Indra, the Vedic god of rain and thunder, was once the supreme ruler of the heavens. Wielding his mighty vajra (thunderbolt), he was celebrated in the Rigveda for slaying the serpent-demon Vritra, ...

While a ceremonial fusillade of firecrackers sounded outside, a black-capped Brahmin pandit recited Sanskrit prayers last week in a factory conference hall at Poona, outside Bombay. It was the time of ...