hood persona of being a champion for the downtrodden His performance as the caring brother Rajendran who tries to keep his family together in En Thangai 1952 earned him critical acclaim In 1953 he made his debut in Malayalam films opposite B S Saroja in Genova Ramachandran continued to play roles which enabled him to adopt his ideas of fighting injustice meted out to the poor such as an outlaw in Malaikkallan 1954 and Nadodi Mannan 1958 In the latter he featured in dual roles as a king and a commoner for the first time in his career Both Malaikkallan and Nadodi Mannan were commercially successful becoming the highest grossing films of their respective release years In addition to social dramas Ramachandran received positive feedback and commercial success for swashbuckler films such as Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum 1956 the first South Indian full length colour film Madurai Veeran 1956 Chakravarthi Thirumagal and Mahadevi both released in 1957 Full article Image 6 Anil Kumble India s leading wicket taker in Tests and ODIsIn cricket a five wicket haul also known as a five for or fifer refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings This is regarded as a notable achievement and fewer than 40 bowlers have taken more than 15 five wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers Anil Kumble is a former Test and One Day International ODI cricketer who represented India He is a right arm leg spin legbreak googly bowler Kumble has taken 619 wickets in Test cricket and 337 wickets in ODI cricket With 37 five wicket hauls Kumble has the highest number of Test and combined international five wicket hauls among Indian cricketers and fourth highest among all players after Muttiah Muralitharan Richard Hadlee and Shane Warne Kumble made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka and his Test debut against England both in 1990 His first five wicket haul was against South Africa at Johannesburg November 1992 in the second Test of India s tour He has claimed the most of his five wicket hauls against Australia ten of them all in Test matches His best performance was against Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla in 1999 Kumble took all ten wickets during the second innings just the second person to do so after Jim Laker and in the process ensured India of their first Test victory against Pakistan in twenty years The feat also ranks as the second best bowling figures in Test history Twenty of Kumble s Test cricket five wicket hauls have come in victory for India while five have been in defeats Kumble has also taken two five wicket hauls in ODIs His first ODI five wicket haul was against the West Indies during the final of the 1993 Hero Cup when he took six wickets for twelve runs a record for India in One Day Internationals The performance ensured India s victory and Kumble was adjudged man of the match His other ODI five wicket haul was against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in 1994 Full article Image 7 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara English You Live Only Once is a 2011 Indian coming of age film directed by Zoya Akhtar who also co wrote the film along with Reema Kagti It is produced by Excel Entertainment The film stars an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar with Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin in supporting roles The musical score for the film was composed by the trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy Its cinematography was provided by Carlos Catalan The film narrates the story of three friends on a bachelor trip and how each of them discover themselves and overcome their problems and insecurities Made on a budget of 550 million US 6 9 million Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was released on 5 July 2011 and grossed over 1 53 billion US 19 million worldwide Rotten Tomatoes a review aggregator surveyed 7 reviews and judged 100 percent to be positive The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories with particular praise for its direction screenplay and the performances of its cast As of 2015 the film has won 33 awards from 66 nominations Full article Image 8 Madras is a 2014 Indian Tamil language drama film written and directed by Pa Ranjith It was produced by K E Gnanavel Raja under his production company Studio Green The film features Karthi and Catherine Tresa in the lead roles with Kalaiyarasan Riythvika and Rama playing supporting roles The film s story revolves around Kaali Karthi an impulsive and short tempered IT professional who lives in the Vyasarpadi area of Chennai His friend Anbu Kalaiyarasan is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area When Kaali hears of this he decides to avenge Anbu s death The soundtrack and score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan while the cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G and Praveen K L respectively Released on 26 September 2014 the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office It was included in The Hindu s top 20 Tamil language films of the year The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations its direction screenplay performances of the cast members music and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups Full article Image 9 Shriya at 62nd Filmfare awards South Shriya Saran is an Indian actress and model who has appeared mostly in Telugu Tamil and Hindi language films She made her acting debut with the Telugu film Ishtam 2001 and had her first commercial success with Santosham 2002 The following year she made her Hindi cinema debut with a supporting role in Tujhe Meri Kasam alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D Souza It was followed by the commercially successful crime drama Tagore 2003 in which she was paired opposite Chiranjeevi The same year she played a supporting role in the Tamil Telugu bilingual film Enakku 20 Unakku 18 which marked her debut in Tamil cinema In 2005 she had ten releases including Mazhai S S Rajamouli s Chatrapathi and Mogudu Pellam O Dongodu in which she was among the only three characters of the film Saran s solitary release as a lead actress in 2006 was the Tamil film Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam In 2007 Saran was paired opposite Rajinikanth in S Shankar s Sivaji It was the most expensive film in Indian cinema and went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film to that point The same year she made a comeback to Hindi cinema with Mohit Suri s Awarapan where she played a Muslim woman Following that she made her American cinema debut with James Dodson s The Other End of the Line 2008 in which she played an Indian woman who works in a call centre Her subsequent releases include the Tamil films Kanthaswamy 2009 and Kutty 2010 and Pokkiri Raja 2010 which marked her debut in Malayalam cinema Full article Image 10 Amitabh Bachchan received several accolades for his performance in MohabbateinMohabbatein transl Love Stories is a 2000 Indian Hindi language romantic drama film written and directed by Aditya Chopra It stars an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan Shah Rukh Khan Aishwarya Rai and the newcomers Uday Chopra Shamita Shetty Jugal Hansraj Kim Sharma Jimmy Sheirgill and Preeti Jhangiani It tells the story of the all boys college Gurukul s principal Narayan Shankar Bachchan who prohibits his students from falling in love and will unhesitantly expel those who do not obey the rule The rest of the film focuses on how the arrival of the violin teacher Raj Aryan Malhotra Khan changes his views Mohabbatein s soundtrack was composed by Jatin Lalit and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi The film was shot by Manmohan Singh on sets designed by Sharmishta Roy while the editor was V Karnik The film opened at theatres on 27 October 2000 and was met with widespread acclaim from critics who praised the performances of Bachchan and Khan Made on a production budget of 130 million US 1 6 million the film had a total gross of 900 1 million US 11 million becoming the year s highest grossing Indian film Full article Image 11 Citation plaqueThe Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their outstanding contribution towards literature Instituted in 1961 the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English with no posthumous conferral From 1965 till 1981 the award was given to the authors for their most outstanding work and consisted of a citation plaque a cash prize and a bronze replica of Saraswati the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems Odakkuzhal The Bamboo Flute published in 1950 The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during the preceding twenty years excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to 1 5 lakh equivalent to 26 lakh or US 33 000 in 2020 from 1981 Full article Image 12 Matondkar in 2010Urmila Matondkar is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films She has appeared in over 60 films She has been praised by the critics for her acting and dancing skills She made her screen debut as a child artist in B R Chopra s Karm 1977 and later appeared in Shekhar Kapur s critically acclaimed Masoom 1983 After making her debut as the heroine in 1989 Malayalam thriller Chanakyan Urmila began a full time acting career with a leading role in the 1991 action Narsimha She rose to prominence with Ram Gopal Varma s blockbuster Rangeela 1995 Her portrayal of an aspiring actress Mili Joshi opposite Aamir Khan received praise from critics and garnered her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress In 1997 Urmila received a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Judaai The following year she starred in the crime drama Satya which has been cited as one of the greatest films of Indian cinema for which she received another nomination for Best Actress The same year her dance performance in the item number Chamma Chamma from China Gate won her rave reviews In 1999 she received praise for playing a psychopath in the thriller Kaun and a reserved girl in the romantic comedy Khoobsurat a box office success Her other four releases of the year including Jaanam Samjha Karo and Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain were commercial failures She played an obsessive lover in the 2001 romantic drama Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya which earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role Full article Image 13 Sheoo Mewalal the first hat trick scorer for India since independenceThe first player ever to score a hat trick three or more goals in a match for India in an international football match was R Lumsden He achieved the feat in an official friendly match against Australia on 24 September 1938 at the Sydney Showground although India lost the match 4 5 This is the only instance when India have lost a game in which a player scored a hat trick for the team Lumsden was the only footballer to score a hat trick for India before independence Since independence in 1947 ten Indian players have scored a hat trick in an international football match No Indian player has ever scored more than three goals in a single game The first player after independence to score a hat trick for India was Sheoo Mewalal in a 4 0 victory over Burma in the 1952 Colombo Quadrangular Tournament K Appalaraju and Sunil Chhetri are the only Indian footballers to have scored a hat trick more than once Appalaraju achieved the feat twice in the two legged tie against Ceylon during the 1964 Olympic Qualifiers Chhetri has achieved the feat three times the latest of which came in India s 5 0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the opening match of the 2018 Intercontinental Cup This is also the most recent instance of an Indian player scoring a hat trick in an international football match Chhetri s first hat trick came in the final of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup against Tajikistan which helped India not only to win the cup but also to qualify directly for the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 the first time in 27 years that the team reached the final tournament Full article Image 14 The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award of the Republic of India Instituted on 2 January 1954 the award is given for distinguished service of a high order without distinction of race occupation position or sex The recipients receive a Sanad a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular shaped medallion with no monetary association The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day 26 January and registered in The Gazette of India a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication under the Ministry of Urban Development The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette The names of recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored both of which processes require the authority of the president are archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 2000 2009 have been revoked or restored The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments as well as from Ministries of the Government of India the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees the Institutes of Excellence the Ministers the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State and the Members of Parliament including private individuals When instituted in 1954 the Padma Bhushan was classified as Dusra Varg Class II under the three tier Padma Vibhushan awards which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy On 15 January 1955 the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri The criteria included distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use it portrays a circular shaped toned bronze medallion 1 3 4 inches 44 mm in diameter and 1 8 inch 3 2 mm thick The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1 3 16 inches 30 mm side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern A raised circular space of diameter 1 1 16 inches 27 mm is placed at the centre of the decoration A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text Padma is placed above and the text Bhushan is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side together with the national motto of India Satyameva Jayate Truth alone triumphs in Devanagari script which is inscribed on the lower edge The rim the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text Padma Bhushan of gold gilt The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1 1 4 inches 32 mm in width with a broad white stripe in the middle It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards Full article Image 15 Kumar in 2015Akshay Kumar is an Indian naturalised Canadian actor television presenter and film producer who works in Hindi language films He appeared as unnoticed minor role in the 1987 Indian film Aaj Although He debuted in a leading role with Saugandh 1991 before breakthrough with the suspense thriller Khiladi 1992 first film of the Khiladi series He established himself as an action hero with Deedar 1992 Mohra 1994 Main Khiladi Tu Anari 1994 Suhaag 1994 Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi 1996 and earned his first Filmfare Awards nominations for the romantic films Yeh Dillagi 1994 and Dil To Pagal Hai 1997 However several other of his 90s releases performed poorly at the box office leading to a brief setback The hit crime drama Jaanwar 1999 and psychological thriller Sangharsh 1999 met with critical acclaim and marked his comeback In 2000 Kumar worked in Priyadarshan s comedy Hera Pheri and the love triangle Dhadkan He played a negative role in Ajnabee 2001 to win the Filmfare Best Villain Award and appeared in Andaaz 2003 Aitraaz 2004 Khakee 2004 and Aan Men at Work 2004 Waqt 2005 He further gained widespread recognition with slapstick comedy roles in the financial hits Mujhse Shaadi Karogi 2004 Garam Masala 2005 Bhagam Bhag 2006 Phir Hera Pheri 2006 Welcome 2007 Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2007 Singh Is Kinng 2008 Housefull 2010 and Tees Maar Khan 2010 and he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award for Garam Masala In 2004 he also presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar Full article Image 16 My Name Is Khan is a 2010 Indian Hindi language drama film directed by Karan Johar The film features Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles with Jimmy Sheirgill Zarina Wahab Sonya Jehan Vinay Pathak and Parvin Dabas playing supporting roles Set in the United States the film s story focuses on Rizwan Khan Khan a non resident Indian suffering from Asperger syndrome whose wife Mandira Kajol has a child Sameer from a previous relationship During the aftermath of the September 11 attacks Sameer dies as a result of a racist assault by school bullies Mandira blames Sameer s death on Rizwan due to his religion and tells him not to come back until he can convince the President of the United States that he is not a terrorist Rizwan takes Mandira s words literally and tries to meet the President so as to win her back My Name Is Khan was co produced by Johar s brother Hiroo Yash Johar and Khan s wife Gauri Khan under the Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment banners respectively Shankar Ehsaan Loy composed the soundtrack while Niranjan Iyengar and Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics for its songs Ravi K Chandran Deepa Bhatia and Sharmishta Roy handled the cinematography editing and production design respectively Produced on a budget of 850 million about US 19 million in 2010 My Name Is Khan was released on 12 February 2010 and received positive reviews It was commercially successful grossing 2 048 billion about US 45 million in 2010 worldwide The film won 25 awards from 84 nominations its direction story screenplay performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups Full article Image 17 The Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross VC was awarded to 153 members of the British Indian Army and civilians under its command from 1857 until independence in 1947 The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories It takes precedence over all other Orders decorations and medals It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command The VC is traditionally presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture at Buckingham Palace though in a large number of cases this was not possible and it was presented in the field by a prominent civil or military official The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War Indian troops were not originally eligible for the VC because since 1837 they had been eligible for the Indian Order of Merit the oldest British gallantry award for general issue When the VC was created Indian troops were still controlled by the British East India Company and did not come under Crown control until 1860 European officers and men serving with the East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit the VC was extended to cover them in October 1857 It was only at the end of the 19th century that calls for Indian troops to be awarded the VC intensified Indian troops became eligible for the award in 1911 The first awards to Indian troops appeared in The London Gazette on 7 December 1914 to Darwan Singh Negi and Khudadad Khan Negi was presented with the VC by King George V two days earlier on 5 December 1914 during a visit to troops in France He is one of a small number of soldiers presented with his award before it appeared in the London Gazette Full article Image 18 Haider is a 2014 Indian crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Bhardwaj and Siddharth Roy Kapur The film stars Shahid Kapoor as the eponymous protagonist and co stars Tabu Kay Kay Menon Shraddha Kapoor and Irrfan Khan Bhardwaj wrote the dialogues for the film and co wrote the screenplay with Basharat Peer Bhardwaj also composed the music and Gulzar wrote the lyrics The film is a modern day adaptation of William Shakespeare s tragedy Hamlet and tells the story of Haider who searches for his missing father during the Kashmir conflict of 1995 Produced on a budget of 240 million US 3 0 million Haider was released on 2 October 2014 and grossed 690 million US 8 6 million worldwide The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories with particular praise for its direction performances of Shahid Kapoor and Tabu music and production design As of June 2015 the film has won 36 awards Full article Image 19 The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award of the Republic of India Instituted on 2 January 1954 the award is given for distinguished service of a high order without distinction of race occupation position or sex The recipients receive a Sanad a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular shaped medallion with no monetary association The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day 26 January and registered in The Gazette of India a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication under the Ministry of Urban Development The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette The name of a recipient whose award has been revoked or restored both of which require the authority of the President is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during the 2010s have been revoked or restored The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments as well as from Ministries of the Government of India the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees the Institutes of Excellence the Ministers the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State and the Members of Parliament including private individuals When instituted in 1954 the Padma Bhushan was classified as Dusra Varg Class II under the three tier Padma Vibhushan awards which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy On 15 January 1955 the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri The criteria included distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use it portrays a circular shaped toned bronze medallion 1 3 4 inches 44 mm in diameter and 1 8 inch 3 2 mm thick The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1 3 16 inches 30 mm side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern A raised circular space of diameter 1 1 16 inches 27 mm is placed at the centre of the decoration A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text Padma is placed above and the text Bhushan is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side together with the national motto of India Satyameva Jayate Truth alone triumphs in Devanagari script which is inscribed on the lower edge The rim the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text Padma Bhushan of gold gilt The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1 1 4 inches 32 mm in width with a broad white stripe in the middle It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards Full article Image 20 Dadasaheb Phalke often credited as the father of Indian cinema made India s first full length feature Raja Harishchandra 1913 The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India s highest award in the field of cinema It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting The recipient is honoured for their outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry The award comprises a Swarna Kamal Golden Lotus medallion a shawl and a cash prize of 1 000 000 US 13 000 Presented first in 1969 the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke s contribution to Indian cinema Phalke 1870 1944 who is popularly known as and often regarded as the father of Indian cinema was an Indian filmmaker who directed India s first full length feature film Raja Harishchandra 1913 Full article Image 21 The Wanderers Stadium Johannesburg where India played their first ever Twenty20 InternationalA Twenty20 International T20I is a form of cricket match between two representative teams each having T20I status as determined by the International Cricket Council ICC and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket The first such match was played between Australia and New Zealand on 17 February 2005 The Indian cricket team played its first T20I match under the captaincy of Virender Sehwag during the 2006 07 series in South Africa India defeated the hosts by six wickets in the one off match and claimed the series As of 5 January 2023 102 players have represented India in T20Is India won the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20 defeating Pakistan in the final by five runs Full article Image 22 Thani Oruvan is a 2015 Indian Tamil language action thriller film directed by Mohan Raja who also co wrote the screenplay and dialogues with the duo Subha The film features Jayam Ravi Arvind Swami and Nayanthara in the lead roles Thambi Ramaiah Ganesh Venkatraman Mugdha Godse and Nassar play supporting roles The film s story focuses on Mithran Ravi an IPS officer who learns of the plans of scientist and businessman Siddharth Abhimanyu Swami to sabotage a deal to make generic medicines available at low cost for poor people Siddharth succeeds in his plan and begins indulging in a game of cat and mouse with Mithran The rest of the story revolves around how Mithran overcomes the obstacles set by Siddharth Produced by Kalpathi S Aghoram Kalpathi S Ganesh and Kalpathi S Suresh under their company AGS Entertainment the film s soundtrack and score were composed by Hiphop Tamizha Ramji and Gopi Krishna handled the cinematography and editing respectively Made on a budget of 200 million Thani Oruvan was released on 28 August 2015 and received positive reviews It was commercially successful grossing 1 05 billion worldwide The film won 15 awards from 37 nominations its direction story screenplay performances of the cast members and music have received the most attention from award groups Full article Image 23 The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India s National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals DFF an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Since 1984 the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the DFF to an actress for the best performance in a supporting role within Indian cinema It is presented by the President of India at a ceremony held in New Delhi The winner is given a Rajat Kamal Silver Lotus certificate and a cash prize of 50 000 US 780 Including ties and repeat winners the DFF has presented a total of 39 Best Supporting Actress awards to 35 different actresses Although Indian cinema produces films in more than 20 languages the performances of films that have won awards are of ten languages Hindi 18 awards Malayalam 7 awards Bengali 4 awards Tamil 4 awards English 2 awards Meitei 1 award Marathi 1 award Urdu 1 award Haryanvi 1 award Odia 1 award Full article Image 24 Rohit Sharma has scored 41 centuries in international cricket Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team since 2007 He has made 41 centuries in international cricket 29 in One Day Internationals ODI 8 in Tests and 4 in Twenty20 Internationals T20Is as of July 2022 Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest number of T20I centuries Sharma made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007 His first century came during the 2010 Tri nation tournament in Zimbabwe when he made 114 against the hosts In the 2013 bilateral series against Australia at home he made two centuries including a double century The next year he scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens Kolkata The score remains the highest individual total by a batsman in the format In January 2016 he made 171 not out against Australia it remained the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia until England s Jason Roy made 180 in 2018 Sharma set the record for most centuries scored in a World Cup when he scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup He has scored centuries against nine different opponents and has the joint second highest number of centuries eight against Australia in the format Sharma has eight scores in excess of 150 and three double centuries both of which are records in ODIs He has the second highest number of centuries for an active player in the format Full article Image 25 The Indian Test team that toured England in 1932In cricket a five wicket haul also known as a five for or fifer refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings A five wicket haul on debut is regarded by critics as a notable achievement As of July 2022 161 cricketers have taken a five wicket haul on Test match debut out of which nine are from the India national cricket team The five wicket hauls were taken against four different opponents three each against Australia and West Indies twice against England and once Pakistan The nine occasions have resulted in five wins two losses and two draws The five wicket hauls were taken at eight different venues six in India three of which were taken at the M A Chidambaram Stadium Chennai The first Indian to take a five wicket haul was Mohammad Nissar who took 5 wickets for 93 runs during India s first Test in June 1932 against England Vaman Kumar a leg spinner was the next to achieve this feat His figures of 5 wickets for 64 runs took India close to winning a match against Pakistan during the latter s tour of India in 1960 61 In December 1967 Syed Abid Ali took 6 wickets for 55 runs against Australia The figures remain the best by an Indian fast bowler on debut Narendra Hirwani s 8 wickets for 61 runs against the West Indies in January 1988 are the best bowling figures by an Indian on Test debut His aggregate of 16 wickets for 136 runs in the match are a record for any bowler on debut As of February 2021 he is the only Indian cricketer to take ten or more wickets in a Test match on debut Full article More featured listsGood article show anotherThis is a Good article an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards Image 1 Uttar Pradesh ˌ ʊ t er p r e ˈ d ɛ ʃ Hindi ˈʊtːeɾ pɾeˈdeː ʃ listen lit Northern Province is a state in northern India With over 200 million inhabitants it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world It was established in 1950 after India had become a republic It was a successor to the United Provinces UP during the period of the Dominion of India 1947 1950 which in turn was a successor to the United Provinces UP established in 1935 and eventually of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh established in 1902 during the British Raj The state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts with the state capital being Lucknow and Prayagraj serving as the judicial capital On 9 November 2000 a new state Uttaranchal now Uttarakhand was created from Uttar Pradesh s western Himalayan hill region The two major rivers of the state the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna meet at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj a Hindu pilgrimage site Other notable rivers are Gomti and Saryu The forest cover in the state is 6 1 per cent of the state s geographical area The cultivable area is 82 per cent of total geographical area and net area sown is 68 5 per cent of cultivable area The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west Haryana Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to the northwest Uttarakhand and an international border with Nepal to the north Bihar to the east Madhya Pradesh to the south and touches the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the southeast It covers 240 928 km2 93 023 sq mi equal to 7 3 of the total area of India and is the fourth largest Indian state by area Though long known for sugar production the state s economy is now dominated by the services industry The service sector comprises travel and tourism hotel industry real estate insurance and financial consultancies The economy of Uttar Pradesh is the third largest state economy in India with 17 05 lakh crore US 210 billion in gross domestic product and a per capita GSDP of 65 431 US 820 President s rule has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh ten times since 1968 for different reasons and for a total of 1 700 days The state has currently three international airports Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Lucknow Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport Varanasi and Kushinagar International Airport Kushinagar Allahabad Junction is the headquarters of the North Central Railway and Gorakhpur Railway Station serves as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway The High Court of the state is located in Allahabad The state contributes 80 seats and 31 seats to the lower house Lok Sabha and the upper house Rajya Sabha respectively Full article Image 2 The Concert for Bangladesh or Bangla Desh as the country s name was originally spelt was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar The shows were held at 2 30 and 8 00 pm on Sunday 1 August 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City to raise international awareness of and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan following the Bangladesh Liberation War related genocide The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album a boxed three record set and Apple Films concert documentary which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972 The event was the first ever benefit of such a magnitude and featured a supergroup of performers that included Harrison fellow ex Beatle Ringo Starr Bob Dylan Eric Clapton Billy Preston Leon Russell and the band Badfinger In addition Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan both of whom had ancestral roots in Bangladesh performed an opening set of Indian classical music The concerts were attended by a total of 40 000 people and the initial gate receipts raised close to 250 000 for Bangladesh relief which was administered by UNICEF Full article Image 3 Mangalore m ae ŋ ɡ e ˈ l ɔː r officially known as Mangaluru is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about 352 km 219 mi west of Bangalore the state capital 20 km north of Karnataka Kerala border 297 km south of Goa Mangalore is the state s only city to have all four modes of transport air road rail and sea The population of the urban agglomeration was 619 664 national census of India It is known for being one of the locations of the Indian strategic petroleum reserves The city developed as a port in the Arabian Sea during ancient times and has since become a major port of India that handles 75 percent of India s coffee and cashew exports It is also the country s seventh largest container port Mangalore has been ruled by several major powers including the Kadambas Alupas Vijayanagar Empire Keladi Nayaks and the Portuguese The city was a source of contention between the British and the Kingdom of Mysore rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and was eventually annexed by the British in 1799 Mangalore remained part of the Madras Presidency until India s independence in 1947 and was unified with Mysore State now called Karnataka in 1956 Full article Image 4 Arjun Reddy is a 2017 Indian Telugu language romantic drama film written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and produced by his brother Pranay Reddy Vanga s company Bhadrakali Pictures It stars Vijay Deverakonda and Shalini Pandey while Rahul Ramakrishna Jia Sharma Sanjay Swaroop Gopinath Bhat Kamal Kamaraju and Kanchana appear in supporting roles The film tells the story of Arjun Reddy Deshmukh Deverakonda a high functioning alcoholic surgeon who has anger management problems Arjun is on a self destructive path after the marriage of his girlfriend Preethi Shetty Pandey the film focuses on his downfall and subsequent resurgence Arjun Reddy was partially inspired by Sandeep Vanga s life as a physiotherapy student He worked on the script for two years and it took four to five years for the film to materialise Principal photography commenced on 20 June 2016 at Hyderabad and took 86 working days to complete Other filming locations include Mangalore Dehradun and New Delhi filming also took place in Italy Radhan and Harshvardhan Rameshwar composed the soundtrack and score respectively Raj Thota was director of photography and Shashank Mali edited the film Full article Image 5 Dosanjh in 2011Ujjal Dev Dosanjh Punjabi ਉ ਜਲ ਦ ਵ ਦ ਸ ਝ ˈ uː dʒ el d oʊ ˈ s ɑː n dʒ PC KC born September 9 1947 is a Canadian lawyer and politician He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of Parliament from 2004 to 2011 He was minister of health from 2004 until 2006 when the party lost government He then served in the Official Opposition from January 2006 until 2011 Dosanjh was one of four visible minorities to serve in Paul Martin s Ministry Prior to being involved in federal politics he spent ten years in provincial politics He was elected in the Vancouver Kensington riding in 1991 as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party BC NDP and re elected there in 1996 He served as the Attorney General of British Columbia from August 1995 to February 2000 When the leader of his party resigned in 1999 Dosanjh put himself forward as a candidate and won the leadership vote With the win he became Canada s first Indo Canadian provincial leader He served as the 33rd Premier of British Columbia until June 2001 when he lost the province s general election He was the last NDP premier of the province until John Horgan was elevated to the position in 2017 Full article Image 6 Image of town around the tower of Badrakali Amman TempleSivakasi Tamil siʋakaːsi is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu This city is known for its fireworks firecracker matchbox and printing industries Sivakasi city alone meets about 90 fire cracker requirements of India Only after Gutenberg in Germany Sivakasi has more number of printing presses in the world Due to its rapid industrial growth this city is also called as Little Japan of India The industries in Sivakasi employ over 2 50 000 people with an estimated turn over of 20 billion US 250 million Sivakasi was established in the 15th century during the reign of the Pandya king Harikesari Parakkirama Pandian The town was a part of Madurai empire and had been ruled at various times by the Later Pandyas Vijayanagara Empire Madurai Nayaks Chanda Sahib Carnatic kingdom and the British A major riot during the British Raj took place in 1899 Sivakasi has dry weather making it suitable for dry crops like cotton chillies and millets Bhadrakali Amman temple is one of the most prominent landmarks of the town Sivakasi is a part of Sivakasi constituency and elects its member of legislative assembly every five years and a part of the Virudhunagar constituency that elects its member of parliament Sivakasi is locally administered by municipal corporation which covers an area of 53 67 km2 20 72 sq mi Roadways are the major mode of transport to the town while there is also railroad connectivity In 2011 Sivakasi had a population of 2 85 827 Full article Image 7 The Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act 2019 is an act of the Parliament of India with the objective to provide for protection of rights of transgender people their welfare and other related matters The act was introduced in the Lok Sabha the lower house of the Parliament on 19 July 2019 by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot in light of the lapse of the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Bill 2018 Bill No 210 C of 2016 The 2019 act and the immediately preceding 2018 bill were both preceded by a 2016 version They were met with protests and criticism by some transgender people lawyers and activists in India The 2016 bill was sent to a standing committee which submitted its report in July 2017 Following this the Lok Sabha tabled and passed a newer version of the bill in December 2018 However it did not incorporate many of the committee s recommendations Although members of the opposition criticised the 2019 act and assured activists that they would not vote in favour of it it was passed by the Lok Sabha on 5 August 2019 and by the Rajya Sabha the upper house of the Parliament on 26 November 2019 The president assented to it on 5 December 2019 upon which the act was published in the Gazette of India It has been in effect since 10 January 2020 following a notification of the same in the Gazette on the same day Following protests by the queer community against the 2016 and 2018 bills the 2019 act has done away with few of the severely criticised provisions of the 2018 bill such as the criminalisation of begging and the establishment of a district screening committee to process applications for issuance of transgender person certificates However it fails to incorporate yet other principles in line with the Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority v Union of India NALSA v UOI in 2014 such as the right of transgender people to declare their self perceived gender identity without undergoing sex reassignment surgery and reservations in jobs and educational institutions The act has also been criticised for imposing less punishment for crimes against transgender people compared with punishment for crimes against cisgender people On 27 January 2020 the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government in a petition challenging the constitutionality of the act Full article Image 8 Kalpataru the divine tree of life being guarded by mythical creatures at the 8th century Pawon temple a Buddhist temple in Java Indonesia Kalpavriksha Sanskrit कल पव क ष lit age tree is a wish fulfilling divine tree in Indian religions like Hinduism Jainism Buddhism and Sikhism Its earliest descriptions are mentioned in Sanskrit literature It is also a popular theme in Jain cosmology and Buddhism The Kalpavriksha originated during the Samudra Manthana or the churning of the ocean along with Kamadhenu the divine cow providing for all needs The king of the gods Indra returned with this tree to his paradise Kalpavriksha is also identified with many trees such as parijata Nyctanthes arbor tristis Ficus benghalensis Acacia Madhuca longifolia Prosopis cineraria Diploknema butyracea and mulberry tree Morus nigra tree The tree is also extolled in iconography and literature Full article Image 9 Muthu transl Pearl is a 1995 Indian Tamil language masala film written and directed by K S Ravikumar and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions The film stars Rajinikanth Meena and Sarath Babu with Radha Ravi Senthil Vadivelu Jayabharathi Subhashri and Ponnambalam all acting in supporting roles It is a remake of the Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath 1994 The film revolves around a zamindar and his worker falling in love with the same woman who unknown to the zamindar loves the worker exclusively After Rajinikanth narrated the outline of Thenmavin Kombath he told Ravikumar to develop the screenplay of the remake without watching the original film Although largely written to suit the tastes of Tamil speaking audiences the remake retains the core premise of the original while adding new plot details and characters Ashok Rajan acted as the film s cinematographer Principal photography began in June 1995 and took place in Mysore Madras and Kerala The film was edited by K Thanikachalam and the music composed by A R Rahman with lyrics written by Vairamuthu Full article Image 10 Goddess Chinnamasta is seen spewing blood from her severed head while she stands upon a copulating couple and her attendants drink her blood Chhinnamasta Sanskrit छ न नमस त Chinnamasta She whose head is severed often spelled Chinnamasta and also called Ch h innamastika and Prachanda Chandika and Jogani Maa in western states of India is a Hindu goddess Devi She is one of the Mahavidyas ten goddesses from the esoteric tradition of Tantra and a ferocious aspect of Mahadevi the Hindu Mother goddess The self decapitated nude goddess usually standing or seated on a divine copulating couple holds her own severed head in one hand and a scimitar in another Three jets of blood spurt out of her bleeding neck and are drunk by her severed head and two attendants Chhinnamasta is a goddess of contradictions She symbolises both aspects of Devi a life giver and a life taker She is considered both a symbol of sexual self control and an embodiment of sexual energy depending upon interpretation She represents death temporality and destruction as well as life immortality and recreation The goddess conveys spiritual self realization and the awakening of the kundalini spiritual energy The legends of Chhinnamasta emphasise her self sacrifice sometimes coupled with a maternal element sexual dominance and self destructive fury Full article Image 11 Eurekha is a biography of the actress Rekha by the columnist and author Mohan Deep The book details her Bollywood acting career and her short term marriage with the industrialist Mukesh Aggarwal It was published on 17 December 1999 by Shivani Publications and later reprinted in a number of Indian languages including a serialisation in the magazine Anandalok It received negative reviews from critics who panned Deep s writing and the book s contents Rekha herself was critical of the book due to its misinformation Full article Image 12 Portrait of Periyar on a postage stampErode Venkatappa Ramasamy 17 September 1879 24 December 1973 revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam He is known as the Father of the Dravidian movement He rebelled against Brahminical dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu Since 2021 the Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrates his birth anniversary as Social Justice Day Ramasamy joined the Indian National Congress in 1919 but resigned in 1925 when he felt that the party was only serving the interests of Brahmins He questioned the subjugation of non Brahmin Dravidians as Brahmins enjoyed gifts and donations from non Brahmins but opposed and discriminated against non Brahmins in cultural and religious matters In 1924 Ramasamy participated in non violent agitation satyagraha in Vaikom Travancore From 1929 to 1932 Ramasamy made a tour of British Malaya Europe and Soviet Union which influenced him In 1939 Ramasamy became the head of the Justice Party and in 1944 he changed its name to Dravidar Kazhagam The party later split with one group led by C N Annadurai forming the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam DMK in 1949 While continuing the Self Respect Movement he advocated for an independent Dravida Nadu land of the Dravidians Full article Image 13 Murty in 2022Akshata Narayan Murty ˈ ɑː k ʃ ɑː t ɑː n ɑː ˈ r ɑː j ɑː n ˈ m ɜːr t i born April 1980 is a Britain based Indian heiress businesswoman fashion designer and venture capitalist She is married to Rishi Sunak the incumbent prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party According to the Sunday Times Rich List Murty and Sunak are the 222nd richest people in Britain with a combined wealth of 730 million US 830 million In 2022 her personal wealth became the topic of British media discussion in the context of her claim of non domiciled status in the United Kingdom an arrangement seen as benefiting the super rich Murty later voluntarily renounced the fiscal benefits from her non domiciled status Akshata Murty is the daughter of N R Narayana Murthy a founder of the Indian multinational IT company Infosys and Sudha Murty She holds a 0 93 per cent stake in Infosys along with shares in several other British businesses Full article Image 14 Adult at a garbage dump in AssamThe greater adjutant Leptoptilos dubius is a member of the stork family Ciconiidae Its genus includes the lesser adjutant of Asia and the marabou stork of Africa Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia the greater adjutant is now restricted to a much smaller range with only three breeding populations two in India with the largest colony in Assam a smaller one around Bhagalpur and another breeding population in Cambodia They disperse widely after the breeding season This large stork has a massive wedge shaped bill a bare head and a distinctive neck pouch During the day it soars in thermals along with vultures with whom it shares the habit of scavenging They feed mainly on carrion and offal however they are opportunistic and will sometimes prey on vertebrates The English name is derived from their stiff military gait when walking on the ground Large numbers once lived in Asia but they have declined possibly due to improved sanitation to the point of endangerment The total population in 2008 was estimated at around a thousand individuals In the 19th century they were especially common in the city of Calcutta where they were referred to as the Calcutta adjutant and included in the coat of arms for the city Known locally as hargila derived from the Assamese words har means bone and gila means swallower thus bone swallower and considered to be unclean birds they were largely left undisturbed but sometimes hunted for the use of their meat in folk medicine Valued as scavengers they were once depicted in the logo of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation Full article Image 15 INS Arihant lead vessel of the classThe Arihant class transl Slayer of Enemies in Sanskrit is a class of Indian nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy They were developed under the 900 billion US 11 billion Advanced Technology Vessel ATV project to design and build nuclear powered submarines These vessels are classified as strategic strike nuclear submarines by India The lead vessel of the class INS Arihant was launched in 2009 and after extensive sea trials was confirmed to be commissioned in August 2016 Arihant holds the distinction of being the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council Full article Image 16 The Royal Calcutta Turf Club in 2015The Royal Calcutta Turf Club RCTC is a horse racing organisation which was founded in 1847 in Calcutta British India now Kolkata Horse events and sports were initially organised for the British cavalry at Akra before they were moved to the Maidan The RCTC became the foremost horse racing organization in India during the British Raj At one time it was the governing body for nearly all racecourses in the subcontinent defining and applying the rules governing the sport During its heyday RCTC organised races were among the most important social events of the bigwigs calendar and were opened by the Viceroy of India Still a private club the RCTC operates Kolkata Race Course in the Maidan The club also held polo matches during the late 19th century and hosted English style gambling the Calcutta Derby Sweeps organised by the RCTC was the world s largest sweepstake in the 1930s After the closure of the Tollygunge racecourse a new racecourse was opened by the club in Barrackpore during the 1920s it was unsuccessful due to poor attendance Grandstands were built at the Maidan racecourse Kolkata Race Course had three in 2020 including a three tier main grandstand Full article Image 17 Wazir transl Vizier is a 2016 Indian Hindi language neo noir action thriller film directed by Bejoy Nambiar and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra Written and edited by Abhijat Joshi and Chopra the film stars Farhan Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan alongside Aditi Rao Hydari Manav Kaul and Neil Nitin Mukesh John Abraham makes a special appearance The film s dialogue and additional dialogue were written by Abhijeet Deshpande and Gazal Dhaliwal respectively The music was composed by several artists including Shantanu Moitra Ankit Tiwari Advaita Prashant Pillai Rochak Kohli and Gaurav Godkhindi with the background score composed by Rohit Kulkarni Sanu Varghese served as the film s cinematographer Based on an original story by Chopra Wazir follows the story of a suspended Anti Terrorism Squad officer who befriends a chess player who is a wheelchair user The idea of the film came to Chopra in the 1990s and he started writing it in English with Joshi over a period of four years starting in 2000 It was supposed to be Chopra s first Hollywood film with Dustin Hoffman playing the protagonist However its producer died and the film was shelved for nearly eight years Chopra and Joshi later re wrote the script so it could be produced as a Hindi film Principal photography began on 28 September 2014 Full article Image 18 Sadhak Ramprasad Sen Bengali র মপ রস দ স ন c 1718 or c 1723 c 1775 was a Hindu Shakta poet and saint of eighteenth century Bengal His bhakti poems known as Ramprasadi are still popular in Bengal they are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali Stories of Ramprasad s life typically include legends and myths mixed with biographical details It is said that Ramprasad was born into a Bengali Baidya family and showed an inclination towards poetry from an early age He was highly influenced by Krishnananda Agamavagisha a Tantric scholar and yogi Ramprasad became well known for his devotional songs His life has been the subject of many stories depicting his devotion to and relationship with Kali Ramprasad s literary works include Vidyasundar Kali kirtana Krishna kirtana and Shaktigiti Full article Image 19 The 65 ft high Gommateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola Karnataka India was built in 983 A D Bahubali English One With Strong Arms a much revered figure among Jains was the son of Rishabadeva the first tirthankara of Jainism and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture kayotsarga and that during this time climbing plants grew around his legs After his one year of meditation Bahubali is said to have attained omniscience Kevala Gyana Bahubali s other names are Kammateswara Gommateshwara because of the Gommateshwara statue dedicated to him Full article Image 20 Bommarillu transl Toy House pronunciation is a 2006 Indian Telugu language romantic comedy film directed and co written by Bhaskar in his directorial debut and produced by Dil Raju The film stars Siddharth Genelia Prakash Raj and Jayasudha The film primarily revolves around the relationship between a father and son in which the father s excessive concern for his son and interference in his life leads to the latter harbouring bitterness towards his overbearing father The cinematography was handled by Vijay C Chakravarthy and editing done by Marthand K Venkatesh The music for the film was composed by Devi Sri Prasad whose soundtrack of the film received positive reviews from critics The film opened to Indian audiences on 9 August 2006 On its way to winning state honours and rave reviews the film went on to win several Filmfare Awards among other prominent awards and was one of the highest grossing Telugu films of that year Following the film s box office success it was remade in Tamil as Santosh Subramaniam 2008 in Bengali as Bhalobasa Bhalobasa 2008 in Odia as Dream Girl 2009 and in Hindi as It s My Life 2020 Full article Image 21 Ugly is a 2013 Indian Hindi language thriller film written co produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap Jointly produced by Phantom Films and DAR Motion Pictures the film stars Rahul Bhat Ronit Roy Madhvi kumari Singh Tejaswini Kolhapure Vineet Kumar Singh Girish Kulkarni Surveen Chawla and Anshika Shrivastava in the lead roles It also features TV actor Abir Goswami in his last film appearance before his death in 2013 Told in the course of a week Ugly follows the story of a struggling actor Rahul Varshney Bhat whose daughter Kali Shrivastava disappears and the events that follow Kashyap had the idea for the film since 2006 and started writing the script after talking to one of his friends who was in the Special Task Force Lucknow about kidnapping cases He chose actors who could connect with the characters in the film The film s background score and music were composed by Brian McOmber and G V Prakash Kumar respectively while Gaurav Solanki wrote the lyrics Nikos Andritsakis served as the film s cinematographer and Aarti Bajaj was its editor Full article Image 22 Raman Raghav 2 0 released internationally as Psycho Raman is a 2016 Indian neo noir psychological thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap Produced by Kashyap Vikramaditya Motwane Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui Vicky Kaushal and debutante Sobhita Dhulipala It depicts in eight chapters the cat and mouse chase of serial killer Ramanna Siddiqui by corrupt cop Raghavan Kaushal Real life killer Raman Raghav who operated in Mumbai during the 1960s inspired the film Kashyap initially wanted to make a period film about Raman Raghav but after the commercial failure of Bombay Velvet 2015 his previous film that was also set in the 1960s he realized that he would be unable to find financing Abandoning the period piece concept he co wrote the film with Vasan Bala setting it in the contemporary time The film s music was composed by Ram Sampath and Varun Grover wrote the lyrics Jay Oza served as the film s cinematographer and Aarti Bajaj as its editor Full article Image 23 there have been two Formula One drivers from India Indian Formula One drivers have had a race entry to 59 Grands Prix Across these Grands Prix Indian Formula One drivers have accumulated 5 points between them No Indian driver has taken a race win podium fastest lap or pole position Narain Karthikeyan made his debut in 2005 driving for Jordan He would score 5 points at that year s United States Grand Prix Karthikeyan would go on to race for HRT for two years from 2011 his Formula One career ended when HRT folded at the end of 2012 India s second driver Karun Chandhok made his debut in 2010 for HRT and would go on to drive for Lotus in 2011 Full article Image 24 Gunday transl Outlaws is a 2014 Indian Hindi language action drama film written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra The film features Arjun Kapoor Ranveer Singh Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan in the lead roles Set in 1971 1988 Calcutta Gunday is a story about two best friends and outlaws who fall in love with a cabaret dancer which causes rivalry and misunderstandings between them Zafar conceived the film as an amalgam of stories he had heard from his father as a child about the effects of war caused immigration and the Mafia Raj s illegal marketing of coal He wrote the film as a tale of the consequences of the struggle of two outlaws against the system using his father s stories as a backdrop for the characters Principal photography began in Mumbai in December 2012 before moving to Kolkata where extensive filming was done The soundtrack was produced by Sohail Sen and the lyrics were penned by Irshad Kamil It was the last Yash Raj Film narrated to Yash Chopra Full article Image 25 Kapoor at the 2017 International Indian Film Academy AwardsShahid Kapoor pronounced ʃaːɦɪd keˈpuːr born 25 February 1981 is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers and is the recipient of several awards including three Filmfare Awards The son of actors Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azeem Kapoor trained as a dancer at Shiamak Davar s academy He appeared as a background dancer in a few films of the 1990s and, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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