Anupam Banerjee

The idea came to me from young @anoshito_b who interviewed me on this very subject for @CNNnews18 ! A link to his excellent piece on the same subject: “Befarma'id, Mr. Trump: The Art Of The Deal Meets The Art Of The Bazaar” news18.com/world/befarmai…

@Tamal0401 I remember interacting with you when you did DCC, so it is expected that you will know the difference between Military and other Forces. Please don't put wrong info to make the tweet more peppy in election season.

A military conference to deliberate as how to hold “free and fair” elections in #Bengal Unbelievable - Chiefs of BSF, CRPF, SSB, ITBP & CISF - all came together in #Kolkata to discuss one state ‘election’? Is this #BengalElection2026 or Operation Sindoor? Or operation Bengal?

@SushantSin To me it appears that Mr Bisaria also is telling the same thing albeit in a polished diplomatic language. Isn't 'Dalal' same as 'Middleman' ?

India's last high commissioner to Pakistan concludes that though it is narrow convergence, it is in India's interest to support the peace process run by Pakistan. But what we have instead is Jaishankar calling Pakistan a dalal.

@vickymunshis @BaA43A3aHY LOL. You have a point

@unapom @BaA43A3aHY Overcome the getaway urge…use the buff ingress i X 45.

Random airplane pictures thread. MiG-19 / F-6.

@vickymunshis @BaA43A3aHY Max thrust of 14.5 tonne and Sweep 72. Fun over Rann

@BaA43A3aHY …@unapom that would have been something.

@parrysingh Exceptional explanation.

Ah! “The usual Chura Liya is a copy” accusations are being hurled in some replies. Yes, I know it was inspired from If It’s Tuesday. And so were some other RD songs - Mehbooba Mehbooba from Demis Roussos “Say You Love Me”, Mil Gaya from ABBA’s Mama Mia and so on. Now, let’s go deeper. A song has 4 layers - tune, harmony & chord structure, rhythm & arrangement, cultural & emotional context. When someone lazily says ‘copy’ (usually these are people who don’t compose music) - they are just referring to layer 1 - the tune. RD didn’t simply lift tunes - he re-harmonised the chord voicings and embedded the melody in a completely different context. Let’s take Chura Liya: The A-minor after the glass-clink, then D-minor, finally back to the lingering A-minor - this is the most memorable guitar segment everyone instantly remembers from the song. This is a unique arrangement. If it’s Tuesday doesn’t have this chord progression. Or the memorable sax that follows “Badal ke meri tum zindagani”. Or the harmonic high of ‘Tum mere ho, tum mere ho’ that suddenly drop to ‘aaj tum itna waada…’ These are brilliantly unique arrangements…think of them as a beautiful building on top of a basic scaffolding, that demand exceptional musical imagination - well beyond the reach of the average composer. A song is much more than the combination of notes. RD’s genius was what happens between the notes. Transformation that reconstructs timbre, texture, and orchestration into something richer and more enduring is craft. That is what RD did.

The opening of Chura Liya Hai begins not with a melody, but with a rhythmic clinking of two wine glasses - by the elegant Zeenat Aman, as if she's letting you in on a secret. That's when R. D. Burman delivers his masterstroke - a spare A-minor guitar riff - as deep as the ocean. And just as you're sinking into its spell, Asha Ji's voice coquettishly whispers the song into existence. Funnily enough, this has become a dinner table trick in my family. Each time we are in a celebratory mood, I bring a metal spoon to a glass, and try replicating that famous clink - clumsily. But here's the thing, everyone in the room recognizes the sequence - including my son, who was born decades after this song swept the country. Chura Liya is 53 years old. It came out in 1973, barely 26 years after India's independence. Yet, even if it were released today, the entire sequence - Zeenat Aman's grace, RD's magic, and Asha ji's vocals - would sound just as contemporary. That's the genius of geniuses. They never grow old.

China controls 85% of rare earth processing. India holds the reserves but barely the strategy. Along with @aniltrigunayat and @awasthi_bob, I attempt to break down what New Delhi is doing about it. With @CNNnews18 news18.com/world/how-indi… #RareEarths #India #China

From #Kargil to #Balakot & #OpSindoor — evolution of #IAF Ops. Some reflections of how evolving #Doctrine, #technologyadaptation & #DecisionMaking influenced use of #airpower in last 25+ years to shape geopolitics of our #neighbourhood ▶️ Full interview: youtu.be/1_3ejrQQ6GA?si…

The Air Force Band was exceptional at the Beating Retreat 2026. They performed ‘Brave Warrior’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Alert (Post Horn Gallop)’ and ‘Flying Star’ impeccably. The Sindoor formation was brilliant!

#RepublicDay | 'हम खुशक़िस्मत हैं कि हमारे पास ‘वंदे मातरम्’ और ‘जन गण मन’ जैसे राष्ट्रगीत और राष्ट्रगान हैं'-ग्रुप कैप्टन अनुपम बनर्जी (रि.), वायुसेना #RepublicDayIndia | @SyyedSuhail | @DeoSikta देखें LIVE: shorturl.at/VBjFC

@pandeypoonam20 @rajatpTOI That name was given by me. Rajat wish you very best in your next endeavors

@rajatpTOI Countless stories. One enduring legacy of credibility. Rajat sir, you will always be our 'CDS Media'. TOI won’t feel the same without you.

After 32 years of unbiased reportage & analysis for The Times of India, it’s time to move on and explore other options. Happy New Year!

@gagan_shux Lovely pictures

Sunrises and sunsets are among nature’s most exquisite spectacles. From Earth, the Sun appears yellow because its light passes through our atmosphere and undergoes Rayleigh scattering. During sunrise and sunset, the light’s path through the atmosphere is much longer, amplifying this effect and painting the Sun in deeper hues of orange and red. From orbit, however, the story changes. With little to no atmosphere in the way, the Sun reveals its true colour: white, as seen in the video. And yet, intriguingly, the sunrise I’ve shared from orbit in the image still carries an orange tint. Why does that happen? Crack the mystery and drop your thoughts in the comments. #shux #space #shubhanshushukla #india #sunrise

@gagan_shux Fly safe

Sure feels good to be back in the cockpit. Flight training remains a cornerstone of astronaut preparation. Few environments demand such seamless integration of sensory inputs, rapid real-time decision-making, and razor-sharp situational awareness. These are not just flying skills—they are survival skills in space. Having spent a lifetime in cockpits, returning to one feels less like a visit and more like coming home. And if there had to be a way back, there could hardly be a finer one than flying alongside the ambassadors of the Indian Air Force—the Suryakirans. @IAF_MCC @Suryakiran_IAF #shux #isro #indianairforce #india #shubhanshushukla

@airindia Indeed. See you soon onboard

@unapom Dear Mr. Banerjee, it truly made our day and we are sure yours too! Anand will be delighted to see this. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Hope to serve you again soon.

1/n I would like to express my sincere appreciation to @airindia, and especially Mr Anand, APM – Milan, for the extraordinary support my daughter received from him and his team at Milan MXP airport during a difficult transit situation caused by @delta

@VishnuNDTV @ShivAroor @NirajC @AndrewTangel @FAANews @milesobrien @EnacGov @MiAirports @jagritichandra @AbhijitG4 @airlinewriter @Delta @airindia

7/n The kind act was beyond his charter of duty and was done out of goodwill. Mr Anand's empathy and professionalism turned a stressful situation into a reminder that genuine care still exists in #travel. Thanks for going so far out of your way to help! Proud of him and @airindia