Aasheesh Sharma

Monsoon goal: A football widows (and widowers!) retribution plan

Here’s how football widows and widowers can fight their bitter halves consumed by sporting frenzy.

Nikhil Chopra: The chameleon-like performance artist

Bending gender, shape and identity, Nikhil Chopra, India’s best known performance artist, uses personal history to question convention

How Sufi music helps Shikhar Dhawan find his groove

We take the Wadali Brothers and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan fan to experience his first live qawwali at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin. The result: A batsman on a philosophical new pitch!

Chennai residents are CNN News 18’s Indian of the Year

The People of Chennai are CNN News18’s Indian of the Year

The Indian of the Year awards were presented by CNN News 18 in association with Hindustan Times.

The Kabaddi lakhpatis who’ve raided poverty

A welder, a farmer and a sugarcane factory worker are today’s kabaddi superstars.

My sound is experimental: Monica Dogra on her solo album Spit

Monica Dogra talks about her poetry, her acting career and the lessons she learnt as a jobless musician in New York.

Actor-singer Monica Dogra wants the power to keep creating

Actress-singer Monica Dogra on her days of struggle in New York, her creative process and why she loves to take risks.

Meet the women making waves in male-dominated professions

These four women from different walks of life have another thing in common apart from their gender. They’ve all forayed into professions dominated by men and shattered stereotypes along the way.

From the archives: Ready for the longest train journey in India?

So, on a day when the railway budget is hogging headlines and the railway minister is making announcements - from India’s first rail auto hub and boosting to e-catering to connectivity to North-East and Wi-Fi in railway stations - we dug up our archives and found this...

There’s something soothing about sharing a joke: Meera Syal

Out with her third novel, British-Indian actor Meera Syal discusses comedy, stereotypes and the cost of immigration.

Manto liked to defy norms: Ayesha Jalal

Manto’s grandniece on what keeps the subcontinent’s fascination with the stories of Saadat Hasan Manto alive.

JLF 2016: India has a rich cricket writing tradition, says Menon

At the launch of the first edition of Wisden India Almanack three years ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had expressed a desire to be on its cover one day. The 2016 edition of the Almanack has the Indian ODI captain on the cover. At its launch during the Jaipur Literature Festival, after a session on sports and nationalism, we caught up with its editor Suresh Menon.

JLF 2016: Nostalgia is not a place to live, says Gulzar

Legendary poet Gulzar recited poems from his new collection Green Poems at the ongoing Jaipur Lit Fest. He also expressed his desire to change with the times.

JLF 2016: TV shows are superb, but can’t match novels, feels Atwood

Atwood, who won the Booker for The Blind Assassin in 2000, said that though some television shows were superb, nothing could match the novel. “No one gets into the mind of characters the way a novel writer can! It can take you deeper into the consciousness of the characters than any other art form.”

Meet the Dangal kings: A ground report from the mud pits of north India

Wrestling is the inspiration for two big Hindi films this year. A ringside view of the carnival of akhada culture.

JLF 2016: My journey to Mt Kailash cleansed me, says Colin Thubron

Celebrated travel writer Colin Thubron discussed religion, sorrow and spirituality during a discussion on his book To a Mountain in Tibet.

Guess it was my destiny to get 10 wickets in an innings: Kumble at JLF

Two former national captains, Anil Kumble and Baichung Bhutia, came together at the session India at Play, to coincide with the launch of the Wisden India Almanack 2016.

Freedom of expression is the biggest joke in the world: Karan Johar

Bollywood director Karan Johar spoke about intolerance at the Jaipur Literature Festival. He offered his opinion on same-sex relationships, his relationship with Shah Rukh Khan and the Censor Board.

JLF 2016: How maritime history shaped our planet

Archaeologist Cyprian Broodbank was in conversation with Irving Finkel, archeologist, author of the bestselling, The Ark Before Noah, and curator of cuneiform inscriptions from ancient Mesopotamia at London’s British Museum at ongoing JLF 2016.

JLF 2016: Interesting sessions to attend at the fest

Here’s a list of the most interesting sessions at the festival may help you make up your mind. So here, in no particular order, are our recommendations of sessions that promise to provide much sustenance to the book lover’s soul.

On the Brunch radar

Here’s a round-up of things we loved this week, and those that ought to be shoved.

If people remember characters more than my name, it’s my success: Pavan Malhotra

Effortless performer Pavan Malhotra on playing Tiger Memon and doing the tiger dance for Bagh Bahadur.

“We tried to impart cinema-like quality to the episodes,” says Sriram Raghavan about Star Bestsellers

Director Sriram Raghavan talks about Star Bestsellers and how it gave a platform to newcomers like Anurag Kashyap, Tigmanshu Dhulia and others to showcase their work as filmmakers.

Shailja Kejriwal on the idea behind making short TV films

“We weren’t pressured to play gimmicks to boost TRPs,” says Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam hosted the first episode of Sa Re Ga Ma in the summer of 1995. Within months, he became a popular music talent show anchor.

“Musaddi Lal was very close to me. I too come from a middle-class family,” says Pankaj Kapoor

Actor Pankaj Kapoor talks about Office Office, the show which touched a chord with thousands of TV viewers at the turn of the century.

“I wanted people to be keener to watch us than the songs in PhilipsTopTen” says Pankaj Kapoor

“I had one objective. People should be keener to watch us than the songs,” says Pankaj Kapoor on Philips Top Ten

“Delhi’s my favourite city and I don’t mourn how it has changed,” says author William Dalrymple

Author William Dalrymple talks about the physical books versus e-readers debate, his Scottish roots and his love for Delhi.

A few good kicks

Brilliant performances in individual events and stellar shows in team sports such as hockey, gave fans plenty of cheer this year.