27032015Fri
With elections six weeks away, the UK Higher Education community is presumably anxious.
The last election marked a decisive turning point for the sector - the Cameron Government pursued tw...
Zee TV, one of the world’s largest South Asian TV networks, celebrated two decades broadcasting in Europe on Wednesday night with a gala dinner that drew in not only the great and good of...
The narratives that I really like are the ones which do not shy away from reality but while doing so, celebrate the goodness amongst all that is bad.
They are the stories that shine a ligh...
England cricketer Ravi Bopara this week launched 'Chance to Shine Street Youth', a new initiative aimed at getting kids off the streets and playing cricket by the charity Chance to Shine....
England cricketer Ravi Bopara this week launched 'Chance to Shine Street Youth',...
Former British Prime Minister and UN education envoy Gordon Brown this week unve...
With elections six weeks away, the UK Higher Education community is presumably a...
A little film which tells a mighty impressive tale about a particularly mundane ...
Directed by Afia Nathaniel, ‘Dukhtar’ explores the issues that women face in Pak...
One of India’s most respected film directors has bemoaned the attacks on free ex...
The music of Pakistan’s famous Sachal Jazz Orchestra is as compelling as the sto...
The Waterman’s Theatre in West London has long had a reputation for bringing in ...
Whilst I was on the rounds doing research and pre-release duties for my forthcom...
British-Pakistani One Direction star Zayn Malik says he just wants to “live a no...
Kailash Satyarthi was 55 years of age when he first had the opportunity to pose ...
What to make of Singapore's first and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who di...
Indian auto giant Mahindra and Mahinda has reportedly expressed an interest to b...
An Indian-born economics professor at New York’s Columbia University has been ap...
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has slammed opponents of his government’s p...
Baked Cauliflower Tots
As the name suggests these are baked cauliflower bites whi...
Six decades after the first conquest of the world's highest peak, tons of rubbis...
Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking up on us.
Most of us spend January recoveri...
England cricketer Ravi Bopara this week launched 'Chance to Shine Street Youth', a new initiative aimed at getting kids off the streets and playing cricket by the charity Chance to Shine.
The project is the youth element of the charity’s community programme ‘Chance to Shine Street’ and will be sponso...
The respected spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been tipped to become the country’s next High Commissioner to London.
Syed Akbaruddin will vacate his post on 18 April and is “likely” to replace incumbent Ranjan Mathai when Mr Mathai completes his term at the end of 2015, ...
Former British Prime Minister and UN education envoy Gordon Brown this week unveiled a new pilot project in Pakistan aimed at securing the country’s schools against terror attacks.
The project, a collaboration between the Pakistani government and UNICEF among other organizations, will use technology ...
A leading Indian Christian activist has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to protect his community following a string of attacks against churches and the gang-rape of a 71-year-old nun over the weekend.
Father Savari Muthu, spokesman for the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese and a national Chu...
With elections six weeks away, the UK Higher Education community is presumably anxious.
The last election marked a decisive turning point for the sector - the Cameron Government pursued twin strategies of an inadequately thought-through funding reform and a plainly disastrous clampdown on student imm...
The narratives that I really like are the ones which do not shy away from reality but while doing so, celebrate the goodness amongst all that is bad.
They are the stories that shine a light on the road to redemption, the tales which are the harbinger of change, correction and right action.
Not surpris...
A little film which tells a mighty impressive tale about a particularly mundane aspect of life in India has won the Best Feature Film award at the country’s National Film Awards.
‘Court’, by first-time director Chaitanya Tamhane, bagged the top prize as the full list of winners was unveiled on Tuesda...
There is plenty on TV these days to get your toes curling inward.
From Celebrity Big Brother and Desi Rascals to those Indian soaps where everyone stares at each other for interminable periods and everyone is decked up as if it's Mumbai Fashion Week, there is plenty on the box that smacks of utter l...
Directed by Afia Nathaniel, ‘Dukhtar’ explores the issues that women face in Pakistan’s often-staggeringly chauvinistic society.
It is a society where perceptions of family ‘honor’, and a verbal agreement made by the patriarch of the house is cast in stone while the emotions of women and children - e...
Movie sequels are rarely a good idea.
However, the people behind 2012's surprise critical and commercial hit 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' seem to have drawn inspiration from the collective wisdom of the film's veteran cast who return for a second jaunt over to Rajasthan.
Mindful of its existing au...
One of India’s most respected film directors has bemoaned the attacks on free expression in his country, especially the targeting of artists who tackle sensitive issues like religion, politics and conflict.
Vishal Bhardwaj, the writer and director best known for his acclaimed Indian adaptations of Sh...
The rising visibility of Indian indies has indicated rapid changes in style and content and this year, Kanu Behl’s impressive crime thriller 'Titli' now defines this form as mainstream.
Producer Dibakar Banerjee is supported by Bollywood distributor-exhibitor Yash Raj Films in this project which ope...
British-Pakistani One Direction star Zayn Malik says he just wants to “live a normal life” after quitting the hugely popular boy band on Wednesday.
Malik, 22, apologized to the band’s millions of fans for his decision which came days after he dropped out of One Direction’s Asia tour due to “stress”.
"...
An Indian-origin Conservative Party election candidate accused of organizing a fake far-right march to win votes has said the idea was to “bring people together”.
Afzal Amin, the Tory candidate for Dudley North in the West Midlands, was suspended by his party this weekend after he was filmed offering...
Kailash Satyarthi was 55 years of age when he first had the opportunity to pose for a picture with a Nobel laureate - nearly three decades after he began his crusade against child slavery in his native India.
It was a "magical" moment, the 60-year-old tells me.
So these days, the 2014 Nobel Peace Pri...
The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 caused biblical levels of devastation and loss of life across large parts of south and southeast Asia.
The scale of the tragedy was only matched by the myriad extraordinary stories of survival and generosity - from the tales of people who helped shelter those affected ...
What to make of Singapore's first and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died Monday morning in the city-state?
Under the banner of the People's Action Party, Lee held government power for three decades. After stepping away from the prime minister's office in 1990, he held positions of senior mi...
Mahatma Gandhi (Seated bottom right) with fellow members of the Vegetarian Society in London in 1890
A permanent memorial to Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in London's Parliament Square this weekend.
Gandhi’s statue will join that of his famous adversary in his campaign for indep...
Baked Cauliflower Tots
As the name suggests these are baked cauliflower bites which are egg-free.
It’s a really simple, easy snack which can double up as part of an appetizer platter or even kid-friendly after-school snack. They won't even realize they are eating cauliflower!
Everything goes into a bo...
It it the beginning of ‘Chaitra’, which is considered the first month of the Hindu calendar.
The first day of the month is celebrated as ‘Ugadi’ or Yugadi (New Year’s Day) by the peoples of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.
In the state of Maharashtra, the same day is referred to as ‘Gudi Padw...
Six decades after the first conquest of the world's highest peak, tons of rubbish and human waste abandoned by hundreds of Mount Everest climbers is starting to raise a stink.
Nepal is cracking down on the mountaineers who seek to emulate the 1953 feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay,...
It is one of the most remote, beautiful and difficult to visit countries on the planet but if you're Google, no place is out of bounds.
The internet search giant has unveiled its latest Street View project, a sneak peek into the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, featuring panoramic views of its majestic m...
Valentine’s Day has a way of sneaking up on us.
Most of us spend January recovering from the holidays, getting back to the daily grind, suddenly exercising more, eating healthy and burying ourselves in the January blues.
Hence, Valentine’s Day seems like a perfect excuse to let the hair down, make mer...
Want to shop for a few Indian clothes but don’t know how to start and what to buy?
Buying Indian clothes can be overwhelming with words like gota, zardozi and chamki being thrown at you if you don’t know what they exactly mean.
Also the plethora of choice in stores and online is so intimidating that ...
The music of Pakistan’s famous Sachal Jazz Orchestra is as compelling as the story behind the group.
The tale of a group of classically-trained, out of work musicians were plucked from obscurity by a London-based, Pakistani-origin multi-millionaire to give a whole new twist to some of the most iconi...
A harrowing and poignant film about the horrors of child marriage and the status of women in Pakistan opens the 17th annual London Asian Film Festival tonight.
'Dukhtar' is the thrilling story of a mother and her ten-year-old daughter who flee their home in rural Pakistan after the youngster is promi...
The Waterman’s Theatre in West London has long had a reputation for bringing in theatre artists and productions from all over the world and for being open to experimentation.
The theatre has brought in Lillete Dubey’s The Primetime Theatre Company on numerous previous occasions with 'Boiled Beans on ...
The Indian government on Tuesday banned the broadcast in India of British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's 'India's Daughter', a documentary about the horrific gang rape and murder of the young physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh Pandey on a New Delhi bus in December 2012.
The ban prompted the BBC to reschedul...
Whilst I was on the rounds doing research and pre-release duties for my forthcoming book ‘The Butterfly Room’ a director called Stuart Gatt caught my attention; specifically his directorial effort “My Beautiful White Skin”.
Stuart was kind enough to provide me with a look at the movie, which raises t...
In spite of what is known about him – his love for yoga, affection for Barack Obama and love of a well-tailored suit – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains an enigma to many.
How did a man who used to peddle tea on trains, a man aligned to a conservative Hindu organization that is revered and ...
Indian auto giant Mahindra and Mahinda has reportedly expressed an interest to buy the legendary Italian luxury car designer Pininfarina, according to reports.
The Italian firm confirmed Mahindra’s interest but said there are no binding agreements as yet.
Reuters quoted a Pininfarina source as saying ...
Uber Technologies, the online ride-hailing company, has entered into a "strategic partnership" with Times Internet, as it looks to expand operations in India, its largest market outside the United States.
An Uber spokeswoman said Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India media group, woul...
An Indian-born economics professor at New York’s Columbia University has been appointed to head Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new economic planning body with the remit of mounting a Margaret Thatcher-like attack on India’s Soviet-style economic strategy.
Arvind Panagariya is renowned for his market-...
Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia on Tuesday announced the appointment of India-born Rajeev Suri as its new CEO.
The 46-year-old had been the leading candidate for the top job at the company which was bought over by Microsoft earlier this year.
“I am honored to have been asked to take this role, and ex...
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has slammed opponents of his government’s plan to amend the country’s Land Acquisition Bill, claiming they are gaining a “Sadistic Thrill” out of opposing changes that are seen as critical to India’s economic growth.
In an impassioned speech to the UK India Busine...
India's burgeoning economy and the seemingly limitless potential offered by the country's ever-expanding Middle Class has given rise to a whole new industry - the business of the conclave.
London has emerged as the centre of the India-focussed business conference, promoting India's myriad different e...
The Indian government on Tuesday banned the broadcast in India of British filmmaker Leslee Udwin's 'India's Daughter', a documentary about the horrific gang rape and murder of the young physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh Pandey on a New Delhi bus in December 2012.
