The Unforgettable Travel Experience Of 'Incredible India'

The first experiences on travel in India openly, with a beginner’s mind, and is able to capture the experiences in words that seem to flow effortlessly. Here are the impressions of India as a first time visitor.

“It’s magical.”
“It’s terrifying.”
“It’s full of amazing people.”
“It’s not safe.”
“Eat the street food.”
“Don’t eat the street food.”

Bizarre, Fascinating And Horrifying Obsession With 'Urine'

Urine is once again on people’s minds, after India’s road transport minister Nitin Gadkari made public his penchant for recycling his urine to fertilise plants at his Delhi bungalow.

It seems Gadkari collects his urine in containers that are tipped into 50-litre cans. This in turn is used to irrigate plants and spur the growth of larger vegetables.

As people mocked Gadkari, Arghyam, an NGO run by Rohini Nilekani in Bangalore, came out in his support with a paper from the University of Agricultural Sciences on the benefits of urine.

Commentary: 'Faced With The Good And The Bad NGOs'

The Modi's Government, undaunted, seems to be cracking down on bigger global outfits. Some, like Greenpeace and Ford Foundation, have been already been put under the scanner.

It was probably CNN, when it was owned by Ted Turner, which first gave credence and pride of place to the ‘citizen journalist’, particularly for eye-witness footage, and ‘man bites dog’ stories. Not only was this amateur footage used on international satellite TV, but the production values were jollied up as much as they could be, and seamlessly integrated into the big-tent professionalism that CNN injected.

Eat Your Way With These 14 Varieties Of Indian Mangoes

It’s that time of year when everything is bathed in a warm, fuzzy, honey glow and there’s a sweet fragrance in the air. That might be partly due to summer setting in across India but it’s also because the best (and India’s national) fruit is making the rounds. 

For most Indians, summer is synonymous with mangoes; climbing trees to pluck those sunshine-coloured fruits or watching our grannies prepare mango pickles for the year. Mangoes are a habit that many of us find hard to give up.

Why Gujarat Isn’t The Financially Perfect State In India?

Many claims that Gujarat is the financially perfect state. But reality differs. 

On top of the list of India’s financially best managed states is an unlikely winner—Chhattisgarh, an underdeveloped but resource-rich state that has outperformed some of the country’s most industrialised provinces.

“The relatively new and small mineral-rich state in the eastern part of the country—Chhattisgarh—stands out as the financially most well-managed state in India, because of a revenue surplus budget and low interest payment burden,” said a research report by securities firm, Nomura, which analysed budgets of 18 states in India.

Spotlight: How Feni Drink Can Be A Make In India Mascot?

Feni a cocktail drink originally concepted in Goa and got the global recognition. It is the only indigenous drink in the country to get the coveted Geographical Indicator status.

Feni is not a drink you would serve in polite company, but having spent three days drinking it neat, savouring cocktails conjured up with it and pairing it with fine food, I am convinced it’s time for Goa’s "national drink" to claim its rightful place in the sun. 

Cricketer Virat Kohli To Invest 90 Crore In Fitness Industry

India's Ace cricketer Virat Kohli, after his fashion start-up Wrogn, is set to invest heavily in the fitness industry. 

According to reports, India’s Test captain will be investing a whooping sum of Rs 90 crore in a Rs 190 crore project with partners Chisel Fitness and CSE. 

The gym chain will be launched under the brand Chisel. Kohli is following the footsteps of his ODI skipper MS Dhoni, who already has a gym chain by the name of SportsFit.

Focus: Crisis For India's Orphans As Adoption Is Being Abandoned By Parents And Neglected By Government

Abandoned by their parents and now neglected by governments — there is no end to the suffering of over 50,000 orphans in India. 

The adoption rate within the country as well as those by foreign nationals in India has gone down by nearly 50 per cent in the last five years. 

What adds to the grim situation is the disparity between South Indian states and the rest of the country in terms of adoption of children. 

Weekend Leisure: Direct From 'Farm To Salad' On Table

We’re standing in what looks like a giant kitchen garden. Tomatoes dangle from vines, beetroot and spinach greens peek out of raised beds and bees buzz gently past our ears. Some of us head off with pairs of scissors to the patch of microgreens, others attempt to coax soil mix into a wheelbarrow. 

There is much wobbling, swearing and giggling amongst us debutant farmers. Later, three chefs cook us lunch with the ingredients we’ve spent the morning harvesting.

Travel: Seychelles Treasured Islands With Comfort, Ease

Close your eyes. And just imagine. You're lazing on a talcum-powder beach lapped by topaz waters and backed by lush hills and big glacis boulders.

Yes, it just routine in the Seychelles lifestyle embedded in nature's beauty. With such a dreamlike setting, the Seychelles is unsurprisingly a choice place for newlyweds. 

But for those looking for more than a suntan or romance, this archipelago offers a number of high-energy distractions. There are jungle and coastal walks, boat excursions, and diving and snorkelling to keep you buzzing.

Spotlight: Smriti Irani, Fading 'Far From Maddening Crowd'

From being the party and the PM’s blue-eyed girl, the Union HRD minister seems headed for a fall from grace.

On May 26, after the grand swearing-in ceremony of the Narendra Modi government, the most beaming face in the BJP was that of Smriti Irani. At 38, she had been made a cabinet minister and was being projected as the new woman face of the party. With her trademark sindoor and flashing  eyes, the actress-politician accepted congratulations as if it was her due.

'Five Star Chicken' All Set For 300 Outlets India Expansion

SPONSORED: Five Star Chicken comes from Thai Multi-National Conglomerate, CP Foods with over $13billion sales in Agro and Food Industry, globally. Its products are sold in over 50 countries worldwide. 

CP Foods is a pioneer in this industry and is also known to be the world’s largest feed manufacturing company, as well as the largest shrimp/prawn manufacturing company in the world. In terms of poultry (chicken), it is one of the top 5 companies in the world. 

Five Star Chicken was launched in 1985 at Ladprao 80 Street in Thailand.

Irani Brings Back Focus On Voyeurism Prevailing In India

The case of Union minister Smriti Irani finding a CCTV camera at Goa's Fab India has again brought back the focus on digital voyeurism and how a critical issue like surveillance can be exploited. 

Irani's case comes days after a woman found a mobile phone strapped to a changing room door of a Van Heusen store in Lajpat Nagar's Central market, a popular shopping hub.

Bangalore girl Sumitra remembers the day in 2009 she saw a camera when trying on a skirt at Palika Bazaar. "I looked around the tiny changing room and saw a camera with a dipping red light.

Focus: Why Cows Deserve More Protection Than Women?

It is now safer to be a cow than a woman in our country. Thanks to the over-zealous saffron brigade enforcing laws ensuring her safety and long life, they are also the more empowered lot. 

While the Fadnavis government was busy earning brownie points, passing motions to ban consumption of beef, Haryana government went a step ahead and covered itself with cow dung by taking a historic step deciding to issue unique identification numbers to its indigenous cattle. 

Why Asian-Arab Cricketers Galore In UAE Team At #CWC15

The cricket team of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the flotsam and jetsam of international cricket. Its players are mostly rejects of their native countries' cricket selectors. They played cricket once. But they gave up the sport and the dreams it once promised them to take up jobs in this oil-rich Gulf country. Now, they are playing the sport once again, and that too, at cricket's marquee tournament: the ICC World Cup.

Among members of this UAE team of Emiratis (just two of them), Pakistani and Sri Lankan salesmen, flight attendants and bankers who moonlight as cricketers, is a receptionist at a construction company from India who was given a promotion as sales executive when he was selected to play for the UAE.

DSK Motowheels Launches Five Italian Benelli Superbikes

SPONSORED: Pune-based DSK Motowheels in partnership with Italian bike brand Benelli has launched five superbikes in the country, priced between Rs. 2.83 lakh to Rs. 11.81 lakh (ex Showroom Delhi).

It is hoping to sell 3,000 superbikes in the first year and planning to bring more models in the market by year-end, said DSK Motowheels Chairman Shirish Kulkarni.

The company has launched 300 cc engine TNT 302, 600cc engine TNT 600i and TNT 600 GT, 898cc engine TNT 899 and 1131cc engine TNT R priced between Rs. 2.83 lakh to Rs. 11.81 lakh (ex Showroom Delhi).

How Private Enterprise Is Changing Non-Cricket Sports?

India Inc has entered the country's sporting arena, and is changing the way the nation plays.

There was a time, not too long ago, when it was taken for granted that an aspiring sportsperson in India would have to do any or all of the following: 

• Secure a job in a public sector company, or a large private sector one, for a regular income.
• Scramble for corporate sponsorship to be able to compete at international or even national tournaments.

Special Report: The Indian Navy Is In 'Troubled Waters'

Antiquated war ships. Delayed purchases. Power of middlemen. Political meddling. Result: Rotten Waters accumulates in Indian Navy.

It was a year ago that the dramatic resignation of Admiral DK Joshi, one and a half years after he took over, rocked the country’s defence establishment. Admiral Joshi had stepped down citing “moral responsibility” for a series of accidents in the Naval forces over the previous few months, a decision that his senior comrades described as being “in the highest tradition of the defence forces.”

Funny Satires: How India Never Laughs At Real Taboos?

It's a cliche to pronounce that Indians have no sense of humour, that we are a dour bunch that only recognises slapstick of the kind that Mehmood excelled at, that we can only laugh at community stereotypes - the bumbling Sardarji, the oily Bihari, the Bengali in spectacles and the Madrasi with the atrocious accent and worse table manners - that enjoyed great popularity in the Bombay-to-Goa era when Amitabh Bachchan was a dude, but have quite vanished in this age of political correctness when Aamir Khan has outed himself as the Shamitabh of All Prickly Feelings. 

'Goa Tourism Targeting Beach Shacks': Father Fernandes

The social wing of the influential Roman Catholic Church in Goa has accused the state government of corporatising tourism spaces like beach shacks and taxi services while pushing resident entrepreneurs out of business.

Beach shacks, the temporary thatched eateries, are licenced annually by the tourism ministry. They are synonymous with Goa's beaches and enormously popular with the hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting the state every year.