Shamed And Crippled
With Tehelka.com's spy-camera taking a heavy political toll after the damning revelations of corruption in defence deals, the beleaguered Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government will have an uphill task restoring its credibility and undoing the damage to its image.

BJP: Old Hype

Interview:
Bangaru Laxman

Jaya Jaitly:
Jhola To Purse

Opposition: On A Roll

INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG Poll: Outraged !

Defence Establishment
: Surgery For Graft

Interview: G. Fernandes

Barak Missiles:
Off The Mark

Tehelka:
Sting Theory

Highlights Of The Findings

Rakesh Kumar Jain: Gasbag Man

Wheeling A Good Deal
The battle for BALCO degenerates into a political chess match between Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, and Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie. Jogi holds most of the aces at the moment--but will he play them all when it could mean loss of investments to the state?

The New Targets
The 60,000 policemen in Kashmir are caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, they are the target of militant attacks, and, on the other, the Army sees them with suspicion. It is not just themselves, but their families that the policemen worry about as they struggle to battle militancy and falling morale.

Crisis Of Confidence While stock prices haven't recovered since the collapse of March 2, the panic has spread from Mumbai to Kolkata. Underlying the fear is a deepening fear of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's will or capacity to regulate the stockmarkets.

Escape to Victory
Down and virtually out, India create a miracle at the Eden Gardens to stun the Australians and break their winning streak.

Mixing Metaphors Music, dance, and tourism synthesise in the famed textile centre of Maheshwar to provide sustainable synergies for its growth.

EYECATCHERS

All In The Family

Heeba Shah was born with "a passion for acting". Any wonder? She's the 20-something daughter of actors Naseeruddin Shah (from his first marriage) and Ratna Pathak. When Shah passed out of Delhi's National School of Drama (NSD), dad Naseer handed her a script of the Urdu play, Ismat Apa Ke Naam, and said, "We must do this together." As promised, at NSD's national theatre festival, Shah will make her debut, sharing the stage with dad and Pathak, who are "not just friends, but fellow-actors now".

Dressing Up Pam

Indian fashion designer Rohit Bal is sketching a "hot outfit" these days, for Baywatch babe and buxom peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activist Pamela Anderson. Anderson, who has never met Bal but was "blown away" when she saw some of his work, sent him a request to design a faux leather outfit for her. Bal, 39, who's "never used leather" (that's the connection), is excited, naturally: "God! Her style is hot and sexy. She's got a great body, so why cover it up?" A sketch: it's a "sari-like outfit with a sexy blouse." Neat.

His Second Innings

Mohammed Azharuddin's been doing some thinking to stay afloat. He floated a new company - Azhar Sangeeta Management Services - with wife Sangeeta Bijlani and even put up a star-studded fashion show called The Fabled Peacock - drawing designers like Wendell Rodricks and Manish Malhotra - in Hyderabad last week to raise funds for Gujarat. Cricket's fallen star is talking charity and aids support more than ever before. But the game is still very much on Azhar's mind-the couple is planning a "TV serial on cricket" next!

Just Fitting In

For the uninformed, she's New York-based cabaret singer Sunita Param. For others, she's the new face in the comedy American Desi, opening in 40 theatres across the US-the largest opening for an Asian-American film-with actors Kal Penn and Purva Bedi. She's also the lead in the play, Beneath the Moon, Beyond the Stars, the story of Indian spy Noor Khan. Param, of Indian-Irish parentage, thanks her "mixed heritage" for fitting in. Song. Stage. Screen. She's fit in.

Compiled by Methil Renuka

MetroScape
Pop Corn
"You are the best audience in the whole world," the Vengaboys tell raving crowds
in Delhi.
more...

Looking Glass

Delhi Exhibition:
Pop To Classic

Delhi Restaurant:
San Gimignano

Mumbai Accessories Store: Watches Of Switzerland

Bangalore Concert: Deep Purple

A bloody crackdown on Naxalites in the south-eastern fringes of Uttar Pradesh proves that only developmental programmes, not guns, can help fight the menace. INDIA TODAY's Special Correspondent Subhash Mishra explains why in
Despatches.