Politics
"If even 100 of the 543 MPs were women, they would have a civilising effect on productivity in Parliament."
Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill
Ayodhya demolition architect Kalyan Singh dismantles his own career by taking on the BJP high command. He’s expelled from the party in December;the ‘moderate’ will inherit the earth: Vajpayee does, both party and country.
Master ‘gaffesman’, defence minister George Fernandes promises a Kargil victory in three days.
"They did surprise us."
Chief of Army Staff Gen V.P.Malik, admitting that Pakistani intruders caught Indians unawares
Voters desert him, scams cling to him, but Laloo Yadav still plays flamboyant host at daughter Misa’s wedding; Jayalalitha’stete-a-tea with Sonia fells the BJP government in April. But the BJP kayoes them in the elections;Priyanka dazzles in Amethi, the only star in the Congress twilight; Disenfranchised, Thackeray continues to roar but rouses neither fear nor raises any votes.
Sacked on Dec 31, ‘98, the combative naval chief Adml Vishnu Bhagwat drowns the navy in frothing acrimony.
Brig Surinder Singh blows the whistle. The army top brass ignore it. We win. But could Kargil have been avoided?
Sharad Pawar and P. Sangma lead the pre-election revolt against Sonia Gandhi in May to form the NCP. Then nothing.
His critics are wrong. CEO-CM Chandrababu Naidu mixes laptop rhetoric with pure populism to romp home.
A sure bet, Manmohan Singh’s poll defeat is a surprise. Voters aren’t impressed with the chatterati campaign.
Glamour
"I’d like to be marooned on an island with Khushwant and ask him about women."
Film actress Urmila Matondkar
"After 65 years of being here, I have to prove my loyalty to Bal Thackeray."
ThespianDilip Kumar
Caught between the bus and the bullet, Dilip Kumar is asked to return the Nishan-i-Imtiaz
Sculpting a new cinematic image, Aishwarya Rai notches up two hits with ‘Taal’ and ‘Hum Dil...’; Reigning diva Kajol ties the knot with brooding hero Ajay Devgan; Grossing a hefty $70 mn in the US in 10 days, Manoj Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Sixth Sense’ rakes supernatural success
Mistress of the masses, Madhuri Dixit, marries the unknown Dr Nene; Indian matinee idol for 25 years, curiously Rajnikanth also zaps the Japs; He’s voted the Millennium Star, but fading icon Big B plays songster at public functions
‘Elizabeth’ holds court abroad, but Shekhar can only bring its cast and costumes to India
Roshan Seth’s ‘...Long Journey’ wins him the Best Actor award at the Canadian Film Festival
Media
Fashioned to win, Yukta Mookhey becomes the fourth Indian to be Miss World
Deaths of little would-be Shaktimans turn Indian superman Mukesh Khanna into the media’s favourite whipping boy;A suave performance as the BJP’s TV poll star earns senior advocate Arun Jaitley the plum: the I&B ministry.
"Does the government own a newspaper? No. If they owned one, no one would read it. Then why should it own a television channel?" Technocrat and author Gurcharan Das
Incompetence or just inconvenient ideology? Left wing intellectuals, writer Rajendra Yadav (left) and academic Romila Thapar (right) are eased out of Prasar Bharati.
Persistence pays: Karan Thapar bags the Asian TV best current affairs presenteraward; Director Shobhana Bhartia ushers ‘The Hindustan Times’ into its platinum year
"No woman has torn my kurta or messed up my hair. Women are subtle, they understand creativity more." Tabla maestroZakir Hussain
M.F. Husain’s nude Saraswati triggers a debate over artisticlicence, the Sena breaks in.
Dancers bury some hatchets to protest media neglect of classical arts.
Sitar scion Anoushka debuts with dad Ravi Shankar in January
Singer Kavita Krishnamurthy has a whirlwind marriage with violinist L.Subramaniam.
Creative
Irish band U2 pick their lyrics from it, apart from which Rushdie’s ‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’ doesn’t rock much.
Down with dams: Never long out of the limelight, Arundhati Roy dons the mantle of NBA activist
"I feel safest with my old fountain pen. Not the ball pen which I find obscene."Author Nirmal Verma
Modern mythologist, Kannada playwright Girish Karnad gets the Jnanpith in January.
Vikram Seth’s ‘An Equal Music’ coincides with Rushdie’s book, also on music and love. The literary giants deny any rivalry.
Sports
A dogged star: Sachin loses his father at the start of the World Cup, a niggling back injury sheathes his blade
Ace pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi triumph at Roland Garros and smash their way to another Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July;Ace pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (top) triumph at Roland Garros and smash their way to another Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July;
"Never leave unto others what you can do yourself." -- Sunil Gavaskar on ESPN after a rash shot by Sachin Tendulkar led to India losing the first Test in the home series against Pakistan.
An out-of-work artist, Mohammad Azharuddin paints the selectors black as a great career faces its end amid much rancour.
Indian cricket makes another pact with the Devil: Kapil Dev takes over as coach.
"In love, I’d much rather have the woman approach me first."--Star striker Baichung Bhutia
Anil Kumble bowls himself into history with a perfect 10 at Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi, in February
Business
"If industry can have foreign competition, why not politics?"
IndustrialistRahul Bajaj on Sonia Gandhi’s bid for prime ministership.
Big money in IT:Forbes declares Wipro’s Azim Premji the richest resident Indian Net worth: Rs 12,040 cr;Rajesh Jain nets Rs 500 cr selling IndiaWorld; Big Bull in the pen Harshad Mehta gets 5-yr jail term
Don’s day:Amartya Sen gets the Bharat Ratna
