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.

METROSCAPE

Polo Stars

Triple Act

Anyone For Ice

Two Become One

Role Play

Crafts and the Man

Literati Lady

Looking Glass

ONE GLAM GROUP: (Left to right) Bendra, Khan, Gayatri

Sunday afternoon, Delhi winter... Great time to soak in the sun at the Capital's Jaipur Polo Grounds. The recent Omega Polo Tournament had more to offer than the usual ex-royals in the stands.

Almost stealing the limelight from Gayatri Devi of Jaipur and the Pataudis were Shah Rukh Khan and Sonali Bendre. The Khan, who drove up in a chariot, confessed: "I'm so scared of horses... A producer once told me, 'an ass should never sit on a horse'." Polo stayed pretty much in the background as Khan spent the afternoon patiently signing autographs for star-struck kids and photographers focused almost solely on Bendre in her aqua-blue lehenga.

For the few who were watching the match, it was a nail-biting finish between the two Omega teams: Constellation just about managed to beat Deville. The ex-royals were ignored even at the prize-giving ceremony: Bendre did the honours.

-Leher Kala

Me City 'Eld A Play

STREET SMART: A scene from Me Grandad 'ad an Elephant

The aim is to make the most of "alternate dramatic spaces" and "fling open theatre doors to a wider audience". Big words. But think of street kids taking up front-row seats at a performance of renowned Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer's Me Grandad 'ad an Elephant at Mumbai's Horniman Circle Garden last week, and you'll get the picture. The novella-turned-play's director, Ramu Ramanathan, explains, "The confluence of the garden atmosphere with the staged reading was expected. The only fear I had were the distracting noises, especially from the traffic outside."

Actually, it all blended in rather well as Ahlam Khan played out the part of Kunjupattumma, a young Malayali-Muslim girl struggling against her restrictive social set-up. But the pick of the performance was musician Kamakshi Vyas whose repertoire ranged from chirping like a sparrow to playing on her flute. Traffic? C'mon, who was listening?

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.