It&rsquo;s the city Mark Twain famously described as &ldquo;older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together&rdquo;. Amit Ranjan Rai captures the colours of its teeming life.

A day in Benaras

Business Standard

The India-Pakistan World Cup 2011 semi-final match on March 30 was an electrifying affair. In the stands, Surajeet Das Gupta was witness to the hysteria.

Ring side VIEW

There are several traditional tournaments overlapping Christmas&ndash;New Year. Hastings is the oldest &mdash; Harry Nelson Pillsbury won the 1895 edition ahead of two world champions. Reggio Emilia in Italy is another such event. Anand won the 1990-1991 edition ahead of Kasparov, Karpov and Gelfand.

Chess (#987)

The Delhi Auto Expo has grown into a high-profile event where car makers, Indian and foreign, announce new models and reach out to customers. Aabhas Sharma tracks the meticulous planning that goes into the event.

The Showstoppers

Tata Motors created the idea some four years ago with the Indigo CS, but not much has happened so far. Come 2012, the Indigo CS may be joined by several other cars. Take the shortened Mahindra Xylo (which will be powered by a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder diesel motor) or a shortened version of the Verito. Not to be left behind will be a new Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and maybe even a Volkswagen Vento and Skoda Rapid.

Hot wheels for  2012

Audi India has a whole lot of models lined up for the 2012 Auto Expo, starting with its small SUV, the Q3. Now, the Q3 isn't an SUV that boasts a whole lot of off-road ability or practicality. No, it's more a lifestyle vehicle, much like the BMW X1, and is more suited to cruising the boulevards.

What you'll see...

Who would have thought that an AK-47 could be used to make music?
Last week as Lady Gaga and the F1 race took centre stage in Delhi, one musician from Colombia managed to inch his way into the hearts of music aficionados with his Escopetarra &mdash; a unique guitar-like instrument that is actually a modified AK-47.
&ldquo;It takes one finger to pull the trigger, while it takes 10 fingers and one heart to play a guitar,&rdquo; says Cesar Lopez, 33, a musician from Colombia, who gave performed

Guns 'n' music

American chefs are now discovering the many charms of mustard oil.

Taste of Bengal

In all the online discourse I&rsquo;ve seen around Ra.One, what makes me want to tear my hair out is when the movie&rsquo;s apologists say things like &ldquo;Okay, it isn&rsquo;t a great film &mdash; but you have to respect all the hard work that Shah Rukh and his team have put into it.

A small and unseen film

Digitation can even change business models, says Ram Charan.

Social media: Firms still in trial & error mode

Chris Thomas is the chairman &amp; CEO of Omnicom-group-network BBDO in Asia, West Asia and Africa. He is also the chairman of Proximity, the direct and CRM (short for customer relationship management) arm of Omnicom. Thomas spoke to Viveat Susan Pinto on his plans for both BBDO and Proximity in India.

Q&A: Chris Thomas, Chairman & CEO of BBDO

The topic of &lsquo;Uncertainty&rsquo; which prevailed over discussions on the first two days of AdAsia 2011, seemed to make way for possible solutions on the concluding day of the event. Key speakers deliberated on how this could be achieved. While a few attempted to answer the question through &lsquo;spirituality&rsquo; and &lsquo;collective consciousness&rsquo;, others emphasised on how to nurture good ideas.

An uncertain future with big ideas

OMD, one of the largest media agencies to rival Group M&rsquo;s billings worldwide, has been late to the India party. Now, it is staring at an integration with the homegrown media units of Mudra after a majority stake purchase by its parent company, Omnicom. Mainardo de Nardis, the OMD Worldwide CEO, explains to Sayantani Kar why he is very happy with OMD India.

Q&A: Mainardo de Nardis, CEO, OMD

With the third highest billings in the country, Maxus India has been one of WPP&rsquo;s star media agencies in the country, apart from Mindshare. In fact, it has charted a way that is unlike most agencies. It became a top performer in India before it gained traction in global markets. Kelly Clark, CEO, Maxus, tells Sayantani Kar that this is one of its differentiators.

Q&A: Kelly Clark, CEO, Maxus

Want a convertible and can&rsquo;t give up on practicality? The Mercedes-Benz E350 Cabriolet, to give you its full name, is the answer. If you see one approaching head-on, you can&rsquo;t tell it from the E-Class sedan &mdash; but the missing roof is the obvious giveaway. The E Cabrio is a handsome car, if somewhat staid, but the three-pointed star on the grille makes it a celebration by itself.

Or you can buy the...

After driving around my Maruti Suzuki Zen for eleven years, I am planning to buy a new car. I require one that gives decent pick up, is smooth, fuel efficient and will be able to top the lifespan of my Zen. I drive 50 km every day and have a budget of Rs 5 to 5.5 lakh. The Honda Jazz has a waiting period of six months, and I don&rsquo;t want to buy the Maruti Swift.

Long haul

Produced-director Bobby Bedi is back to making films after a two-year hiatus. One of these is a sequel to Bandit Queen.

The eternal optimist

The UP chief minister has been on a memorial-building spree for eight years now, the last being the recently inaugurated park in Noida.

Mayawati's statues of liberty

Srilal Shukl&rsquo;s fiction offered a new understanding of Indian society, says Virendra Yadav in this obituary of the noted Hindi litterateur who died late month.

A moral vision

Arghya Ganguly tries to shed light on some of the theories about Sachin Tendulkar&rsquo;s unsuccessful stint as the India captain.

Oh Captain, My Captain!

People read biographies for different reasons.

A life of contradictions

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