History has a way of repeating itself. The adage gains special significance in case of Punjab, which, thanks to the seeds sown over the time, is reaping rich dividends today. With Punjab emerging as the best overall state since 2003, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal attributes its repeated success to Punjabis being "aggressive and progressive by nature".

Change is inevitable; it is truly the only constant. Often change is hard to detect, particularly in amorphous domains such as governance and development. Be assured though that India is changing, even if at a glacial pace. The Seventh India Today State of the States Report reveals that the gravity of growth is shifting to emerging geographies, even if gradually.

The mysterious deaths of 14 deer in Kanpur's Allen Forests Zoo on September 12 was lost in Mayawati's latest statue-and-park drive. Even a missive from Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh failed to evoke a response from the chief minister's office.

Who were the first Indians? Were they the chocolate-hued Dravidian southerners or the dark-skinned tribals that inhabit East India and the Andaman islands? Was the relatively fair Indo-European population of the North the original settler? Or did the Mongoloid-featured Tibetan-Burmans beat the rest to it? When and how did the pioneers reach India? What routes did they take?

How can countries that gave the world finger-licking good food

There's an old joke that goes: "Inflation is when you pay Rs 50 for the Rs 20 haircut you used to get for Rs 5 when you actually had hair." With the sharp spike in prices of essential foodstuff, it's no laughing matter.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strung out in isolated emerald splendour across the Bay of Bengal. It is their inaccessibility that has helped put them on the global genetic map.

Though Governments in India are elected for a five-year term, the first few months set the tone and provide early hints about the course it plans to take.

This is one hospital with a difference: Patients don't go to it; it floats to them. The many inaccessible islands in the Brahmaputra river now have a common connecting link-hospital boats from the award-winning project, Ships of Hope-that brings them quality medical care right at their doorstep.

One week, 17 deaths and over 1,000 confirmed cases. You can count the days on your fingers, but not the victims of the new public health menace -the H1N1 flu. "Its speed is without precedent," says Dr Randeep Guleria, professor of Internal Medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).