War And Peace II
In the Moscow Declaration Against Terrorism, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin have reiterated friendship between India and Russia during peace time and shared firepower in case of war with a third party.

Inside The Secret World Of Bin Laden
Exclusive excerpts from Peter L. Bergen's Holy War, Inc. Currently terrorism analyst for CNN, Bergen met bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1997. His book is a sprawling thriller on the world's most wanted fugitive and his empire of terror.

Clash Of Comrades
Bhattacharya's economic reforms are stymied by differences with Politburo purists.

UK SPECIAL: LONDON DIARY

The First Crown

Strut your stuff. Pirouette. Pout. Smile. Impress. And win. But only if you're a Britain-born girl of Indian origin, aged between 17 and 25 years, and stand at least 5 feet-3 inches tall. Like Praveen Sian, a 25-year-old sales and accounts administrator from London, who met each of those mandates to walk away with the first Miss India-UK tiara. She will now go on to repeat the routine at the Miss India Worldwide, scheduled for March 2002 in California, where she will be vying with 23 other diasporic Indians. At the glam-slam event at Leicester, Sian pipped 19 other girls-shortlisted from over 250 applicants-to the post. "I was so surprised, shocked and then ecstatic. It was like a dream," gushed Sian. "It is not just about looks, but about truly independent British Asian women who can be multi-talented. Being the first winner, I feel a great sense of responsibility to show that the modern British Asian woman can achieve something." Predictably, Sian hopes this will enable her to work in the "entertainment industry" (read Bollywood). Priya Patel, 23, from Essex was the Sony Viewer's Choice, and (also) entered the contest to launch a career in Bollywood.

It was a packed house with many more falling over to pay over £1,000 for a couple's ticket. The event is now scheduled for telecast worldwide on Sony on November 18.

—Prasun Sonwalkar

At Home With Diplomacy

Diplomacy begins at home for Hardeep Puri and his wife, Lakshmi. He is deputy Indian high commissioner in London; she is Indian ambassador to Hungary. There are "not too many" diplomatic couples in the Indian Foreign Service, admits Puri, but they are "not rare either". "I know of five," he adds. The mandarins in the External Affairs Ministry in Delhi are not entirely heartless when allocating postings to diplomatic couples, who are, if possible, given neighbouring missions. Puri, who is to be shifted to Switzerland early next year to become India's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, will still be able to carry on popping over to Budapest to see his wife. She was in London recently for the annual Asian Who's Who dinner. The Puris have two daughters, Himayani, an investment banker in New York, and Tilotama. "We meet as a family whenever we can," says Puri. "If you have a commitment to your family and to your career, you can make it work."

A Question of Answers

It is hailed as the world's most successful game show and boasts a colossus of Indian cinema as its host. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) altered the viewing habits of a nation of ardent cinema-goers as they shunned movie halls in order to receive the Big B in their homes. The compelling game show was launched in the UK recently in its South Asian persona. Shedding the guise of a Bollywood star, Amitabh Bachchan plays himself with characteristic aplomb, his superstar appeal lending itself to the successful quiz show format. Indeed, while the show presents a rare opportunity for the Indian public to alter their fortunes, for many contestants it is as much about meeting their idol in the flesh. For Bachchan, the transition from being the biggest film star in the world to the biggest television star has been a unique challenge and quite possibly, the most significant feat of his illustrious career. "Initially I was very apprehensive about taking up the mantle of anchoring a TV show. I had not done anything like this in my career. This was going to be a completely new experience for me," says the superstar. "Television is a much tougher and more powerful medium. You have to remember a lot of things like entry points, the tele-prompter ... It's very involving and interesting. There's no script; it's practically live on KBC. I have been doing so many things, so why not anchoring? My job is to perform in front of the camera. That's it." While KBC pulls in a daily audience of 29 million people in India, eclipsing its UK progenitor Who Wants To Be Millionaire? hosted by Chris Tarrant, its launch in the UK augurs a battle of giants. The million rupee question: Who has greater appeal for UK's Asian community-Bachchan or Tarrant? You won't need any lifelines for the answer to that.

—Poonam Joshi

MetroScape

Bangalore Exhibition: Atul Sinha

Delhi Boutique: Azeem Khan Couture

Chennai Book Store: Landmark

Mumbai Water Sports: H20

A series of populist announcements puts Rajnath Singh in a spot. With Uttar Pradesh financially crippled, he stands to lose whether he implements the promises or not, writes INDIA TODAY's Special Correspondent Subhash Mishra in
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