Exclusive: 'China our primary front now', says Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande

Epic battle: Election campaigns bring out the best metaphors from politicians. NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy is trying his luck a third time in electoral politics, and his father and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy recalled how Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had dismissed Nikhil as a “kid”. Kumaraswamy said his son, who is contesting from Channapatna, had been defeated twice due to deceit. But this time, Nikhil will not be Abhimanyu (who was isolated and killed by the Kauravas) but Arjuna, who was protected by Lord Krishna, said the JD(S) leader, equating the alliance partners with the deity. Shivakumar taunted Kumaraswamy, saying that even the greatest of warriors had been defeated | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Politics over prayers: Naseem Solanki, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Sisamau, is in a peculiar pickle. Solanki, who is fighting the byelections in lieu of her jailed husband, reportedly performed a jal abhishek—ritual offering of water on a shivling—in an effort to attract Hindu voters. That earned her no support from Muslim ulemas, who suggested that she apologise to Allah for the act. The Hindus are now miffed because Solanki crumbled under pressure and denied performing the ritual, reasoning that a temple fell in the way of her campaign trail and some Hindu supporters, and not her, prayed and lit a diya there.

Strategic moves: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to surprise and perplex his supporters with his gestures. During a recent event, Kumar unexpectedly rose from his seat to touch the feet of former BJP MP R.K. Sinha, who was in the midst of praising him. This gesture left Sinha visibly embarrassed, prompting intervention from one of Kumar’s senior ministers. This isn’t the first time Kumar has made such a move. Six months ago, he stirred conversation by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet, and a few months later, he made a similar attempt with an official. With Bihar’s elections due next year, Kumar’s actions are closely watched, as they often hint at potential political alignments. Some even speculate that these gestures are strategic, meant to keep his allies guessing.

Cracker of a dream: You would think becoming an actor would have been Ananya Panday’s ultimate dream. But seeing her excitement in a recent video shared by her cousin Alanna, it seems being on a firecracker packet brings her equal joy. When Alanna presented her with a box of sparklers featuring her, Ananya exclaims: “I’m on the fuljhadi (packet)? That’s my dream.” She even tells her mother, Bhavana Pandey, about it—”Mom! I’m on the fuljhadi packet!”Guess we all need a bit of sparkle in our lives | AFP

Top cop: Kareena Kapoor Khan is redefining her career and how. She has had a fab year so far, dabbling in experimental roles like the one in The Buckingham Murders and even turning producer with the same. Pushing the envelope further, she will next be seen in a Meghna Gulzar film. Tentatively titled ‘Daayra’, the film, like some of Gulzar’s previous works, is said to be based on a true incident. Kareena reportedly will play a cop, and will have Prithviraj Sukumaran giving her company on screen | AFP

Going big: This year has been Ambika Mod’s breakthrough year. She made a splash with the Netflix miniseries One Day, and soon found herself on the Time100 Next 2024 list. So, what’s next for Mod? It’s Sacrifice, French director Romain Gavras’s upcoming action film starring a host of big names—Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek Pinault and Charli XCX. Sacrifice will be Gavras’s English-language film debut, and is loosely inspired by the story of Joan of Arc | Getty Images

Better and verse: Jeet Thayil, the poet, is back. It took him 16 years to find rhyme and reason with I’ll Have It Here, his first since the Sahitya Akademi Award–winning These Errors Are Correct. “I was convinced there had been a breakup between poetry and me,”he says. “Unwisely, I put this conviction into print, in the preface to a volume of collected poems: ‘My last book, written in dedication to my wife, who died, is the last full-length collection of poems I intend to publish. For various reasons, I am unable to equal the poems in that book and it seems to me that if you cannot equal or improve on your last book, it may be better not to publish at all.’ It appears I was wrong. The poems that make up I’ll Have It Here were written between 2020 and 2024, an unexpected late bounty for which I’m grateful.” | Josekutty Panackal

Kollywood in Tokyo: Many prominent Tamil actors flocked to Tokyo this week, and here’s the reason—Tamil actor Nepoleon Duraisamy’s son Dhanoosh Nepoleon married Akshaya Vivekanandha Raj in a grand ceremony at the Bellesalle Roppongi in Tokyo’s Minato City on November 7. Nepoleon, who was also a former Union minister in the UPA-1 government, has been spending the past few months in Japan to create a memorable experience for his family, friends and colleagues from the Tamil film industry. He has been sharing glimpses of Japan and its unique culture on social media. Dhanoosh, the elder son of Nepoleon and his wife Jayasudha, was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at an early age. Seeking specialised care for Dhanoosh, the family moved to the US, where they eventually settled | instagram@nepoleon_duraisamy