Vandals Of History Afghanistan's Taliban regime remains undeterred from its hard-line agenda of destroying historically valuable Buddhist idols. A look at the present regime and its slide to orthodox fundamentalism at a time when a drought has ravaged its economy and people.

Taking On the Family
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Yadav is once again facing a tough fight for survival--this time prompted by a near revolt in the RJD fuelled by rumours of a dynastic takeover. Ranjan Yadav has emerged as a potential rival to Rabri Devi, enjoying the support of both the party rebels and the NDA allies.

Chennai Confusion
The upshot of the great Tamil circus: Jayalalitha needs Moopanar, but not the Congress.

Creepy Acquisition
With Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha determined to bring corporate payslips comprehensively into the taxman's dragnet, the salaried class is having a few palpitations. For them, it means that a long era of tax-free emoluments is coming to an end.

"Indians lack unity"
Two of cricket's finest brains met for a rare conversation:Bishen Singh Bedi takes on the role of interviewer for Aaj Tak, seeking to get into the mind of Australian captain Stephen Waugh.

Revenge Of the Bears The sudden fall in share-prices points to yet another rigging controversy, and raises questions about the efficacy and credibility of SEBI as a regulator.

CAPLOOKS

Core Clout On Show

Delhi: When Ram Vilas Paswan is on to something, he makes sure nothing ever comes in the way. Last week, as the communications minister and the Union Home Minister L.K. Advani were involved in a minor tussle, Paswan got prime ministerial intervention to sort it out. Advani, who heads the Core Group on Gujarat, wanted Shyamal Ghosh, the telecom secretary, to move to Gujarat as special commissioner (relief). But Paswan was in no mood to relieve his favourite officer. He stormed into the Prime Minister's Office. Soon, Ghosh's transfer was rescinded. Paswan now has one more reason to exult over his clout.

Flattering Deception

Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna hates banners. There is a standing order to his party workers: no ugly party banners anywhere in the state capital. But when Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni landed in the city last week, his orders were flouted: there were banners galore and one of them said, "Welcome, Ambika Soniaji." Evidently, the Sonia factor is so much at work in Bangalore that some workers presumed Soni must be Sonia. As for Ambika Soni, nothing could have been more flattering.

Talk About Success

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's popular weekly 30-minute phone-in programme on Hyderabad DD and air will soon undergo a change to include a monthly chat show. Select students who qualify for the show-they should be district-level toppers in studies or games-will be brought to Hyderabad at government expense for what is billed as the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and be photographed with Naidu. Good planning by someone who has vowed to be the chief minister till 2020?

On Political Grounds

Kolkata: Kolkata will soon have a third helipad, this one near Salt Lake. The official reason given is that most ministers live near Salt Lake and the city's two helipads are at quite a distance from the locality. But the real reason is that former chief minister Jyoti Basu, the CPI(M)'s main campaigner who will criss-cross the state in the coming poll campaign, lives in Salt Lake.

MetroScape
Triple Act
What I would love to do more than anything else in the world is to write another play," says Gurcharan Das. "But I don't know if I have the courage." He should have dollops of it, going by the audience reaction to his 9 Jakhoo Hill--performed to mark the release of Three English Plays by Das --at Delhi's India Habitat Centre
last week.
more...

Looking Glass

Delhi and Mumbai: Adventure One Sport

Mumbai: Smooth Bar

Delhi: Good Earth Showroom

Polo, like many other events, is bringing about the resurgence of the almost forgotten royals. A chance, writes INDIA TODAY's Principal Correspondent Anshul Avijit, to say Maharaja again with an unctuous post-modernist gusto in Despatches.

"The only obvious competition is in bhangra," say the Pakistani duo of the music group, Strings, in conversation with INDIA TODAY's Sonia Faleiro in
Interviews.