Stories told by the fireplace

Understated, clean and simple -words that best describe Navtej Sarna's works. His latest book, Winter Evenings, is a collection of short stories that encompasses all of Sarna's qualities as a writer. He is man of choice words Ayesha Tabassum Tweet ...

Browsing the bursting bookshelves at Bangalore's bookshop, Blossoms, I found myself hoping for a small miracle: that from the piles of tempting books, some priceless one that could not be denied would waft its way towards me. The miracle happened, ...

As a diplomat who has travelled extensively, you are privy to situations and stories about people more than regular folks. Does your day job give you an edge over other writers? Diplomacy gives you a different set of skills. It definitely helps to connect ...

Airports can sometimes be the venue for unexpected rendezvous. On a recent visit to Germany, while sitting at the lounge at the Frankfurt airport, I ran into fellow writer-diplomat Navtej Sarna, who was one of my successors, many times removed, as the ...

Some half a century ago, Paula Ben-Gurion, wife of Israel's first Prime Minister looked over the hedge while pottering around her Tel Aviv garden and espied a young man. She invited him in and a chance encounter became a calling. The young man was ...

Just when it appeared that India-Israel relations had hit a plateau, a trailblazing project is under way which has the potential to change the bilateral relationship from one that is still largely cloak-and-dagger and under-cover to one the two ...

For the first time, Indian and China will be discussing in Beijing on Thursday on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops next year. Both the sides hope to find a common cause in ensuring stability in the ...

GHAZNI, Afghanistan -- Security in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Ghazni was tight as the provincial capital is set to be declared an Islamic capital of culture in 2013. by Abdul Haleem KABUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The killing of innocent ...

It will be a scorching summer on the diplomatic front for India and China, with the new Chinese Prime Minister, Li Keqiang, set to visit in May, likely to be his first ever foreign visit after assuming office. This visit will take place at a time ...