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Portal:India - Wikipedia

• Image 1
  
  Mohammed Abdul Karim

  (1863 — 20 April 1909), also known as "

  the Munshi

  ", was an

  Indian

  attendant of

  Queen Victoria

  . He served her during the final fourteen years of her reign, gaining her maternal affection over that time.

  Karim was born the son of a hospital assistant at Lalitpur, near Jhansi in British India. In 1887, the year of Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Karim was one of two Indians selected to become servants to the Queen. Victoria came to like him a great deal and gave him the title of "Munshi" ("clerk" or "teacher"). Victoria appointed him to be her Indian Secretary, showered him with honours, and obtained a land grant for him in India. (Full article...)

• Image 2 Enthiran

  (

  transl. Robot

  ) is a 2010 Indian

  Tamil

  -language

  science fiction action film

  co-written and directed by

  S. Shankar

  . It is the first instalment in the

  Enthiran film series

  . The film stars

  Rajinikanth

  in dual lead roles as a scientist and the robot he created, respectively.

  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

  ,

  Danny Denzongpa

  ,

  Santhanam

  and

  Karunas

  play supporting roles. The

  soundtrack album and background score

  were composed by

  A. R. Rahman

  while the dialogues, cinematography, editing and art direction were handled by

  Madhan Karky

  ,

  R. Rathnavelu

  ,

  Anthony

  and

  Sabu Cyril

  and action sequences was done by

  Peter Hein

  respectively. The story revolves around the struggle of a scientist named Vaseegaran to control his sophisticated

  android robot

  named

  Chitti

  , after Chitti's software is upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and exhibit human emotions and to commission it to the Indian Army. The project backfires when Chitti falls in love with Vaseegaran's girlfriend Sana, and is manipulated by Vaseegaran's mentor Bohra into becoming homicidal.

  After being stalled in the development phase for nearly a decade, the film's principal photography began in 2008 and lasted two years. The film marked the debut of Legacy Effects studio (which was responsible for the film's prosthetic make-up and animatronics) in Indian cinema. Enthiran was released worldwide on 1 October 2010. Produced by Kalanithi Maran, it was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. (Full article...)

• Image 3
  
  Hyderabad

  is the capital and largest city of the

  Indian state

  of

  Telangana

  . It occupies 650 km

  ²

  (250 sq mi) on the

  Deccan Plateau

  along the banks of the

  Musi River

  , in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of 536 m (1,759 ft), much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around

  artificial lakes

  , including the

  Hussain Sagar

  lake, predating the city's founding, in the north of the city centre. According to the

  2011 census of India

  , Hyderabad is the

  fourth-most populous city in India

  with a population of

  6.9 million

  residents within the city limits, and has a population of

  9.7 million

  residents in the

  metropolitan region

  , making it the

  sixth-most populous metropolitan area

  in India. With an output of

  US$

  95 billion, Hyderabad has the sixth-largest urban economy in

  India

  .

  The Qutb Shahi dynasty's Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah established Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. In 1687, the city was annexed by the Mughals. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty, also known as the Nizams. Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the Asaf Jahis from 1769 to 1948. As the capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, the city housed the British Residency and cantonment until Indian independence in 1947. Hyderabad was annexed by the Indian Union in 1948 and continued as a capital of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1956. After the introduction of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly formed Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was split to form the state of Telangana, and Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states until 2024. Since 1956, the city has housed the Rashtrapati Nilayam, the winter office of the president of India. (Full article...)

• Image 5 Mother India

  is a 1957 Indian

  epic drama film

  , directed by

  Mehboob Khan

  and starring

  Nargis

  ,

  Sunil Dutt

  ,

  Rajendra Kumar

  and

  Raaj Kumar

  . A remake of Khan's earlier film

  Aurat

  (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woman named Radha (Nargis), who in the absence of her husband, struggles to raise her sons and survive against a cunning money-lender amidst many troubles.

  The title of the film was chosen to counter American author Katherine Mayo's 1927 polemical book Mother India, which vilified Indian culture. Mother India metaphorically represents India as a nation in the aftermath of its independence in 1947, and alludes to a strong sense of Indian nationalism and nation-building. Allusions to Hindu mythology are abundant in the film, and its lead character has been seen as a metonymic representation of an Indian woman who reflects high moral values and the concept of what it means to be a mother to society through self-sacrifice. While some authors treat Radha as the symbol of women's empowerment, others see her cast in female stereotypes. The film was shot in Mumbai's Mehboob Studios and in the villages of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. The music by Naushad introduced global music, including Western classical music and orchestra, to Hindi cinema. (Full article...)

• Image 6
  Nyctibatrachus major

  , the

  Malabar night frog

  ,

  large wrinkled frog

  , or

  Boulenger's narrow-eyed frog

  , is a

  species

  of frog in the

  family Nyctibatrachidae

  , commonly known as the robust frogs. It was

  described

  in 1882 by the zoologist

  George Albert Boulenger

  , and is the

  type species

  of the

  genus Nyctibatrachus

  . It is a large frog for its genus, with an adult

  snout–vent length

  of 31.5–52.0 mm (1.24–2.05 in) for males and 43.7–54.2 mm (1.72–2.13 in) for females. It is mainly brownish to greyish in colour, with a dark greyish-brown upperside, a greyish-white underside, and light grey sides. It also has a variety of grey or brown

  markings

  . When preserved in

  ethanol

  , it is mostly greyish-brown to grey, with whitish sides. Sexes can be told apart by the presence of the

  femoral glands

  (bulbous glands near the inner thigh) in males.

  The species is endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range of India, where it is found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Adults inhabit fast-moving forest streams at elevations of up to 900 m (3,000 ft) and have highly specific habitat requirements. Adults are mostly found in or near water and are nocturnal; subadults can be found during both the night and day. Its diet mainly consists of other frogs and insect larvae. Over a period of several days or weeks, females lay multiple small clutches of eggs on leaves and rocks overhanging water; tadpoles drop into the water below on hatching. The species is currently classified as being vulnerable on the IUCN Red List owing to its small and fragmented range and ongoing habitat degradation. Threats to the species include habitat loss, increased human presence near the streams it inhabits, and possibly nitrate pollution caused by fertiliser overuse. (Full article...)

• Image 8 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

  (

  transl. The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride

  ), also known by the

  initialism DDLJ

  , is a 1995 Indian

  Hindi

  -language

  musical romance film

  written and directed by

  Aditya Chopra

  in his directorial debut and produced by his father

  Yash Chopra

  . The film stars

  Shah Rukh Khan

  and

  Kajol

  as Raj and Simran, two young

  non-resident Indians

  , who fall in love during a vacation through

  Europe

  with their friends. Raj tries to win over Simran's family so the couple can marry, but Simran's father has long since promised her hand to his friend's son. The film was shot in India,

  London

  , and

  Switzerland

  , from September 1994 to August 1995.

  With an estimated total gross of ₹102.5 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹524 crore), with ₹89 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹455 crore) earned in India and ₹13.50 crore (today's adjusted gross ₹69 crore) in overseas, the film was the highest-grossing Indian film of 1995 and one of the most successful Indian films in history. When adjusted for inflation, it is the second highest-grossing Indian film of the 1990s, behind Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! It won 10 Filmfare Awards—the most for a single film at that time—and the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Its soundtrack album became one of the most popular of the 1990s. (Full article...)

• Image 9
  India

  , officially the

  Republic of India

  , is a country in

  South Asia

  . It is the

  seventh-largest country by area

  ; the

  most populous country

  since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the

  Indian Ocean

  on the south, the

  Arabian Sea

  on the southwest, and the

  Bay of Bengal

  on the southeast, it shares land borders with

  Pakistan

  to the west;

  China

  ,

  Nepal

  , and

  Bhutan

  to the north; and

  Bangladesh

  and

  Myanmar

  to the east. In the

  Indian Ocean

  , India is near

  Sri Lanka

  and the

  Maldives

  ; its

  Andaman and Nicobar Islands

  share a

  maritime border

  with

  Thailand

  ,

  Myanmar

  , and

  Indonesia

  .

  Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, predominantly in isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse. Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest. Its hymns recorded the early dawnings of Hinduism in India. India's pre-existing Dravidian languages were supplanted in the northern regions. By 400 BCE, caste had emerged within Hinduism, and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit Maurya and Gupta Empires. Widespread creativity suffused this era, but the status of women declined, and untouchability became an organized belief. In South India, the Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian language scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of Southeast Asia. (Full article...)

• Image 10 Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD FRS FBA FSA

  (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British

  archaeologist

  and officer in the

  British Army

  . Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the

  National Museum of Wales

  and

  London Museum

  , Director-General of the

  Archaeological Survey of India

  , and the founder and Honorary Director of the

  Institute of Archaeology

  in

  London

  , in addition to writing twenty-four books on archaeological subjects.

  Born in Glasgow to a middle-class family, Wheeler was raised largely in Yorkshire before moving to London in his teenage years. After studying classics at University College London (UCL), he began working professionally in archaeology, specialising in the Romano-British period. During World War I he volunteered for service in the Royal Artillery, being stationed on the Western Front, where he rose to the rank of major and was awarded the Military Cross. Returning to Britain, he obtained his doctorate from UCL before taking on a position at the National Museum of Wales, first as Keeper of Archaeology and then as Director, during which time he oversaw excavation at the Roman forts of Segontium, Y Gaer, and Isca Augusta with the aid of his first wife, Tessa Wheeler. Influenced by the archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers, Wheeler argued that excavation and the recording of stratigraphic context required an increasingly scientific and methodical approach, developing the "Wheeler method". In 1926, he was appointed Keeper of the London Museum; there, he oversaw a reorganisation of the collection, successfully lobbied for increased funding, and began lecturing at UCL. (Full article...)

• Image 11
  Tiruchirappalli

  (

  Tamil pronunciation: [ˈt̪iɾɯtːʃiɾapːaɭːi] ^ⓘ

  ), also known as

  Trichy

  , is a major

  tier II city

  in the

  Indian state

  of

  Tamil Nadu

  and the administrative headquarters of

  Tiruchirappalli district

  . The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of Tamil Nadu, as well as the fifth safest city for women in India. It is the fourth largest

  urban agglomeration

  in the state. Located 322 kilometres (200 mi) south of

  Chennai

  and 374 kilometres (232 mi) north of

  Kanyakumari

  , Tiruchirappalli sits almost at the geographic centre of Tamil Nadu. The

  Cauvery Delta

  begins 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of the city where the

  Kaveri river

  splits into two, forming the island of

  Srirangam

  which is now incorporated into the

  Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation

  . The city occupies an area of 167.23 square kilometres (64.57 sq mi) and had a population of 916,857 in 2011.

  Tiruchirappalli's recorded history begins under Chola rule in the 3rd century BC. The city has also been ruled by the Pallavas, Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the British. The most prominent historical monuments in Tiruchirappalli include the Rockfort at Teppakulam, the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam dedicated to the reclining form of Hindu God Vishnu, and is also the largest functioning temple in the world, and the Jambukeswarar temple at Thiruvanaikaval, which is also the largest temple for the Hindu God Shiva in the world. The archaeologically important town of Uraiyur, capital of the Early Cholas, is now a neighbourhood in Tiruchirappalli. The city played a critical role in the Carnatic Wars (1746–1763) between the British and the French East India companies. (Full article...)

• Image 12
  
  Ganesha

  or

  Ganesh

  (

  Sanskrit

  :

  गणेश

  ,

  IAST

  :

  Gaṇeśa

  ,

  IPA: [ɡɐˈɳeːɕɐ]

  ), also known as

  Ganapati

  ,

  Vinayaka

  and

  Pillaiyar

  , is one of the best-known and most worshipped

  deities

  in the

  Hindu pantheon

  and is the Supreme God in the

  Ganapatya

  sect. His depictions are found throughout

  India

  .

  Hindu denominations

  worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends

  to Jains and Buddhists

  and beyond India.

  Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning. Several texts relate anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits. (Full article...)

• Image 13
  
  Kangna Amardeep Ranaut

  (

  pronounced [kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ]

  ; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker, and politician serving as a

  Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

  from

  Mandi

  since June 2024. Known for her portrayals of strong-willed, unconventional women in female-led

  Hindi films

  , she is the recipient of

  several awards

  , including four

  National Film Awards

  and four

  Filmfare Awards

  , and has featured six times in

  Forbes India's Celebrity 100

  list. In 2020, the

  Government of India

  honoured her with the

  Padma Shri

  , the country's fourth-highest civilian award.

  At the age of sixteen, Ranaut briefly took up modelling before being trained in acting under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She made her film debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster, for which she was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe... (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion (2008). For the last of these, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) but was criticised for being typecast in neurotic parts. A comic role in Tanu Weds Manu (2011) was well-received, though this was followed by a series of brief, glamorous roles. (Full article...)

• Image 15 Virupaksha temple at Hampi, the sacred centre at Vijayanagara, the royal capital
  Vijayanagara literature in Kannada

  is the body of literature composed in the

  Kannada language

  of

  South India

  during the ascendancy of the

  Vijayanagara Empire

  which lasted from the 14th through the 16th century. The Vijayanagara empire was established in 1336 by

  Harihara I

  and his brother

  Bukka Raya I

  . Although it lasted until 1664, its power declined after a major military defeat by the Shahi Sultanates in the

  battle of Talikota

  in 1565. The empire is named after its capital city

  Vijayanagara

  , whose ruins surround modern

  Hampi

  , now a

  World Heritage Site

  in Karnataka.

  Kannada literature during this period consisted of writings relating to the socio-religious developments of the Veerashaiva and Vaishnava faiths, and to a lesser extent to that of Jainism. Writing on secular topics was popular throughout this period. Authorship of these writings was not limited to poets and scholars alone. Significant literary contributions were made by members of the royal family, their ministers, army commanders of rank, nobility and the various subordinate rulers. In addition, a vast body of devotional folk literature was written by musical bards, mystics and saint-poets, influencing society in the empire. Writers of this period popularised use of the native metres: shatpadi (six-line verse), sangatya (compositions meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument), and tripadi (three-line verse). (Full article...)

• Image 16 Core area of Western Chalukya architectural activity in modern Karnataka state, India
  Western Chalukya architecture

  , also known as

  Kalyani Chalukya

  or

  Later Chalukya

  architecture and broadly classified under the

  Vesara Style

  , is the distinctive style of ornamented architecture that evolved during the rule of the

  Western Chalukya Empire

  in the

  Tungabhadra

  region of modern central

  Karnataka

  , India, during the 11th and 12th centuries. Western Chalukyan political influence was at its peak in the

  Deccan Plateau

  during this period. The centre of cultural and temple-building activity lay in the Tungabhadra region, where large medieval workshops built numerous monuments. These monuments, regional variants of pre-existing

  dravida

  (South Indian) temples, form a climax to the wider regional temple architecture tradition called

  Vesara

  or

  Karnata dravida

  . Temples of all sizes built by the Chalukyan architects during this era remain today as examples of the architectural style.

  Most notable of the many buildings dating from this period are the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in the Koppal district, the Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi in the Gadag district, the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti in the Bellary district and the Kallesvara Temple at Bagali in the Davangere district. Other monuments notable for their craftsmanship include the Kaitabheshvara Temple in Kubatur and Kedareshvara Temple in Balligavi, both in the Shimoga district, the Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri in the Haveri district, the Amrtesvara Temple at Annigeri in the Dharwad district, the Sarasvati Temple in Gadag, and the Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal, both in the Gadag district. (Full article...)

• Image 17
  Reginald Heber

  (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English

  Anglican

  bishop, a man of letters, and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as

  Bishop of Calcutta

  until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich landowner and

  cleric

  , Heber gained fame at the

  University of Oxford

  as a poet. After graduation he made an extended tour of Scandinavia, Russia and Central Europe. Ordained in 1807, he took over his father's old parish,

  Hodnet, Shropshire

  . He also wrote hymns and general literature, including a study of the works of the 17th-century

  cleric Jeremy Taylor

  .

  He was consecrated Bishop of Calcutta in October 1823. He travelled widely and worked to improve the spiritual and general living conditions of his flock. Arduous duties, a hostile climate and poor health led to his collapse and death after less than three years in India. Memorials were erected there and in St Paul's Cathedral, London. A collection of his hymns appeared soon after his death. "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty" remains popular for Trinity Sunday, while "Brightest and Best" is frequently sung during Epiphany. (Full article...)

• Image 18 Gemini

  (

  ) is a 2002 Indian

  Tamil

  -language

  crime action film

  written and directed by

  Saran

  with Pon Elango as assistant director. This film was produced by

  AVM Productions

  . The film stars

  Vikram

  in the main lead role, while

  Kiran Rathod

  ,

  Murali

  ,

  Kalabhavan Mani

  ,

  Vinu Chakravarthy

  ,

  Manorama

  and

  Thennavan

  portray significant roles. Based on gang wars in

  Chennai

  , the film delves into the lives of outlaws and the roles the police and society play in their rehabilitation and acceptance.

  In early 2001, rival gangsters "Vellai" Ravi and Chera reformed themselves with the patronage of a police officer. Saran was inspired by this incident and scripted a story based on it. Production began shortly afterwards in December the same year and was completed by March 2002. The film was shot mainly at the AVM Studios in Chennai, while two song sequences were filmed in Switzerland. The film had cinematography by A. Venkatesh and editing by Suresh Urs while the soundtrack was scored by Bharadwaj. (Full article...)

• Image 19 Andha Naal

  (

  pronounced [an̪da naːɭ] transl. That Day

  ) is a 1954 Indian

  Tamil

  -language

  mystery

  -

  thriller

  film, produced by

  A. V. Meiyappan

  and directed by

  S. Balachander

  . It is the first

  film noir

  in

  Tamil cinema

  , and the first Tamil film to be made without songs, dance, or stunt sequences. Set in the

  milieu of World War II

  , the story is about the killing of a radio engineer Rajan (

  Sivaji Ganesan

  ). The suspects are Rajan's wife Usha (

  Pandari Bai

  ), the neighbour Chinnaiya Pillai (

  P. D. Sambandam

  ), Rajan's brother Pattabi (

  T. K. Balachandran

  ), Rajan's sister-in-law Hema (Menaka), and Rajan's mistress Ambujam (K. Sooryakala). Each one's account of the incident points to a new suspect.

  Balachander watched Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950) at a film festival, was inspired by it and wrote a play in the same narrative style, but the script was rejected by All India Radio; Meiyappan later agreed to produce it as the film that would later be titled Andha Naal under AVM Productions. The screenplay was written by Javar Seetharaman, who also played a prominent role as an investigative officer in the film. The cinematography was handled by S. Maruti Rao, and the background score was composed by AVM's own music troupe, Saraswathy Stores Orchestra. The film was shorter than most contemporaneous Tamil films. It was the only film directed by Balachander for AVM. (Full article...)

• Image 21

  The

  red panda

  (

  Ailurus fulgens

  ), also known as the

  lesser panda

  , is a small

  mammal

  native to the

  eastern Himalayas

  and

  southwestern China

  . It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is 51–63.5 cm (20.1–25.0 in) with a 28–48.5 cm (11.0–19.1 in) tail, and it weighs between 3.2 and 15 kg (7.1 and 33.1 lb). It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws.

  The red panda was formally described in 1825. The two recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping bamboo. The evolutionary lineage of the red panda (Ailuridae) stretches back around 25 to 18 million years ago, as indicated by extinct fossil relatives found in Eurasia and North America. (Full article...)

• Image 22

  The

  44th Chess Olympiad

  was an international team chess event organised by the

  International Chess Federation

  (FIDE) in

  Chennai

  , India, from 28 July to 10 August 2022. It consisted of two main tournaments—an Open event, enabling participation of players from all genders, and a Women's event, enabling participation of female players only—as well as several events to promote

  chess

  . The Olympiad was initially supposed to take place in

  Khanty-Mansiysk

  , Russia, the host of the

  Chess World Cup 2019

  , in August 2020, but it was later moved to

  Moscow

  . However, it was postponed due to the

  COVID-19 pandemic

  and then relocated to Chennai following

  Russia's invasion of Ukraine

  . This was the first

  Chess Olympiad

  to take place in India.

  The total number of participants was 1,737: 937 in the Open and 800 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 188 from 186 nations in the Open section and 162 from 160 nations in the Women's section; being the host nation, India had three teams participating in each section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was the convention centre at the Four Points by Sheraton, while the opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Chief Arbiter of the event was France's Laurent Freyd. (Full article...)

• Image 24
  
  Victoria

  (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was

  Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

  from 20 June 1837 until

  her death

  in January 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was

  longer than those of any of her predecessors

  , constituted the

  Victorian era

  . It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the

  United Kingdom

  , and was marked by a great expansion of the

  British Empire

  . In 1876, the

  British parliament

  voted to grant her the additional title of

  Empress of India

  .

  Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was raised under close supervision by her mother and her comptroller, John Conroy. She inherited the throne aged 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. Victoria, a constitutional monarch, attempted privately to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality. (Full article...)

• Image 25 Nil Battey Sannata

  (

  lit. 'Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing'

  ; slang for "Good for Nothing"), released internationally as

  The New Classmate

  , is a 2015 Indian

  Hindi

  -language

  comedy drama

  film directed by

  Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

  in her feature debut. Produced by

  Aanand L. Rai

  , Ajay Rai, and Alan McAlex under the banners of

  Colour Yellow Productions

  and

  JAR Pictures

  , the film was co-written by Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary, and

  Nitesh Tiwari

  .

  Swara Bhaskar

  starred as Chanda Sahay, a high-school drop-out household maid and single mother of a sullen young girl named Apeksha, played by

  Riya Shukla

  . The film's theme is a person's right to dream and change their lives, irrespective of social status.

  Released in India on 22 April 2016, Nil Battey Sannata was distributed by Eros International and garnered critical and audience acclaim. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, especially its narrative and realism, and the performances of the cast, Bhaskar's in particular. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Iyer won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director, while Bhaskar and Shukla won the Screen Awards for Best Actress (Critics) and Best Child Artist respectively. The film did well at the box-office, collecting a total of around ₹69 million (US$820,000) during its entire theatrical run. The same year, the film was remade in Tamil as Amma Kanakku, with Iyer returning to direct. The following year, it was remade in Malayalam as Udaharanam Sujatha. (Full article...)

• Image 1 Papilio polymnestor

  , the blue Mormon, is a species of

  swallowtail butterfly

  found in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a woodland species, often seen on forest paths and near streams. The larvae feed on trees in the family

  Rutaceae

  , such as citrus. Young larvae are green with white markings and position themselves on the upper surface of leaves, relying on their

  cryptic

  colouring, which resembles bird droppings, for protection. Older larvae seek less conspicuous locations, and have a unique habit of securing their balance by weaving silk on the

  substratum

  . This adult male

  P. polymnestor

  butterfly was photographed in the Indian state of

  Kerala

  .

• Image 4 Murugan

  , also known as

  Kartikeya

  , is the

  Hindu war god

  , worshiped particularly by

  Tamil

  Hindus. Murugan has a peacock as a

  mount

  and is often depicted with six heads and twelve arms holding a variety of weapons. His consorts, pictured here, are

  Valli

  and

  Deivayanai

  .

• Image 7 Arundhati Roy

  (b. 1961) is an Indian author and political activist who won the 1997

  Man Booker Prize

  with her debut novel

  The God of Small Things

  . Born in

  Shillong

  ,

  Meghalaya

  , Roy wrote several screenplays in the late 1980s after meeting (and later marrying) director

  Pradip Krishen

  . She wrote

  The God of Small Things

  over a four-year period ending in 1996; it was published the following year and received positive international reviews, although in India the work was controversial. She has continued to write essays and articles, but has yet to publish another novel.

• Image 8

  A fire breather in the "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band" of

  India

  .

  Fire breathing

  , which is said to have originated in India, is the act of creating a large

  flame

  by spraying, with one's mouth, a

  flammable liquid

  upon an open flame. A number of

  legendary creatures

  are said to possess innate capabilities for fire breathing, most notably

  dragons

  .

• Image 9 Bangles

  on display in

  Bangalore

  , India. These rigid

  bracelets

  are usually made from metal, wood, or plastic and are traditionally worn by women in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In India, it is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her

  wedding

  and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks.

• Image 10

  A

  potter

  at work in Jaura,

  Madhya Pradesh

  , India. Pottery, defined by

  ASTM International

  as "all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products", originated during the

  Neolithic

  period.

• Image 11

  The

  Dharmaraya Swamy Temple

  is one of the oldest temples in

  Bangalore

  , India. It is thought to be more than 800 years old and is built in the

  Dravidian style

  , with a

  gopuram

  , an ornate monumental entrance tower. Gods worshipped here include

  Dharmaraya

  ,

  Krishna

  ,

  Arjuna

  ,

  Draupadi

  and

  Bhima

  .

  The Karaga festival starts from the temple each year; the festival is dedicated to Draupadi, the most important female character in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Starting at midnight, a priest dressed as a woman carries an earthen pot filled with water and adorned with decorations several feet high on his head in procession through the town, preceded by hundreds of bare-chested, dhoti-clad, turbaned Veerakumaras bearing unsheathed swords.

• Image 12

  A

  map

  of

  Network of National Highways

  in

  India

  , including

  NHDP

  projects up to phase IIIB, which is due to be completed by December 2012. The National Highways are the main long-distance roadways and constitute a total of about 58,000 km (36,250 mi), of which 4,885 km (3,053 mi) are central-separated

  expressways

  . Highways in India are around 2% of the total road network in India, but carry nearly 40% of the total road traffic.

• Image 13 Pigments

  for sale at a market stall in

  Goa

  ,

  India

  . Many pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry

  colourants

  , ground into a fine powder. This powder is then added to a vehicle or matrix, a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a

  binder

  , before it is applied. Unlike a

  dye

  , a pigment generally is

  insoluble

  .

• Image 15 Danaus genutia

  , also known as the common tiger or striped tiger, is a species of butterfly found throughout India as well as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South-East Asia and Australia. It is a member of the

  Danainae

  group of

  brush-footed butterflies

  . Both sexes have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands, and the male has a pouch on its hindwing. The butterfly is found in scrub jungles, fallow land adjacent to habitation, and deciduous forests, preferring areas of moderate to heavy rainfall. Its most common food plants in peninsular India are small herbs, twiners and creepers from the family

  Asclepiadaceae

  . The caterpillar of

  D. genutia

  obtains poison by eating poisonous plants, which make the caterpillar and butterfly taste unpleasant to predators. It has some 16

  subspecies

  and although its evolutionary relationships are not completely resolved, it appears to be most closely related to the

  Malay tiger

  (

  D. affinis

  ) and the white tiger.

• Image 1

  The

  Padma Bhushan

  is the third-highest

  civilian award

  of the

  Republic of India

  . Instituted on 2

   

  January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a

  Sanad

  , a certificate signed by the

  President of India

  and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on

  Republic Day

  (26

   

  January) and registered in

  The Gazette of India

  —a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the

  Ministry of Urban Development

  . The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the

  Gazette

  . The name of recipient, whose award have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register; none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 1970–1979 have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the

  state and the union territory governments

  , as well as from

  Ministries of the Government of India

  , the

  Bharat Ratna

  and the

  Padma Vibhushan awardees

  , the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the

  Chief Ministers

  and the

  Governors of State

  , and the

  Members of Parliament

  including private individuals.

  When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16-inch (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards. (Full article...)

• Image 2 Priyanka Chopra won several awards, including the National and Filmfare awards for Best Actress for her performance in Fashion
  Fashion

  is a 2008

  Indian

  drama film directed by

  Madhur Bhandarkar

  and produced by

  UTV Motion Pictures

  . The film features

  Priyanka Chopra

  in the lead role, with

  Kangana Ranaut

  ,

  Mugdha Godse

  ,

  Arbaaz Khan

  and

  Arjan Bajwa

  in supporting roles as well as several professional fashion models playing themselves. Bhandarkar co-wrote the film with

  Ajay Monga

  and

  Anuraadha Tewari

  . Deven Murdeshwar edited the film while the cinematography was provided by Mahesh Limaye.

  Salim–Sulaiman

  composed the musical score, with lyrics written by Irfan Siddiqui and Sandeep Nath. The film focuses on the transformation of Meghna Mathur, an aspiring fashion model played by Chopra, from a small-town girl to a supermodel in the Indian fashion industry.

  Produced on a budget of ₹180 million (US$2.1 million), Fashion was released on 29 October 2008 to critical acclaim and box-office success. It grossed ₹600 million (US$7.1 million) and was noted for being commercially successful despite being a women-centric film with no male lead. Fashion received various awards and nominations, with praise for its direction, the performance of the cast, screenplay, editing, musical score, and costume design. (Full article...)

• Image 3

  The

  Punjab Legislative Assembly

  is the

  unicameral

  state legislature of

  Punjab

  state in

  North India

  . The seat of the

  Legislative Assembly

  is at

  Chandigarh

  , the capital of the state. It is housed within the

  Chandigarh Capitol Complex

  , a World Heritage Site designed by

  Le Corbusier

  . The term of the assembly is five years, unless it is dissolved early. Since 1977, it has had 117 members who are directly elected, from single-seat constituencies.

  Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have been given reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for SCs and STs. The 2011 census of India stated that there were no people of any Scheduled Tribes in Punjab, while the Scheduled Castes constitute a significant portion of the population of the state, at 31.9%. The Scheduled Castes have been granted a reservation of 34 seats in the assembly. (Full article...)

• Image 4 Kapil Dev is India's third highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
  Kapil Dev

  is a former

  Test

  and

  One Day International

  (ODI) cricketer who represented

  India

  between 1978 and 1994. He took 24

  five-wicket hauls

  during his international career. In cricket, a five-wicket haul—also known as a five-for or fifer—refers to a

  bowler

  taking five or more

  wickets

  in a single

  innings

  . This is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of October 2024

  ^[update]

  , only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. A right-arm

  fast bowler

  , Kapil Dev took 434 wickets in Test cricket and 253 in ODIs. With 23 five-wicket hauls in Tests, he has the third highest number of international five-wicket hauls among Indian cricketers as of 2012, after

  Anil Kumble

  and

  Harbhajan Singh

  . Kapil Dev was named by the

  Wisden

  as

  one of their Cricketers of the Year

  in 1983 and Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Eight years later, the

  International Cricket Council

  (ICC) inducted him into the

  ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

  . As of 2012, Kapil Dev also holds the record for being the only player to have taken more than 400 wickets and scored over 5,000 runs in Tests.

  Kapil Dev made his Test and ODI debuts against Pakistan, both in 1978. His first five-wicket haul came a year later against England during the first Test of India's tour. His career-best bowling figures in an innings of nine for 83 was achieved in 1983 against the West Indies in Ahmedabad. In Tests, Kapil Dev was most successful against Pakistan and Australia, with seven five-wicket hauls against each of them. He took his only five-wicket haul in ODIs against Australia during the 1983 Cricket World Cup. (Full article...)

• Image 5

  The

  Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly

  or the

  Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha

  is the

  unicameral

  state legislature of

  Madhya Pradesh

  state in

  India

  . It is housed in the

  Vidhan Bhavan

  , a building located at the center of the Capital Complex, in the Arera Hill locality of

  Bhopal

  , the capital of the state. The term of the assembly is five years, unless it is dissolved early. Since 2001, it has had 230 members who are directly elected, from single-seat constituencies.

  Since the independence of India, the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) have been given reservation status, guaranteeing political representation, and the Constitution lays down the general principles of positive discrimination for SCs and STs. The 2011 census of India stated that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes constitute a significant portion of the population of the state, at 15.6% and 21.1%, respectively. The Scheduled Tribes have been granted a reservation of 47 seats in the assembly, while 35 constituencies are reserved for candidates of the Scheduled Castes. (Full article...)

• Image 6 Mukerji in 2021

  Hindi film actress Rani Mukerji made her screen debut in Biyer Phool (1996), a Bengali film directed by her father Ram Mukherjee. Her first leading role was that of a rape victim in the 1996 social drama Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat. In 1998 she received wider recognition for her role alongside Aamir Khan in the action film Ghulam, and had her breakthrough as the romantic interest of Shah Rukh Khan's character in the romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The latter earned Mukerji her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. She followed this by playing the leading lady in several films, including Hello Brother (1999) and Nayak: The Real Hero (2001), none of which helped propel her career forward.

  Mukerji's career prospects improved in 2002 when she starred in Yash Raj Films' Saathiya, a romantic drama that gained her a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. For her roles in the 2004 romantic comedy Hum Tum and the composite drama Yuva, Mukerji became the only actress to win both the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, in the same year. Also that year, she starred in Veer-Zaara—the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. In 2005, she received praise for portraying a blind, deaf and mute woman in the drama Black, and played a con woman in the crime comedy film Bunty Aur Babli. For her performance in Black, she was awarded the Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics) trophies at Filmfare. The following year, she played an unhappily married woman in the drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna — the top-grossing Bollywood film in overseas at that point. (Full article...)

• Image 7 Mani Ratnam

  is an Indian filmmaker who works predominantly in

  Tamil cinema

  . Regarded as one of the greatest Indian filmmakers, he is credited with redefining the "range and depth of Tamil cinema". As of 2025, he has directed 29 films, and produced over 15 under his production company

  Madras Talkies

  .

  Mani Ratnam made his directorial debut, without formal training or education in filmmaking, with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983). The critically acclaimed film, which he also wrote, won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay. Then he entered Malayalam film industry with Unaroo, which was based on then prevailing trade union politics. His first Tamil film Pagal Nilavu (1985) was a commercial failure, but immediately followed Idaya Kovil (1985) found theatrical success. The following year, he made the romantic drama Mouna Ragam, which narrated the story of a young woman who is forced into an arranged marriage by her family. The critical and commercial success of the film established him as a leading filmmaker in Tamil cinema. His next release Nayakan, starring Kamal Haasan, was inspired by the life of the Bombay-based gangster Varadarajan Mudaliar. The film was submitted by India as its official entry for the 60th Academy Awards. Later in 2005, Nayakan was included in Time's "All-Time 100 Movies" list. Mani Ratnam followed this with the tragic romance Geethanjali (1989), which marked his Telugu cinema debut; the tragedy Anjali (1990), which narrated the story of an autistic child; and the crime drama Thalapathi (1991), loosely adapted from the Indian epic Mahabharata. In 1992, he made the romantic thriller Roja for Kavithalayaa Productions. The film was dubbed into many Indian languages, including Hindi, and its widespread success brought national recognition to Mani Ratnam. Three years later, he made Bombay (1995), which was based on the 1992–93 Bombay riots. Although controversial for its depiction of religious riots, the film met with wide critical acclaim and became commercially successful in India. (Full article...)

• Image 8
  Vijay

  garnered several awards and nominations for his performance as a father and his two sons in

  Mersal

  .

  
  Mersal

  (

  transl. Zapped

  ) is a 2017 Indian

  vigilante action film

  directed by

  Atlee Kumar

  , who co-wrote the screenplay with

  V. Vijayendra Prasad

  and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced by N. Ramasamy and Hema Rukmani under the banner of

  Thenandal Studio Limited

  ,

  Mersal

  features

  Vijay

  in triple roles for the first time in his career.

  S. J. Surya

  ,

  Kajal Aggarwal

  ,

  Nithya Menen

  and

  Samantha Akkineni

  play the other lead roles while

  Vadivelu

  ,

  Kovai Sarala

  and

  Sathyaraj

  feature as supporting characters.

  A. R. Rahman

  composed the film's soundtrack, while also handling the background score along with

  Qutub-E-Kripa

  .

  Ruben

  and

  G. K. Vishnu

  were in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively. The film follows two brothers, Vetri (Vijay), a renowned magician, and Maaran (Vijay), a doctor who charges meagre amounts for his patients, who try to expose the corrupt dealings and medical crimes of another doctor, Daniel Arockiaraj (Surya), who also happens to be the same person that killed their parents, Vetrimaaran (Vijay) and Aishwarya (Menen).

  Produced on a budget of ₹1.2 billion (about US$17.5 million in 2017), Mersal was released on 18 October 2017 and received positive reviews. It was also a commercial success, grossing ₹2.6 billion (about US$39.3 million in 2017) worldwide. The film won 35 awards from 57 nominations; its direction, screenplay, music and Vijay's performances received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)

• Image 9 Rai Bachchan in 2023
  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

  is an Indian actress who has appeared in 48 films in five languages, predominantly in

  Hindi

  and

  Tamil

  . She made her acting debut in 1997 with dual role in

  Mani Ratnam

  's

  Tamil

  political drama film

  Iruvar

  , and her

  Bollywood

  debut that same year in the romantic comedy

  Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya

  opposite

  Bobby Deol

  . Rai followed it with a leading role in

  Jeans

  (1998), a high-profile Tamil film that was submitted as

  India's official entry to the Academy Awards

  . She won the

  Filmfare Award for Best Actress

  for her breakthrough role in

  Sanjay Leela Bhansali

  's romantic drama

  Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

  and starred as a singer in the musical drama

  Taal

  (both 1999).

  Rai had six film releases in 2000, including Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, and Aditya Chopra's romantic drama Mohabbatein. In 2002, Rai starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Bhansali's period romance Devdas, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. Her performance in the top-grossing production earned her a second Best Actress award at Filmfare. In 2003, Rai played a sexually repressed widow in Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Chokher Bali, a sleeper hit. However, the failure of her two Hindi film releases of the year—Dil Ka Rishta and Kuch Naa Kaho—led to a setback in her Bollywood career. The following year, Rai played a character based on Elizabeth Bennet in a Bollywood-style adaptation of Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, entitled Bride and Prejudice, a British production directed by Gurinder Chadha. Also in 2004, she reunited with Ghosh to play an unhappily married woman in the drama Raincoat. (Full article...)

• Image 12 Tandon in 2020

  Raveena Tandon is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films. She made her acting debut in the 1991 action film Patthar Ke Phool, which earned her the Filmfare Award for New Face of the Year. This was followed by a series of unsuccessful films including Ek Hi Raasta and Parampara (both 1993). In 1994, she appeared in eight Hindi films, most of them were commercial successes. Among these were two of the top-grossing films – the romantic musical drama Dilwale and the action drama Mohra. The success of the latter marked a turning point in her career, establishing Tandon as a leading actress in Hindi cinema. The same year, her performance in the drama Laadla, earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other film was the comedy Andaz Apna Apna, which though initially a box office disappointment, attained cult status over the years.

  Tandon subsequently played leading roles in the action thrillers Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Ziddi (1997). Both films were among the highest grossing Bollywood films of their respective years. In 1998, she starred opposite Govinda in the commercially successful comedies Dulhe Raja, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Tandon had five film releases in 1999. While the comedy Anari No.1 was a commercial success, her other four releases that year performed poorly at the box office. Nevertheless, she received praise for her performance in the crime drama Shool. (Full article...)

• Image 13 Padmaavat

  is a 2018 Indian

  Hindi

  -language

  epic period drama

  film directed and produced by

  Sanjay Leela Bhansali

  . The film stars

  Deepika Padukone

  as

  Rani Padmavati

  ,

  Shahid Kapoor

  as

  Maharawal Ratan Singh

  and

  Ranveer Singh

  as

  Sultan Alauddin Khilji

  and features

  Aditi Rao Hydari

  ,

  Jim Sarbh

  ,

  Raza Murad

  , and

  Anupriya Goenka

  in supporting roles. The film's screenplay was written by Bhansali and Prakash Kapadia. Bhansali also composed the soundtrack of the film, with lyrics written by

  A. M. Turaz

  , Siddharth-Garima and

  Swaroop Khan

  . The

  original score

  of the film is composed by

  Sanchit Balhara

  .

  Padmaavat

  was edited by Rajesh G. Pandey while

  Sudeep Chatterjee

  is its cinematographer. Set in

  medieval Rajasthan

  in 1303 AD, Queen Padmavati of

  Mewar

  is married to a noble king and they live in a prosperous fortress with their subjects until an ambitious Sultan hears of Padmavati's beauty and becomes obsessed with having her.

  Made on a budget of ₹2.15 billion (US$25 million), Padmaavat was released on 25 January 2018 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D formats, making it the first Indian film to be released in IMAX 3D. Despite not being released in some states of India, it grossed over ₹5.85 billion (US$69 million) at the box office, becoming a commercial success and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. The film won 25 awards from 68 nominations; its music, and the performance of Singh have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)

• Image 14 Virender Sehwag has represented Delhi Daredevils in 86 matches.

  The Delhi Capitals are a franchise cricket team based in Delhi, India, and are one of the teams participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Capitals played their first match in the first season of the IPL against the Rajasthan Royals. The Capitals reached the IPL playoffs three times, and have topped the group stage table twice. Their performances in the competition have resulted in their qualification for the 2009 and 2012 Champions League Twenty20, in which they reached the semi-finals on the second occasion. In total, 108 players have played for the Capitals, of whom Rishabh Pant has played the most matches: 111 since his debut for the franchise in 2016.

  The leading run-scorer for the Capitals is Rishabh Pant with 3,284 runs. Rishabh Pant's innings of 128 not out against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 is the highest individual score in an innings by a Capitals batsman. David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan both have scored two centuries each for the Capitals, whereas Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Kevin Pietersen, Quinton de Kock, Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant have scored one each. Albie Morkel has the team's best batting average: 86.00, though among batters who has scored more than 1,000 runs, JP Duminy has the best average with 44.13. Among Capitals's bowlers, Amit Mishra has taken more wickets than any other, with 106. The best bowling average is Tristan Stubbs's 5.00, though among bowlers who have bowled more than 20 overs, Farveez Maharoof has the best average with 19.26. Mishra has the best bowling figures in an innings: he got a five wicket haul against the Deccan Chargers in a 2008 match, while conceding only 17 runs. Rishabh Pant has taken the most catches as wicket-keeper for the Capitals, with 75, while also making the most stumpings: 23. Axar Patel has claimed the highest number of catches among fielders, taking 47. (Full article...)

• Image 15 Kaththi

  (

  transl. Knife

  ) is a 2014 Indian

  Tamil

  -language

  action film

  written and directed by

  AR Murugadoss

  . The film stars

  Vijay

  and

  Samantha Ruth Prabhu

  while

  Sathish

  ,

  Neil Nitin Mukesh

  and

  Tota Roy Chowdhury

  play supporting roles. The film focuses on the attempts made by a petty thief Kathiresan (Vijay), the

  look-alike

  of a jailed

  hydrology

  graduate Jeevanandham (Vijay), to lead a rebellion by farmers from the latter's village, Thanoothu. Kathiresan helps them fight against Chirag (Mukesh), the owner of a

  soft drink

  company who has exploited Thanoothu's water resources for his own profit. Produced by

  Allirajah Subaskaran

  and K. Karunamoorthy under their production company

  Lyca Productions

  , the soundtrack and score were composed by

  Anirudh Ravichander

  .

  George C. Williams

  and

  A. Sreekar Prasad

  were in charge of the cinematography and editing respectively.

  Produced on a budget of ₹700 million, Kaththi was released on 22 October 2014 to critical acclaim. It was commercially successful, grossing ₹1.3 billion worldwide. The film won 14 awards from 33 nominations; its direction, story, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, choreography and stunt direction have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)

• Image 16 Kashyap attending the Rome Film Festival in 2007.
  Anurag Kashyap

  is an Indian filmmaker and actor, known for his work in Hindi cinema. After writing a television series

  Kabhie Kabhie

  (1997), Kashyap co-wrote

  Ram Gopal Varma

  's crime drama

  Satya

  (1998). He later wrote and directed a short television film,

  Last Train to Mahakali

  (1999), and made his feature film debut with the yet-unreleased film

  Paanch

  . He next directed

  Black Friday

  (2007), a film on the

  1993 Bombay bombings

  . Its release was barred by India's

  Censor Board

  for two years, but was eventually released in 2007 to positive reviews. The same year, he directed the critical and commercial failure

  No Smoking

  .

  Return of Hanuman

  (2007), an animated film, was Kashyap's next directorial venture. In 2009, he directed

  Dev.D

  , a modern-day take on

  Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

  's

  Bengali

  novel

  Devdas

  , along with the political drama

  Gulaal

  . Despite positive reviews, the latter was a box-office failure.

  Kashyap's production company Anurag Kashyap Films released its first film Udaan (2010)—a critical success that earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Story and Best Screenplay. He then directed one of the short films in the anthology film Mumbai Cutting. After directing the thriller That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011), the two-part crime film Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) was his next release, which garnered him the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue. In 2013, he directed a short film on eve teasing titled That Day After Everyday, and directed one segment of the anthology film Bombay Talkies (2013). In 2013, he co-produced The Lunchbox, a film that was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and the biographical drama Shahid. In 2011, Kashyap started another production company Phantom Films, whose first feature was the period drama Lootera (2013). (Full article...)

• Image 17
  

  The

  Indian Navy

  currently operates twenty-five

  air squadrons

  . Of these, eleven operate fixed-wing aircraft, ten are helicopter squadrons and the remaining three are equipped with

  unmanned aerial vehicles

  (UAV). Building on the legacy inherited from the Royal Navy prior to Indian independence, the concept of

  naval aviation

  in India started with the establishment of Directorate of Naval Aviation at Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in early 1948. Later that year officers and sailors from the Indian Navy were sent to Britain for

  pilot training

  . In 1951, the Fleet Requirement Unit (FRU) was formed to meet the aviation requirements of the navy. On 1 January 1953, the charge of

  Cochin

  airfield was handed over to the navy from the

  Directorate General of Civil Aviation

  . On 11 March, the FRU was commissioned at Cochin with ten newly acquired

  Sealand

  aircraft. The navy's first air station,

  INS Garuda

  , was commissioned two months later. From February 1955 to December 1958, ten

  Firefly

  aircraft were acquired. To meet the training requirements of the pilots, the indigenously developed

  HAL HT-2

  trainer was inducted into the FRU. On 17 January 1959, the FRU was commissioned as

  Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 550

  , to be the first Indian naval air squadron. In the following two years, three more naval air squadrons—

  INAS 300

  ,

  INAS 310

  and

  INAS 551

  —were commissioned. The first two operated from the newly purchased

  aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

  flying

  Sea Hawks

  and

  Alizés

  , whereas the latter one, equipped with

  Vampires

  , was used for training purposes.

  Between 1961 and 1971, three helicopter squadrons were commissioned—INAS 321, INAS 330 and INAS 561. The first two were equipped with HAL Chetak and Sea King 42Bs for search and rescue and anti-submarine roles respectively, whereas the later one assumed a training role. In December 1971, the squadrons embarked on the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Between 1976 and 1977, INAS 312 and INAS 315 were commissioned with Super Constellation and Ilyushin Il-38s respectively. In December 1980, another helicopter squadron intended for anti-submarine warfare—INAS 333—was commissioned. It was initially equipped with Ka-25s, and with Ka-28s in late 1980s. In 1984, one patrol and one helicopter squadron—INAS 318 and INAS 336—were commissioned. The patrol squadron was initially equipped with Islander aircraft, but they were replaced by Dornier 228s in 2000. In November 1990, another Sea King squadron—INAS 339—was commissioned. Later in 1993, the Sea Kings were replaced by Ka-28s, and in 2003, Ka-31s were inducted, making it the only Indian naval air squadron for the role of airborne early warning and control. (Full article...)

• Image 18

  The

  Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh

  is the

  chief executive

  of the

  Indian

  state of

  Chhattisgarh

  . In accordance with the

  Constitution of India

  , the

  governor

  is a state's

  de jure

  head, but

  de facto

  executive authority rests with the

  chief minister

  . Following elections to the

  legislative assembly

  , the

  state's governor

  usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the

  government

  . The governor appoints the chief minister, whose

  council of ministers

  are

  collectively responsible

  to the assembly. Given the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no

  term limits

  .

  Four people have served as the state's chief minister since Chhattisgarh's formation on 1 November 2000 as a result of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. The first was Ajit Jogi of the Indian National Congress. He was succeeded in 2003 by Raman Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served three consecutive five-year terms. Third person to serve in the office was Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel ,who served from 2018 to 2023, was succeeded by Vishnudeo Sai, the current incumbent, following the resounding victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2023 elections. (Full article...)

• Image 19 Virat Kohli is one of only two players to score 4 IPL centuries in a single season. He is also one of four players to score IPL centuries in back-to-back innings, and has the most IPL centuries with 8.

  In

  cricket

  , a

  batter

  reaches a

  century

  when he scores 100

  runs

  or more in a single

  innings

  . A century is regarded as a landmark score for a batter, and his number of centuries is generally recorded in his

  career statistics

  . The

  Indian Premier League

  (IPL) is a professional league for

  Twenty20

  cricket in India, which has been held annually since its first edition in 2008. Till date, 109 centuries have been scored by 58 different batsmen, out of which 30 are Indian players and 28 are overseas players. Players from 12 of the 15

  franchises

  have scored centuries, with the three franchises that have not had a player score a century for them being

  Pune Warriors India

  ,

  Kochi Tuskers Kerala

  and

  Gujarat Lions

  . (

  Full article...

  )

• Image 20 Madras

  is a 2014 Indian

  Tamil

  -language

  drama film

  written and directed by

  Pa. Ranjith

  . It was produced by

  K. E. Gnanavel Raja

  under his production company,

  Studio Green

  . The film features

  Karthi

  and

  Catherine Tresa

  in the lead roles, with

  Kalaiyarasan

  ,

  Riythvika

  and

  Rama

  playing supporting roles. The film's story revolves around Kaali (Karthi), an impulsive and short-tempered

  IT professional

  who lives in the

  Vyasarpadi

  area of Chennai. His friend Anbu (Kalaiyarasan) is killed in the midst of a feud between two factions of a political party over a building wall at one of the housing board apartments in the area. When Kaali hears of this, he decides to avenge Anbu's death. The soundtrack and score were composed by

  Santhosh Narayanan

  while the cinematography and editing were handled by

  Murali G

  and

  Praveen K. L.

  respectively.

  Released on 26 September 2014, the film garnered generally positive reviews and was a commercial success at the box office. It was included in The Hindu's top 20 Tamil-language films of the year. The film won 24 awards from 51 nominations; its direction, screenplay, performances of the cast members, music, and cinematography have received the most attention from award groups. (Full article...)

• Image 21 Sanjay Dutt at Mumbai Airport
  Sanjay Dutt

  is an Indian actor known for his work in

  Hindi films

  as well as a few

  Telugu

  ,

  Kannada

  ,

  Tamil

  , and

  Punjabi

  films. He made his acting debut in 1981, opposite

  Tina Ambani

  , in his father

  Sunil Dutt

  's romantic action film

  Rocky

  (1981).

  Rocky

  was ranked at tenth

  highest-grossing Bollywood films of 1981

  . In 1991, Dutt appeared in

  Lawrence D'Souza

  's Indian romantic drama film

  Saajan

  (1991)

  ,

  starring alongside

  Madhuri Dixit

  and

  Salman Khan

  . For his performance, Dutt was nominated for the

  Filmfare Award for Best Actor

  . He was nominated again for the same award for his performance in

  Khalnayak

  (1993)

  .

  Dutt won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor—for portraying a young man who later becomes a gangster in

  Vaastav: The Reality

  (1999). He also received critical acclaim for his performance. Dutt next appeared in

  Vidhu Vinod Chopra

  's crime thriller film

  Mission Kashmir

  (2000).

  In 2003, Dutt appeared in Rajkumar Hirani's directorial debut: comedy-drama film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003). He played Munna Bhai, who attends medical school to obtain an MBBS degree. The film was successful at the box office, grossing ₹230 million (equivalent to ₹850 million or US$10 million in 2023) in India and ₹360 million (equivalent to ₹1.3 billion or US$16 million in 2023) worldwide. Dutt won Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role. (Full article...)

• Image 22 Eden Gardens during a day/night match

  The Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata, India. It is one of the main international cricket venues of India and often called the "Mecca of Indian cricket". It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) venue. As of 2020, the Eden Gardens has hosted more than 40 Test matches, the first of which was in January 1934 when India played the touring England team. These include the first ever day/night Test match in India which was hosted between 22 and 24 November 2019, when India played the visiting Bangladesh team. The first ODI played at the ground was between India and Pakistan on 18 February 1987. As of 2020, 30 ODIs have been played at the ground.

  The first Test century scored at the ground was in December 1948, by Everton Weekes of the West Indies. He scored 162 runs in the first innings. In the same match Syed Mushtaq Ali of India scored 106 in the fourth innings, thus becoming the first Indian to have scored a century at the Eden Gardens. To date, 77 Test centuries have been scored at the ground. VVS Laxman's 281, scored against Australia in March 2001, during the famous second test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is the highest individual Test score achieved at the ground. The highest individual Test score by an overseas player is 256, scored by Rohan Kanhai of the West Indies in December 1958. Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman have scored five Test centuries each, the highest number of Test centuries scored by an individual player at the ground. During the second Test of the India–South Africa Test series held in February 2010 at the ground, a total of seven centuries were scored between the two teams. This is the highest number of centuries scored in a single Test match at the ground. (Full article...)

• Image 23
  Haider

  is a 2014

  Indian

  crime-drama film directed by

  Vishal Bhardwaj

  , and produced by Bhardwaj and

  Siddharth Roy Kapur

  . The film stars

  Shahid Kapoor

  as the eponymous protagonist, and co-stars

  Tabu

  ,

  Kay Kay Menon

  ,

  Shraddha Kapoor

  , and

  Irrfan Khan

  . Bhardwaj wrote the dialogues for the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with

  Basharat Peer

  . Bhardwaj also composed the

  music

  and

  Gulzar

  wrote the lyrics. The film is a modern-day adaptation of

  William Shakespeare

  's tragedy

  Hamlet

  , and tells the story of Haider who searches for his missing father during the

  Kashmir conflict of 1995

  .

  Produced on a budget of ₹240 million (US$2.8 million), Haider was released on 2 October 2014, and grossed ₹690 million (US$8.2 million) worldwide. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction, performances of Shahid Kapoor and Tabu, music and production design. As of June 2015, the film has won 36 awards. (Full article...)

• Image 24
  

  The

  National Film Award for Best Direction

  is an honour presented annually at India's

  National Film Awards

  ceremony by the

  National Film Development Corporation of India

  (NFDC), an organisation set up by the Indian

  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

  . Since 1967, the award is given by a national panel appointed annually by the NFDC to a director for their work within

  Indian cinema

  . It is presented by the

  president of India

  at a ceremony held in New Delhi.

  The winner is given a "Swarna Kamal" (Golden Lotus) certificate and a cash prize of ₹3,00,000. Including ties and repeat winners, the NFDC has presented a total of 53 Best Direction awards to 34 different directors. Although Indian cinema produces films in more than twenty languages, the performances of films that have won awards are of nine languages: Bengali (16 awards), Malayalam (14 awards), Hindi (11 awards), Tamil (4 awards), English, Kannada and Marathi (3 awards each), Assamese and Punjabi (1 each). (Full article...)

• Image 25 Padukone in 2019

  Indian actress

  Deepika Padukone

  primarily appears in

  Hindi films

  . Her first screen appearance was in

  Himesh Reshammiya

  's music video "Naam Hai Tera" in 2005. Padukone made her film debut by playing the title role in the

  Kannada

  -language film

  Aishwarya

  (2006). Her first Hindi film release came the following year with

  Farah Khan

  's melodrama

  Om Shanti Om

  , in which she played dual roles opposite

  Shah Rukh Khan

  . She won the

  Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut

  for it. Her sole film role in 2008 was as one of

  Ranbir Kapoor

  's love interests in

  Bachna Ae Haseeno

  . Padukone's first film release of 2009, the

  kung fu

  comedy

  Chandni Chowk to China

  , proved to be a box office flop, but her next release,

  Imtiaz Ali

  's romance

  Love Aaj Kal

  , opposite

  Saif Ali Khan

  , was a success. Of Padukone's five film releases in 2010, only the comedy

  Housefull

  was financially profitable. The series of poorly received films continued with both her 2011 releases,

  Aarakshan

  and

  Desi Boyz

  .

  The acclaimed role of an impulsive party-girl in Homi Adajania's Cocktail (2012) proved to be a breakthrough for Padukone. The year 2013 was key for Padukone when all four of her films were box office hits. Among these were two of the highest-grossing Indian films—the romantic comedies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for playing a character based on Juliet in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013). In 2014, Padukone appeared in the Tamil animation film Kochadaiiyaan and played a bar dancer in the top-grossing heist film Happy New Year. The following year, she played a headstrong daughter in Shoojit Sircar's comedy-drama Piku, which earned Padukone her second Best Actress award at Filmfare, and portrayed the warrior Mastani in Bhansali's top-grossing historical romance Bajirao Mastani. (Full article...)

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