Agartala, Feb 21 (IANS) With thousands of people from either side of the border gathering at colourful functions to commemorate the "language martyrs", India and Bangladesh jointly organised the International Mother Language Day.

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) Pragmatism is replacing romantic idealism in Indian literature, which is increasingly drawing its inspiration from everyday struggles for existence in the context of larger socio-economic and political movements like globalisation, English education, revivalism, conflicts and human rights crusades.

New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) Collectors from all over the world, including India, can bid online for 125 paintings by American pop art icon Andy Warhol in the first online sale by auction house Christie's, it said in a statement.

New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) The colours of Myanmar are vivid, realistic and a little abstract on its contemporary canvas and, for the first time, collectively on display in India.

Agra, Feb 19 (IANS) The annual ten-day cultural extravaganze Taj Mahotsava was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh's Tourism Minister Om Prakash Singh Tuesday evening in the absence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for whom the festival was postponed for a day.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The government Tuesday decided to set up an expert committee to draw up a national register of the country's intangible cultural heritage.

Islamabad, Feb 19 (IANS) The Karachi Literature Festival may be better served by reaching out more to authors, writers and performers from beyond India, said a leading daily Tuesday.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The Indian comic industry is laughing all the way to the bank. Modern storytelling, broadening readership to include young adults besides children, diversification into areas like graphic books, mobile apps and merchandise, has enabled the Rs.100 crore ($22 million) comic industry to reach out and captivate newer audiences with an eclectic assortment of products.

New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) People can now buy authentic British commemorative sovereigns minted in India for the first time in almost 100 years, it was announced here Monday.

New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch Monday said the government was focussed on archiving for better documentation, cataloguing and accessibility to literature in libraries to ensure "better education" in the country.

Book: 'Jorasanko'; Author: Aruna Chakravarti; Publisher: Harper Collins India; Pages: 406; Price: Rs.350

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Jantar Mantar, the 18th century architectural observatory in Delhi, and Nelson Mandela's Freedom Towers in Soweto in South Africa made a connection with light this week when Patrick Rimoux illuminated the ancient astronomical lab with psychedelic light sculptures.

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) A rare exhibition of ethnic art motifs of tribal communities such as Gonds, Bhils, Rathwas, Sauras and Warlis opened in the national capital Saturday.

Pushkar (Rajasthan), Feb 16 (IANS) Music knows no boundary, nor language - and going by the performances and response at the ongoing Blue Lotus Music Festival here, it holds true as foreign tourists flocked to the town, and swayed and grooved to the tunes of qawwali and sufi music.

New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) Children's publishing in India - one of the most lucrative segments in the industry - is looking out of its domestic fold for a bigger footprint in the export market of South Asia and in the developing world, even as business peaks on the domestic front.

'Koi virani si virani hai/Dasht ko dekh ke ghar yaad aaya' (It is desolation personified/ I saw the wilderness and remembered my abode) wrote Ghalib in what would be a prophetic couplet on the condition of his habitation and last resting place.

New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) If the Taliban and Al Qaeda were to take power in Afghanistan after American troops withdraw, it would lead to an Islamist takeover of Pakistan, a new book says.

Agra, Feb 14 (IANS) Come Basant Panchami Friday, the Taj city will fondly remember one of Urdu poetry's earliest and greatest poets Nazeer Akbarabadi, a poet who sang of subjects like roti, kite-flying, love and romance, childhood and old age.

New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) A collection of illustrated 19th century travel documents, watercolours and manuscripts - some of which have never been published before - will go under the hammer Feb 28 at Sotheby's in London, the auction house said Thursday.

Agra Feb 14 (IANS) The annual 10-day Taj Mahotsava will begin from Feb 19, a day late, to enable a busy Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to inaugurate it, an official said Thursday. But the move has angered the tourism industry here.

Addis Ababa, Feb 14 (IANS) Ethiopia will be hosting the first international exhibition of private art collection from more than 24 countries in March at the National Museum in the capital Addis Ababa.

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The tourism ministry has uploaded on Youtube the 58-minute sound and light show held at Delhi's Red Fort to share it with people seeking information on the 17th century structure.

Book: "False Sanctuaries: Stories from the Troubled Territories of South Asia"; Author: Meenakshi Iyer; Publisher: Bibliophile South Asia (Promila & Co); Price: Rs.395; Pages: 282

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) France is connecting to India with new arts projects from Indian cultural sensitivities at the ongoing three-month long Bonjour festival in 16 Indian cities. It began Jan 26 here and will close in April.

New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) IAS officer Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty has been appointed the new chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi.

New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) The study of the nude has been central to the history of Indian art in its journey from prehistoric cave art, the temples of Khajuraho, Vatsayan's Kamasutra to modern portraitures by masters across genres and mediums despite the growing protests by right-wing groups.

New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Former prime minister Charan Singh, father of union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh who continues to influence the politics of western Uttar Pradesh, was a man confident of his leadership qualities, his biographer has said.

Chandigarh, Feb 11 (IANS) Sunday was an unusually busy day at the popular Surajkund Crafts Mela near New Delhi. The fair saw a record footfall of over 142,000 people - the highest in a single day in the 27 editions of the fair.

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Literature in Indian languages is vibrant, thriving and more interlinked than is evident, say literary figures.

Los Angeles, Feb 11 (IANS) Singers Paul McCartney, Adele and Beyonce Knowles walked away with awards in different categories at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held here Sunday night.

Los Angeles, Feb 11 (IANS) Two months after his death, Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar has won the best world music album Grammy for "The Living Room Sessions Part 1" spanning a wide range of Indian classical styles. He was also honoured with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award.

Los Angeles, Feb 11 (IANS) Two months after his death, Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar has won the best world music album Grammy for "The Living Room Sessions Part 1" spanning a wide range of Indian classical styles.

Los Angeles, Feb 11 (IANS) Two months after his death, Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar has won the best world music album Grammy for "The Living Room Sessions Part 1" spanning a wide range of Indian classical styles.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) The World Book Fair 2013 ended here Sunday on an optimistic note that publishing industry's fortunes in India were on a roll despite the global economic uncertainty.

Mumbai, Feb 10 (IANS) Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has presented the prestigious Aditya Birla Kalashikhar and Kalakiran Puraskar (awards) 2012 at a glittering function here, an official said here Sunday.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) The Lalit Kala Akademi and the University of Fine Art, Vienna, has opened a bilateral exchange in art with a showcase "Artists in Multifunctions" by 22 contemporary Austrian artists at the Akademi's Rabindra Bhawan gallery here.

Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS) Magsaysay award-winning writer Mahasweta Devi Sunday urged political leaders in West Bengal to desist from using expletives about rivals.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) The printed book is still sought after by readers in India. The publishing industry, valued at nearly $2 billion, is witnessing a healthy growth despite the slump in the international market and threats from digital mediums.

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) Even though an all-girl rock band in Kashmir faced a fatwa, women musicians have been performing on the stage without any hiccups in Muslim-majority countries like Iran, Tunisia and Azerbaijan.

Kolkata, Feb 9 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee picked up the brush to paint alongside acclaimed artists while Baul singers and drummers performed at the Mati Utsab (soil fest) that got off to a colourful start in Bardhaman district Saturday.

New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) A tablelamp shaped as the sabre of Darth Vader from "Star Wars" or glasses to protect eyes of gamers from LCD screen glare, the third annual 'Comic Con India' that began here Friday promises to fulfill fantasies of comic book lovers, gamers and movie buffs alike.

Paris, Feb 9 (IANS/EFE) A young and apparently "unstable" woman used an indelible marker to deface renowned painting "Liberty Leading the People" by Eugene Delacroix, which was being exhibited at a branch of the Louvre in the northern French city of Lens.

New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) The courageous super heroes and their audacious arch rivals accompanied by timeless cartoons loved by all are back in town as the third annual Comic Con India (CCI) began here Friday amid fanfare.

New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) When voices against freedom of expression in arts are getting shriller, "The Sahmat Collection: Art and Activism in India since 1989" will explore the connection between Indian art and politics, in Chicago.

Panaji, Feb 8 (IANS) Organisers of this year's Goa Carnival have allocated 1,000 seats to senior citizens for watching the parade during the five-day Iberian-inspired fiesta here.

Tokyo, Feb 8 (IANS/EFE) The pale nakedness of replicas of Michelangelo's David and the Venus de Milo have scandalized some residents of a small Japanese town, who have asked that the intimate parts of the statues be covered to "preserve their modesty".

New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) Google paid tribute to late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh through a doodle on his 72nd birth anniversary Friday.

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) An important letter of Mahatma Gandhi to an additional secretary of the then British regime in 1943 seeking he be moved from house arrest to some prison will be auctioned by British auction house Mullock's Feb 14.

Kolkata, Feb 7 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday donated proceeds from the sale of her paintings to candidates of her party, Trinamool Congress, for assembly by-elections to three seats.

Jammu, Feb 7 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir Police would support and protect the all-girl band Pragaash to all possible extent in whatever decision they take, said the state police chief Thursday.