Innholdsfortegnelse for Monday, September 4, 2023 i India Today

He is well into his tenth year as prime minister, but Narendra Modi pulls off what few other world leaders have managed. He banishes the near-universal factor of anti-incumbency and his popularity rankings defy the law of gravity. In the biannual India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey for August 2023, about 52 per cent feel he is best suited to be PM and an overwhelming 62.7 per cent rate his performance as good or outstanding. Not as high as his January 2023 rating of 71.6 per cent, and well below his August 2020 peak of 78 per cent. But also safely above his nadir of August 2021, when even the harshness of the Covid aftermath had pegged him down only to 54 per cent. He looms large over…

Chandrayaan-3 soft-lands near the lunar South Pole after a 41-day voyage India is the 4th country to land a spacecraft on the moon after the former USSR, US and China It is also the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s South Pole The lander’s instruments will study the moon’s thermal and seismic properties; rover Pragyaan will analyse the lunar soil Chandrayaan-1, launched on Oct. 22, 2008, was lost before its two-year tenure, but provided conclusive evidence of water and ice on the moon Chandrayaan-2, launched on July 22, 2019, failed to soft-land but provided rich data and learnings. Its orbiter is still serving as a communications backup for Chandrayaan-3…

Bharat Gogawale, an Eknath Shinde loyalist, dropped a bombshell recently when he revealed that there was immense pressure on the Maharashtra chief minister when it came to choosing his ministers last year. Gogawale, who, incidentally, is still awaiting his inclusion in the council of ministers, claimed that an MLA was appointed as a minister because he had told Shinde that his wife was threatening to commit suicide if this was not done. Another MLA claimed that he had faced a threat from BJP leader Narayan Rane and yet another threatened to resign. Put together, this forced Shinde’s hand, Gogawale claims.…

There are many qualities that Prime Minister Narendra Modi embodies, supreme confidence being one of them. Another is the astonishing ability to seize the moment and make it his own. As he stood atop the ramparts of the Red Fort to deliver the Independence Day address for the 10th consecutive time this August 15, he presented to the nation an impressive report card of what he and his government have achieved since 2014, encapsulated in a catchy slogan — “Reform, Perform and Transform” — that he is also likely to use in his campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He then went on to persuasively outline why the next five years were critical in India’s march towards a Vikasit Bharat or developed country by 2047, when it celebrates 100 years…

India Today’s Mood of the Nation poll offers ample proof of how heavily Indians are invested in the Indian Premier League. It’s why Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who won the IPL for the fifth time with Chennai Super Kings, beat members of the national squad to emerge as India’s number one cricketer. Dhoni, who is hugely popular even after three years of retirement, is succeeded by another former captain, albeit one who is a vital part of the team—Virat Kohli. With the ICC Cricket World Cup on home turf, the pressure is on the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma (No. 3) and Hardik Pandya (No. 5) to deliver on the country’s expectations. Among female cricketers, Women’s Premier League’s most expensive player, Smriti Mandhana, topped rankings. The champion batsperson failed to perform…

“I come from an India…” When Vir Das voiced those words in a seven=minute video uploaded on his You-Tube channel on November 15, 2021, little did he know he’d become the headline. The ‘Two Indias’ spoken word would earn the stand-up comic and actor many brickbats as well as a few bouquets. Somewhere it hit a nerve as viewers came up with their own reflections on the unsettling dualities of India. In the video’s aftermath, Das shunned the media and had a few of his gigs in India cancelled. He later addressed the controversy in a Netflix special, Landing, his best and most-watched so far. “What I learned in a reasonably hard way is that your content may become controversial, but controversy should never become your content,” says Das,…

Rooted in India yet obscurely contemporary, the Courtyard House in Uttarahalli, Bangalore, is a welcome respite from the concrete forms of the urban jungle. The home is designed around one of the most essential elements of conventional Indian homes—the courtyard. Situated away from the city’s hustle and bustle, this 3,788 sq ft, three-bedroom home is an outcome of the owner’s recollection of their grandparents’ home. The desire to imbue the cultural heritage of courtyards in a modern landscape commenced the odyssey of this space. The house is accessed through a driveway on both sides. Acknowledging the auspiciousness of Tulsi, the plant is placed in the middle of an open to sky court. This leads to the main entrance and lends the house an organic feel. The courtyard not only elevates…

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Videos of RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav driving a jeep or playing badminton have been a hit on social media. There is no mistaking the message: the old war horse was back, and fighting fit for the Lok Sabha election battle in 2024. However, Lalu’s latest outing on August 16, in which he took party vice president Shivanand Tiwari for a kulfi at Patna Ganga Path, has not really proved auspicious. Two days later, the Supreme Court acceded to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) request for an early listing of their plea seeking the cancellation of Lalu’s bail in the fodder scam. Now, some grand alliance leaders in Bihar are worried the CBI might use the same videos to claim that Lalu was fit for jail.…

The Union government is likely to create a new post of Chief Investigation Officer of India (CIO) who will supervise the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED probes financial fraud, but the CBI also looks into cases of corruption and other offences. The view is that a CIO heading the two agencies, with their chiefs reporting to him, would bring better synergy. While the ED will remain under the finance ministry and CBI under the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, the all-powerful CIO will report to the prime minister. Speculation is now rife on who will be the first CIO.…

Pathaan zinda hai”, and he’s thriving. Riding on the success of Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan’s first film in nearly four years, the 57-year-old actor made the biggest leap in INDIA TODAY’S Mood of the Nation poll. The Badshah is back in contention, and he’s looking to expand his fan base to the South with his upcoming release, Jawan, directed by Tamil filmmaker Atlee and starring Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. Khan, however, still fell short of overtaking the inimitable Amitabh Bachchan. Such is the grip of the 80-year-old actor on the nation’s collective consciousness that he doesn’t need a release, let alone a blockbuster, to retain his top rank. Bachchan reigns supreme, and as the affable host of the gameshow Kaun Banega Crorepati and with more films in the pipeline, including…

The Saturday and Sunday after Republic Day are now officially the Lollapalooza India weekend. The cross-continental multi-genre festival, which launched its first Asia edition in Mumbai last year, will return to the metropolis in 2024 on January 27 and 28. Lollapalooza joins several music festivals that occupy fixed weekends. There’s the Mahindra Blues Festival, also in Mumbai, on the second weekend of February and Arunachal Pradesh’s multi-genre Ziro Festival of Music in the last weekend of September; while three electronic music-focused festivals, the environmentally-themed Echoes of Earth in Bengaluru, the limited-capacity, alternative-oriented Magnetic Fields in Rajasthan and the mainstream EDM extravaganza Sunburn, have reserved the beginning, middle and end of December, respectively. Tickets for many of these are already on sale, with most categories for Magnetic Fields sold out. The…

MONOCHROME MAGIC If its drama in design that you seek then get a hold of The Black & White Edit by Ariane Thakore Ginwala’s This and That. The range offers items for the home in you guessed it—black and white. From block-printed, handwoven and embroidered table napkins, table mats, runners, cushion covers and bed covers to side tables and black and white photography, you are spoilt for choice. PRICE `600 to `60,000 AT www.thisandthat.in SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE Designed for the young ones, Smartsters has launched a new line of bed linen inspired by the works of four famous artists—Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Klee, Joan Miro and Piet Mondrian. Featured her is the Klee’s Kaleidoscope bedsheet inspired by Paul Klee’s most recognised painting Senecio. Made from pure cotton…

When the director of a top, technology-related MNC approached us for a home that is as much about opulence and luxury as it is about the gorgeous views and high-tech gadgetry, we knew this would be an interesting space. The results are the perfect marriage between the old and new. INNOVATIVE IDEAS In this 6,000 sq ft apartment, technology seamlessly enhances every facet of their living experience by embracing the future of home automation. Sophistication meets convenience and helps indulge in a life of unrivalled comfort and elegance. So, with a touch of a button, lighting dances in perfect harmony, creating an ethereal ambiance tailored to the homeowner’s desires. That’s not all, it is also equipped with an automated drapery system that gracefully responds to their commands, allowing natural light…

Beyond the rejoicing and warm glow of achievement, there is the larger picture. Chandrayaan-3’s gloriously pitch-perfect soft-landing on the moon on August 23, 2023, signifies more than the fact of its double triumph: India is now the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to land on the lunar South Pole. The feat will benefit not only India, it will also enable the world to have a better understanding of this area on the dark side of the moon. The craters permanently in the shadow here are expected to hold frozen water, and the solar-powered Pragyaan rover will roam the lunar surface for 14 days, gathering images and data. Its findings will now be analysed the world over. What is more, Chandrayaan’s success marks our…

A desperate N. Chandrababu Naidu is keen that election strategist Prashant Kishor comes to the aid of his Telegu Desam Party to turn the tables on Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress. A wily Jagan has retained the Kishor-founded Indian Political Action Committee as consultant even after it had helped him win the 2019 election and is unlikely to let go. A never-say-die Naidu, who is determined to make the 2024 assembly poll a fight, still hopes to win Kishor over if the TDP fails to ally with the BJP in the coming months.…

Gujarat recently witnessed an ugly spat between Jamnagar MLA Rivaba Jadeja (wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja), Jamnagar MP Poonamben Maadam and Jamnagar mayor Bina Kothari (all from the BJP). At a municipal corporation event, Jadeja accused Maadam of passing a demeaning remark as she removed her footwear to pay tribute at a newly inaugurated martyrs’ memorial. When Kothari tried to intervene, Jadeja ticked her off. As the video of the incident went viral, both sides tried to defend themselves, with Kothari even lodging a police complaint against Jadeja. Factionalism at every level?…

The india today Mood of the Nation (MOTN) poll was conducted by CVoter, a globally renowned name in the field of socio-economic research, between July 15, 2023, and August 14, 2023, interviewing 25,951 respondents in all Lok Sabha segments across all states. In addition to these samples, an additional 134,487 interviews from CVoter’s regular tracker data between January 16, 2023, and August 14, 2023, were also analysed for the long-term trendline in calculating seat and vote share projections. Thus, the opinion of a total of 160,438 respondents was considered for this MOTN report. The margin of error is +/-3 per cent at the macro level and +/-5 per cent at micro level of reporting with 95 per cent confidence level. From May 2009 onwards, the CVoter Tracker has been carried…

On August 19, when actor Rajinikanth called on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, he chose to touch the mahant-turned-politician’s feet. The action may have earned the southern superstar the ire of social media trolls, but the fact that he decided to watch his newly released film Jailer with a north Indian chief minister, apparently in a bid to promote it, speaks volumes about the popularity of Yogi Adityanath. The latest India Today Mood of the Nation (MOTN) poll only attests to this fact. When respondents across all states were asked to rate the performance of the 30 chief ministers in India, 43 per cent of them, up from 39.1 per cent in January, rated Yogi as the No. 1. With just 19 per cent respondents backing him, Delhi…

▶ Outback, Leh, Sep. 16-17, 2023 ▶ Ziro Festival of Music, Ziro Valley, Sep. 28-Oct. 1, 2023 ▶ GAIA Festival, Kullu, Sep. 30-Oct. 1, 2023 ▶ Mahindra Independence Rock, Mumbai, Nov. 4-5, 2023 ▶ Palm Tree Music Festival, Mumbai, Nov. 4-5, 2023 ▶ SPXCEJXM, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Nov. 4-5, 2023 ▶ DGTL India, Bengaluru, Mumbai Nov. 17-18 and Nov. 18-19, 2023 ▶ Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Pune, Dec. 1-3, 2023 ▶ Echoes of Earth, Bengaluru, Dec. 2-3, 2023 ▶ Magnetic Fields, Alsisar, Dec. 15-17, 2023 ▶ Sunburn, Goa, Dec. 28-31, 2023 ▶ Lollapalooza India, Mumbai, Jan. 27-28, 2024 ▶ Mahindra Blues Festival, Mumbai, Feb. 10-11, 2024 ▶ Bloomverse, Shillong, Feb. 24, 2024…

Q. Did you approach Ghoomer as a sports film? Definitely not! But I do feel sports are a lot like life—you play constantly, sometimes defensively, sometimes in attack mode, and you want to have fun. Ghoomer is about believing in yourself. My character, Padam Singh Sodhi, has many layers. As a coach, he wields an iron cane, but as a person, there is an emotional arc. It was a very exciting role, and the icing on the cake was being directed by R. Balki. Q. Before the release, everyone talked about how the film may teach cricketers a thing or two… Oh, you mean the bowling stance? Why not? Global sports history is replete with stories of people who refused to give up. And that led to new benchmarks. At…

We live in hyper reality, a fast paced and ever-changing world. You blink…you miss it. This is making us more conscious and sensitive of the environment we live in and the need for us to be mindful. We are what we surround ourselves with. If there is any truth to that saying, we must build homes that will sustain healthy, smart living for ourselves and future generations to come. SAVE THE WORLD Primary concerns for smart homes have always revolved around energy efficiency and sustainability. Environmentally conscious products that cater to the ease-of-use aspect are rapidly growing in the automation market. Design solutions like energy-saving lights, automated appliances, and security solutions are some directions taken towards more sustainable living. However, no amount of intelligence or automation can replace the willingness…