Vijay is the name of the character that Amitabh Bachhan has played in many of his movies. In most cases, Vijay belonged to the underprivileged class.

Insurers bank on celebrity appeal

Business Standard

Olympian Vijender Kumar has his eyes set on a gold in London, but is basking in the limelight till then.

No more poor boy

A ncient Indians discovered the Zero, but modern, cyber-savvy Indians everywhere are discovering the Zed. That&rsquo;s Rajan Zed, a Nevada-based Indo-American statesman who modestly refers to himself as an &ldquo;acclaimed Hindu spokesperson&rdquo; in an endless series of press releases that are slowing down the Internet, or at least my home connection.

A for effort, Z for intent

Documentary filmmaker and novelist Ruchir Joshi has assembled perhaps the first collection of erotic fiction in Indian English. He tells Rrishi Raote what motivated him.

Tasting forbidden fruit

Like most people, I read Angels and Demons after Dan Brown found fame and fortune with The Da Vinci Code &mdash; and no, I didn&rsquo;t like the movie either &mdash; even going through Digital Fortress as a sworn-into-the-secret-pact Brown loyalist. And waited for the return of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon with his bag of hidden codes and mysteries and refreshingly novel way of exploring the medieval world that wraps itself around our here and now.

Robert Langdon, RIP. Please!

So the SMSes have started again: 2/3/4 bedroom apartments 10 minutes from here or there, from this or that reputed builder, booking amount 10 per cent, call this number. Last chance, don&rsquo;t miss, book now. Also the full-page ads: nondescript apartment towers rooted in a positively Middle Eastern abundance of palm trees, paths and waterways, all surrounded by improbable oceans of virgin green. And on the TV: ads for the flat-screen TV that will turn your house into a home.

Kabir says

With the launch of Palladium in Mumbai's Phoenix Mills, luxury retail and hospitality find a new expression.

Retail snobbery

Painter Gieve Patel is a masterly observer of the nuances of life.

Behind the commonness

Checking out Mumbai's Art Expo this weekend.

Fair city

There was a time not so long ago when a bunch of guys bored of drinking factory-made coffee decided to cash in on the 100-year old pedigree of Mercedes-Benz. The only way, they decided, to do that was to stop engineering cars three times better than that was required. The resulting cars had more plastic, cheaper wiring and lots of electronics that could go wrong.

Back to square ones

The festival season is well and truly upon us. First it was Nissan with a twin launch &mdash; the all-new X-Trail and the face-lifted Teana. If the last generation car is anything to go by, the X-Trail is one seriously capable car that is equally at home inside the city as well as the rough. Powered by a 150 bhp diesel and retailing at around Rs 21-25 lakh, this Nissan should give the likes of the Honda CR-V (petrol) and the Chevrolet Captiva (diesel) a good run for their money.

Launch break

I have been considering buying a crossover SUV for some time but cannot make up my mind. I live in Mumbai and my weekday commute is about 10 km. On an average, my monthly driving would be 400-500 km. The car will be self-driven. I currently drive a seven-year old Skoda Octavia which needs to go as it has now started giving me a lot of problems.

Crossed up

When designers Jiten &amp; Sumir morphed into the artists T&amp;T, many considered it a dilettante moment. But they are Indian contemporary art&rsquo;s new poster boys in the West, acknowledges Kishore Singh.

Just kidding

Despite opinions to the contrary, Durga Puja isn&rsquo;t an occasion for senseless gorging. The true gourmand&rsquo;s responsibility is to pack in as much good eating as s/he can in this week &mdash; and that&rsquo;s harder than it seems. For many, the most insistent taste memories of Puja come from the legendary pandal &ldquo;bhogs&rdquo; served for lunch and dinner at these places, some of which can boast of third- and fourth-generation master chefs.

Pray, we're feasting

Abhilasha Ojha goes shopping for bed linen and finds that the branded market is flooded with incredible options, including limited edition collections, zany motifs and quality that redefines comfort.

Fashionable in bed

THE BILBAO GRAND SLAM turned into yet another triumph for Levon Aronyan. The Armenian GM has been on a hot streak winning the Grand Prix, the Amber, and now Bilbao. Bilbao is played to a scoring system of 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw but that would not have made a difference. Aronyan played to +4, -1, =1 while Karjakin went +1,-1, =4 and Grischuk was +2,-2,=2. Under the Bilbao system, Grischuk edged out Karjakin.

Chess #606

Though she has plenty of options to choose from, Anjali Chawla firmly swears by one premium brand. &ldquo;Chanel,&rdquo; she says without pausing for a breath, &ldquo;is a brand you can pass on to your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.&rdquo; She finds it &ldquo;understated and very, very chic&rdquo;.

Brandishing brands

There are many things I have striven to do in my life but never managed. One is to write these columns in advance so that I can travel without my laptop. Another is to visit Bhutan, that beautiful, sensible little country snuggled into the north-eastern border of India. One of the main reasons I want to visit is that they are best known for being less concerned with GDP than with what they call GNH, or Gross National Happiness.

Don&#39;t worry, be happy

What's your EQ?

These high-end sets are being seen as a boon for TV-makers battling falling prices.

Move over LCDs, LED televisions are here

With the much-hyped Champions League T20 just around the corner, the official website of the tournament, www.clt20.com, is something that cricket buffs would enjoy visiting. So, we visited the site and found it to be neatly-designed with features addressing the whims of any cricket fan.

Twenty20 turf war

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