A Reluctant Soldier

A Convict’s Escape

A criminal at age 15, gang leader at 16, and state fugitive at 17, this student by day and gangster by night had done it all until he was arrested at 22. But even jail failed to break Vicky. Anupam Mukerji meets the man who turned to dance to kill the demon in him.

A Campus Shooting in Texas

It is something you typically read about in newspapers. Deepthi Murali, an Indian student in the United States, got a first-hand experience of what happens when a gunman runs loose on campus

Crossing the Line

Once a Beatle…

He had the worst title ever—‘the world’s unluckiest man’. But Pete Best made a good fist of it after being dismissed as the original drummer of The Beatles in 1962. He recounts the momentous tour to Hamburg, the death of his naivete and his suicide attempt two years later

One Mistake of My Life

During a stint at a publishing firm, the author shared the dubious distinction of rejecting what has since become India’s biggest publishing sensation. Paperback copies, lining shelves of bookstores, still seem to mock her judgement.

Trapped in My Image

For the lead role in Gulaal, Raj Singh Chaudhary, a brawny former model, played a wimpy, nerdy student. After years of struggle, Raj shot to the limelight with the movie’s success. And then suddenly, Bollywood was asking him to play the exact same character over and over again.

The MBA Writer

Rejection slip after rejection slip almost led The Immortals of Meluha to an ignominious death before it rose to become an instant chartbuster. Amish Tripathi on being the author of an unexpected bestseller.

No Country for Love

Priyanka Verma was forced to go into hiding with her husband Ujjwal after her uncles ordered her ‘honour killing’ for marrying outside her community. The couple have been on the run for nearly six months now, constantly shifting cities and hotels to avoid being hunted down. Out of money and exhausted living the life of a fugitive, Priyanka says she’ll not live in fear anymore.

In Mother We Trust

A year after completing school, Magdalene Polton, the daughter of a rich landowner in Bengal, became the second nun to join Mother Teresa in her mission to serve the sick and the poor. Now, at 82, Sister Gertrude, as she came to be called, is the only surviving member of this original group. She recalls the early days when they would beg each day for the poor, but struggle to feed themselves, surviving solely on the strength of prayer.