New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) It's a provision that has made possible the right to privacy - as well as the decriminalization of homosexuality. Rohan Alva's 'Liberty After Freedom' explores the origins and evolution of what is today considered the most important fundamental right in the Indian Constitution - the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21.

New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed grief and offered their condolences over the demise of noted Bengali cartoonist Narayan Debnath.

Kolkata, Jan 18 (IANS) Famous Bengali cartoonist Narayan Debnath passed away at a South Kolkata nursing home on Tuesday morning. He was admitted to hospital several times last year and was suffering from age related ailments including kidney and heart problems. The state government took the responsibility of his medical treatment.

London, Jan 18 (IANS) 'Harry Potter' star Rupert Grint has spoken about the relationship he shares with author JK Rowling, who wrote the stories that helped propel him to fame.

Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) In a video tribute to Pandit Birju Maharaj shared on Monday, the 'Mohan Veena' exponent, Grammy Award winner and Padma Bhushan awardee, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, remembered how he bonded with the Kathak maestro during an event at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai.

Chennai, Jan 17 (IANS) Pandit Birju Maharaj transcended generations and geographies to touch a chord with different artistes in different ways.

At the age of 19 or 20, Birju Maharajji was invited by Shrimati Nirmala Joshi to work at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, where Shambhu Maharajji had already joined. Maharajji's main task was to assist his uncle and also to compose items, ballets and dance dramas for their new unit.

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) For dancer Sonal Mansingh, it is still tough to believe that Pandit Birju Maharaj is no more. "It will take time to absorb the fact that he is physically no longer with us. Of course, his legacy will live on, thanks to his unmatched contribution to the art form," she said.

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Kathak exponent and retired bureaucrat Shovana Narayan met Pandit Birju Maharaj, her guru, just a week ago and she'll carry that memory with her forever.

With the untimely death of Achhan Maharaj, over were the days of childhood fun and frolic, kites, cinemas and so on. The only priority for Maharajji now was to look for work, to earn money. It had become difficult to meet their everyday needs and his mother Ammaji was extremely concerned about his career and well-being.

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Pandit Birju Maharaj had choreographed two famous tracks of contemporary cinema -- 'Kahe Chhed Mohe', filmed on Madhuri Dixit in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Devdas' (2002), and 'Mohe Rang Do Laal', which was picturised on Deepika Padukone, in 'Bajirao Mastani' (2015).

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Anupam Kher was a student at the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi when Pandit Birju Maharaj was the director of the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Kathak Kendra, literally across the road from his alma mater on Delhi's Mandi House cultural circle.

Chennai, Jan 17 (IANS) Kamal Haasan on Monday paid a heart-warming tribute to one of India's greatest dance legends, Pandit Birju Maharaj, who passed away late on Sunday at the age of 83.

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) In a lengthy tribute to Pandit Birju Maharaj on Twitter, dance guru and Rajya Sabha MP Sonal Mansingh mourned the passing away of a colossus whom she described as "a complete artist and Icon of Kathak dance".

New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) It is not about their meetings, their conversations, the long rehearsal sessions. It is a love letter to what need not be said. To what can be conveyed just with a glance. It is also about friendships sans reminders about bonds, about gazing into the abyss together, drowning and allowing magic to happen -- be willing partners to find otherworldly rhythms. It is about an actor who never ceases to be human, and was therefore superhuman in his craft. It is also not just about Irrfan, but also filmmaker Anup Singh, the writer -- someone who observes, the one who refuses to instantly interpret but leave spaces. Someone who wants to dive into the many layers of the actors method, never divorcing the man from his craft or vice-versa.

Kolkata, Jan 17 (IANS) Shaoli Mitra, famous theatre personality and daughter of 'legendary' Sambhu Mitra and Tripti Mitra, passed away at her Kolkata residence on Sunday evening. She was 74 and was suffering from age related ailments for long.

An insidious, and unseeable, force is out there, able to strike anyone to cause sickness, and in some cases, death. The only way to stay safe is to keep away from almost everyone else -- but that is easier said than done in our urban, inter-connected, and interdependent lives.

New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) S. Nambi Narayanan, the aerospace engineer discharged in what is known as the ISRO spy case of the 1990s, is now playing the martyr to cover up his own role in the case, says veteran journalist J. Rajasekharan Nair in the sequel to his book on the infamous episode.

Panaji, Jan 13 (IANS) Goa may witness 10,000 to 15,000 cases per day when the third Covid wave will peak around January 20, according to Dr Shekhar Salkar, a member of the Goa government's expert committee on Covid management.

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) He is considered the "Father of Fibre Optics", one of the seven "Unsung Heroes of the 20th Century" for his Nobel Prize deserving breakthrough that spawned the Internet and is behind devices ranging from endoscopes to high-capacity telephone lines. Yet, the self-effacing Indian American Narinder Singh Kapany, born in the sleepy town of Moga in undivided Punjab devotes just two-and-a-half-pages in his 277-page memoir to this momentous achievement.

Mumbai/Thane, Jan 12 (IANS) On the occasion of the 424th birth anniversary of Rajmata Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale on Wednesday -- the mother of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj -- the Maharashtra government has ordered expeditious development of the historic Raigad Fort, located 166 km from Mumbai in Raigad district.

Hyderabad, Jan 12 (IANS) Exhibiting his extraordinary weaving skills, a young handloom weaver in Telangana has woven a saree which can be kept in a matchbox.

New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Growing up in the sleepy towns of Bhilai and Bokaro, Arundhati Bhattacharya never imagined that one day she would go on to chair India's largest bank. It was by sheer chance that she came to know of the bank probationary officers' entrance examination through a friend. She applied, was selected and went on to chart out a glorious banking career spanning four decades.

New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Professor emeritus, Kurukshetra University Raghuvendra Tanwar has been appointed as chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS) The Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has decided to launch Bhasha Utsav to strengthen dialogue among languages and literature within India and beyond.