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Around Town

Atal Bihari Vajpayee has just been gift-wrapped, returned to the RSS in a new book

Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right 1924–1977 shatters BJP poet-politician’s reputation as a liberal hero. “I recognise more of Vajpayee in this book," said BJP's Swapan Dasgupta.

Magnus Carlsen to Viswanathan Anand—India now has a Global Chess League. It’s a game-changer

Chess prodigy Raunak Sidhwani is not intimidated to play with the best of the best of the sport. He has Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi on his team.

An old Delhi heritage walk that’s not about Jama Masjid, Red Fort. It tells queer histories

Iqbal Ali who leads the walk observes that within the current political climate that’s hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, these walks are a source of resistance.

Momos to gin & tonic—a new Indian ‘food bible’ offers trivia, history. But no politics

From memories of railway chicken curry to anecdotes on Kolkata chilli sauce Sing Cheung, panellists at The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine launch bonded over their deep love for food.

Chef in Delhi adding Korean twist to paratha, paneer, tikka. He’s an Instagram star

Kim Jiyeol has expertly created new dishes such as Momo Guk, Kimchi Kathi Roll, and Kimchi Paratha in his small Delhi kitchen. And his list is only growing.

Why make buses electric when no one uses them? Delhi’s EV roadmap is hotly contested

Civil engineering professors, climate researchers and transport specialists pushed for behavioural changes and not just structural changes at an event that laid out Delhi's EV roadmap.

Mumbai’s David Sassoon Library is reborn – chandeliers, teak, Victorian interiors

With a budget of Rs 3.6 crore and backed by JSW Foundation, ICICI Foundation, and Tata Trusts, the renovation project has resulted in a labour of love.

People think Irrfan was intimidating. I want to write about his funny side—wife Sutapa Sikdar

At the launch of the book, Irrfan: A Life In Movies, Khan's wife Sutapa Sikdar, son Babil, writer-producer Shailaja Kejriwal, and actor-poet Danish Hussain were in a conversation with film critic and author Shubhra Gupta at The Quorum in Mumbai.

History-hungry Indians flock to ASI talk on Purana Qila. Archaeologists call it a ‘good sign’

Archaeologist Vasant Swarnkar said that the Purana Qila dig would yield cultural deposits of up to 17 metres.

Love in the times of Kargil War, Army tales & traditions at a Delhi book launch

At the launch of Shikha Akhilesh Saxena’s Nation First, audience members discussed an ‘extraordinary war’ won with ‘minimal resources’.

On Camera

Can Syria’s tiny Druze minority survive West Asia’s new storms? There’s little hope

Indians see West Asia as one uninterrupted wash of Islam, but the reality is more complex. For the Druze, support from Israel—where they are a recognised minority—is now critical.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.