Pakistan has been described by Newsweek magazine as "the most dangerous place in the world". However, as intense fighting continues and casualties rise, Mohammed Hanif in Karachi says that for the moment there is still a thriving social life.
Last week I received an e-mail from the foreign editor of a European newspaper who said: "So I wonder if you could write a story for us about living in Pakistan which, looking from here, seems to be the bottom of hell."
Pakistani cricket fans celebrate their country"s team victory in the final of Twenty20 World Cup against Sri Lanka, in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pakistan is also a place for celebrations following sporting victories.
I was tempted to write to him and tell him that we were not at the bottom of hell yet, but we were trying hard to get there.
Or something like, yes, we are at the bottom of the hell but at least the weather is fine.
I also thought of asking whether the bottom of hell is supposed to have hole-in-the-wall cash machines and art galleries.
Do they allow children to play cricket in the street there? Is dancing at weddings allowed?
'Bad name'
I did not write it because I realised that I was thinking like a certain kind of Pakistani.
There is a certain kind of man or woman here who is very concerned about the image of their country.
Not that they are unconcerned about suicide bombers, or about the electricity crisis or about urban slums or the fluctuating fortunes of the Pakistani cricket team.
They do care about these things. But they think that the Taliban and the power crisis and dropped catches are bad because they bring their beloved country a bad name.
Earlier this year there was a film celebrating the lives of four professional Pakistanis. According to the makers of Made in Pakistan, the show was a response to a Newsweek cover story which described Pakistan as "the most dangerous place in the world".
The documentary might not have made Newsweek change its editorial judgment but it played to packed houses with a red-carpet reception and half-a-dozen television crews.
A mother with her daughter who was injured in the bombing at Islamabad's Islamic University
During the first two weeks of October there were 13 attacks in Pakistan, including one on the Pakistani Army's headquarters
Image conscious Pakistanis are likely to point out that despite all the country's troubles it is a vibrant democracy.
They never forget to remind us that Pakistan has some of the liveliest pop music in South Asia, our contemporary art is hot property at Sotheby's, our writers are nominated for international awards and our philanthropists fund world-class hospitals.
They tend to forget that this is no consolation for someone trying to escape South Waziristan with American drones in the sky, the Pakistan army closing in and the Taliban digging in their heels for yet another last stand.
'Bottom of hell'
During the first two weeks of October there were 13 attacks in Pakistan, including one on the Pakistani army's headquarters.
During the same two weeks, a painfully detailed production of Chekov's The Seagull had a successful 10-day run in Karachi.
At another venue local actors put together a female version of The Odd Couple and the Abba musical Mamma Mia opened to a standing ovation.
There were scores of other events across the country, such as the 25th anniversary of a street theatre group, a film festival for children, dozens of music concerts, thousands of weddings and endless games of street cricket. One does not expect so many people frolicking at the bottom of hell.
Social networking sites were split between people who were commenting on the authenticity of the Mamma Mia costumes and those asking 'What is happening to my country?'
The other day I was reading an article by a friend who hates musicals. She had written that the Karachi opening of Mamma Mia might be the last stand against the Taliban, but it was still girls in spandex singing Abba songs.
While reading the piece, I turned on the TV and saw that the Taliban had been on the rampage in Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore.
Recently these attacks have been happening with such frequency that I have come to believe that if you turn on a local news channel and stare at the screen long enough a bomb will go off somewhere.
On this morning, an explosion in Kohat killed more than 50 civilians. As I was reeling from the gory images, another story broke... an attack was under way on a police commandoes facility in Lahore. Then more breaking news... an investigation centre had been targeted.
Soon my TV screen was split in three and I could follow the progress of all three attacks.
'Bright spots'
Later in the day, social networking sites were split between people who were commenting on the authenticity of the Mamma Mia costumes and those asking "What is happening to my country?".
Searching for bright spots in Pakistan, many foreign newspapers have recently done soft stories on the country.
They have covered Pakistani painters, philanthropists, rock stars and, in one desperate piece, Facebook protesters.
What we tend to often forget is that the cultural activities we want the world to focus on take place in a middle-class, affluent bubble, with electricity generators on standby, private security guards with scanners, and which are often bankrolled by mobile-phone companies or fast food chains.
Outside this bubble, millions try to eke out a living, then go home to watch the horrors of the day on their split screens.
Not too many of them get to go to the theatre to sing along with those jaunty Abba songs even if Money Money Money is the only anthem allowed at the bottom of hell.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Doubts over Latvia 'meteor crash'
Scientists investigating a large crater in a field in northern Latvia, believed to have been caused by a meteorite, now suspect it was a hoax.
Fire crews were called to the scene on Sunday outside the town of Mazsalaca by locals who said something had fallen from the sky and set the land on fire.
One expert who had said the 9m (27ft) wide crater was caused by an impact, said he now thought it was artificial.
The hole was too tidy to have been caused by a meteorite, he said.
It would be unusual for such a large meteorite to hit the Earth, as most objects burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the surface.
In 2007, a meteorite ploughed into the countryside near the Andean town of Carancas in Peru, creating a 15m (50ft) wide crater.
'Pyrotechnic compound'
On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters had been told by a witness about a fire in a field near Mazsalaca at 1730 (1530 GMT) the previous day.
"We concluded that the impact must have come from the air and this is why we believe it could have been a meteorite," Inga Vetere said.
Meteorites are not 'on fire' or even hot when they land on Earth
Caroline Smith, Meteorite Curator, Natural History Museum, London
A military unit sent to the site found normal radiation levels.
Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, said his first impression after visiting the site late on Sunday had been that the crater was caused by a meteorite.
However, on closer inspection in daylight he found that the hole was too tidy to have been caused by a genuine impact.
"This is not a real crater. It is artificial," he told the Associated Press.
Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at London's Natural History Museum, told the BBC that the photographs and video footage of the site, and the material burning in the bottom of the hole, indicated that it was not an impact crater.
"Meteorites are not 'on fire' or even hot when they land on Earth," she said.
"Additionally, there have been no witness reports of any large 'fireball' sightings in the region on Sunday afternoon, when the crater was allegedly formed."
Latvian Geologist Dainis Ozols said he believed someone had dug a hole and tried to make it look like a meteorite crater by burning a pyrotechnic compound at the bottom.
It is thought the meteorite would have to have been at least 1m (3ft) in diameter to create a crater that size.
The owner of the land is now selling tickets to people who want to see the crater, reportedly to pay for wear and tear on the road.
Fire crews were called to the scene on Sunday outside the town of Mazsalaca by locals who said something had fallen from the sky and set the land on fire.
One expert who had said the 9m (27ft) wide crater was caused by an impact, said he now thought it was artificial.
The hole was too tidy to have been caused by a meteorite, he said.
It would be unusual for such a large meteorite to hit the Earth, as most objects burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the surface.
In 2007, a meteorite ploughed into the countryside near the Andean town of Carancas in Peru, creating a 15m (50ft) wide crater.
'Pyrotechnic compound'
On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters had been told by a witness about a fire in a field near Mazsalaca at 1730 (1530 GMT) the previous day.
"We concluded that the impact must have come from the air and this is why we believe it could have been a meteorite," Inga Vetere said.
Meteorites are not 'on fire' or even hot when they land on Earth
Caroline Smith, Meteorite Curator, Natural History Museum, London
A military unit sent to the site found normal radiation levels.
Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre, said his first impression after visiting the site late on Sunday had been that the crater was caused by a meteorite.
However, on closer inspection in daylight he found that the hole was too tidy to have been caused by a genuine impact.
"This is not a real crater. It is artificial," he told the Associated Press.
Caroline Smith, meteorite curator at London's Natural History Museum, told the BBC that the photographs and video footage of the site, and the material burning in the bottom of the hole, indicated that it was not an impact crater.
"Meteorites are not 'on fire' or even hot when they land on Earth," she said.
"Additionally, there have been no witness reports of any large 'fireball' sightings in the region on Sunday afternoon, when the crater was allegedly formed."
Latvian Geologist Dainis Ozols said he believed someone had dug a hole and tried to make it look like a meteorite crater by burning a pyrotechnic compound at the bottom.
It is thought the meteorite would have to have been at least 1m (3ft) in diameter to create a crater that size.
The owner of the land is now selling tickets to people who want to see the crater, reportedly to pay for wear and tear on the road.
Call to act on maternal mortality
Health ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth.
At the UN Population Fund meeting in Addis Ababa the ministers said the number of women dying in this way was actually increasing in some nations.
The ministers seemed to agree that family planning was the most cost-effective way of tacking the problem.
However, no unanimous declaration was adopted at the Addis Ababa talks.
Brain drain
The ministers said the world must act swiftly to stand any chance of reaching the UN's development goal of reducing global maternal mortality rates.
The ministers also recognised that more investment was needed in primary and emergency healthcare to save the lives of both mothers and babies in 15% of birth when complications arise, the BBC's Pascale Harter in Addis Ababa says.
But many governments - like that of the host company Ethiopia - have already invested heavily in training midwives only to have them work abroad. There are said to be more Ethiopian midwives working in Chicago now than in Addis Ababa, our correspondent says.
She adds that the Hamlin college of midwives in Ethiopia, however, is about to graduate its first intake of students and it believes it may have come up with a solution to the brain drain.
"We are actually hand-picking girls. Some of these girls wouldn't have the opportunities to go onto further education. We draw up a contract with their families that we will give them a full scholarship and if they work for six years post graduation back in their own area," says Annette Bennett, the college's dean.
"And many of them are really excited to be given this opportunity to then go back and work with their communities. They come from where the hardships are," she says.
But to really meet demand in countries like Ethiopia both government and aid donors would need to commit more money to this kind of primary healthcare, our correspondent says.
And yet while donor aid to fight HIV/Aids more than doubled earlier this decade, aid for primary healthcare dropped by nearly half, she adds.
At the UN Population Fund meeting in Addis Ababa the ministers said the number of women dying in this way was actually increasing in some nations.
The ministers seemed to agree that family planning was the most cost-effective way of tacking the problem.
However, no unanimous declaration was adopted at the Addis Ababa talks.
Brain drain
The ministers said the world must act swiftly to stand any chance of reaching the UN's development goal of reducing global maternal mortality rates.
The ministers also recognised that more investment was needed in primary and emergency healthcare to save the lives of both mothers and babies in 15% of birth when complications arise, the BBC's Pascale Harter in Addis Ababa says.
But many governments - like that of the host company Ethiopia - have already invested heavily in training midwives only to have them work abroad. There are said to be more Ethiopian midwives working in Chicago now than in Addis Ababa, our correspondent says.
She adds that the Hamlin college of midwives in Ethiopia, however, is about to graduate its first intake of students and it believes it may have come up with a solution to the brain drain.
"We are actually hand-picking girls. Some of these girls wouldn't have the opportunities to go onto further education. We draw up a contract with their families that we will give them a full scholarship and if they work for six years post graduation back in their own area," says Annette Bennett, the college's dean.
"And many of them are really excited to be given this opportunity to then go back and work with their communities. They come from where the hardships are," she says.
But to really meet demand in countries like Ethiopia both government and aid donors would need to commit more money to this kind of primary healthcare, our correspondent says.
And yet while donor aid to fight HIV/Aids more than doubled earlier this decade, aid for primary healthcare dropped by nearly half, she adds.
The man who walks with bears
Black bears are often considered among the most dangerous animals in North America, depicted down the years as ferocious predators threatening to man.
But, says one man, that perception could not be further from the truth.
For 43 years, Professor Lynn Rogers has studied wild bears, walking and playing with them, gaining amazing insights into their behaviour.
His studies reveal the bears as peaceful, playful creatures, which even hum when they are content.
The new understanding of wild black bear (Ursus americanus) behaviour unveiled by Prof Roger's research is depicted by the BBC natural history programme Natural World: "Bearwalker of the Northwoods".
For the first half of my life, I struggled to control my fear of bears. But bears like June have taught me that they are not the ferocious animals we once thought
Professor Lynn Rogers
As part of the programme, the BBC film crew working with Prof Rogers recorded wild black bears mating for the first time.
When the male bear mounts the female, his body shakes in a behaviour that Prof Rogers calls "fluttering".
Contrary to popular opinion, mating bears aren't particularly dangerous.
In all his years observing the black bears, he has never been threatened by a black bear that is attempting to attract or mate with another.
Following in a black bear's footsteps
In fact, he has never been attacked by any bear.
Black bear attacks on humans are incredibly rare, with most happening in the remote parts of Canada and Alaska, says Prof Rogers, who is director of the Wildlife Research Institute and the North American Bear Centre in Ely, Minnesota, US.
"In the eastern US, there have been only three fatalities caused by black bears in the last hundred years," he says.
Black bear drawing
A classic depiction of the black bear
When Prof Rogers started his research in the 1960s, they had to tranquilise bears to get close to them.
But now he has worked out how to get the bears' trust.
One bear, which Prof Rogers has named June, is particularly amenable, allowing him to walk and rest with her in the forest.
"Everyone warns you never to go near a mother bear with cubs," says Prof Rogers.
Yet he is able to sit alongside June and her cubs as they exit their den and play. He is also able to do the same with another bear, named Juliet.
Before June hibernates for the winter, the bear allows Prof Rogers to monitor her heart rate on a daily basis.
Each day, prior to her entering her den, June's heart rate falls.
BEAR FACTS
Bear cub
Black bears once ranged over most of the forested regions of North America. Their current distribution is restricted to relatively undisturbed forested regions
Their population is estimated at 750,000
Wild males weigh between 125 and 500lbs. Females weigh between 90 and 300lbs
Black bears groom each other for parasites as primates do
This species does not growl. Black bears make loud blowing noises and clack their teeth when frightened
"It is not that she likes me, she trusts me," says Prof Rogers.
"For the first half of my life, I struggled to control my fear of bears. But bears like June have taught me that they are not the ferocious animals we once thought."
A knee jerk fear of bears often leads to people attempting to hunt them, says Prof Rogers, even out of season when it is illegal to do so.
"Walking with bears allows us to see the dangers they face," says Prof Rogers.
"Some people are so afraid of bears, they shoot them on sight, even when they pose no threat."
In the film, Prof Rogers and his field researcher Ms Sue Mansfield can be seen approaching a 400lb male bear that they believe had earlier been shot and wounded by a hunter.
Yet even this wounded bear is not aggressive towards them.
During the six week annual hunting season, Prof Rogers and his team tie pink ribbons around the bears they are researching, so that they are obvious to hunters, which hopefully will spare the animals.
Bears temporarily marked in this way are four times less likely to be shot by hunters.
Suckle and hum...
There is also an assumption that feeding black bears may cause the animals to aggressively seek food out from walkers and campers.
"The funny thing is, there is no scientific evidence to support this," says Prof Rogers. "It is not what we see."
Other revelations gleaned by Prof Rogers during his research include the fact that black bears are susceptible to a parasite of deer.
Young bears can die after being infected by the pathogen, and Prof Rogers and his colleagues are now studying its impact on the black bear population.
Along with colleagues Dr Gustav Peters and Dr Megan Owen, Prof Rogers has also studied in detail a particular behaviour of bears, known as "humming".
While humming, bears will exhale producing a series of between nine and 15 loud sounds a second.
When they reach the end of each breath, they quickly and silently inhale, before exhaling loudly again, continuing the humming sound.
As yet, it is unclear why bears do this.
All bear species hum in this way, apart from giant pandas.
Natural World: 'Bearwalker of the Northwoods', Wednesday 28 October, 2000GMT, BBC Two
But, says one man, that perception could not be further from the truth.
For 43 years, Professor Lynn Rogers has studied wild bears, walking and playing with them, gaining amazing insights into their behaviour.
His studies reveal the bears as peaceful, playful creatures, which even hum when they are content.
The new understanding of wild black bear (Ursus americanus) behaviour unveiled by Prof Roger's research is depicted by the BBC natural history programme Natural World: "Bearwalker of the Northwoods".
For the first half of my life, I struggled to control my fear of bears. But bears like June have taught me that they are not the ferocious animals we once thought
Professor Lynn Rogers
As part of the programme, the BBC film crew working with Prof Rogers recorded wild black bears mating for the first time.
When the male bear mounts the female, his body shakes in a behaviour that Prof Rogers calls "fluttering".
Contrary to popular opinion, mating bears aren't particularly dangerous.
In all his years observing the black bears, he has never been threatened by a black bear that is attempting to attract or mate with another.
Following in a black bear's footsteps
In fact, he has never been attacked by any bear.
Black bear attacks on humans are incredibly rare, with most happening in the remote parts of Canada and Alaska, says Prof Rogers, who is director of the Wildlife Research Institute and the North American Bear Centre in Ely, Minnesota, US.
"In the eastern US, there have been only three fatalities caused by black bears in the last hundred years," he says.
Black bear drawing
A classic depiction of the black bear
When Prof Rogers started his research in the 1960s, they had to tranquilise bears to get close to them.
But now he has worked out how to get the bears' trust.
One bear, which Prof Rogers has named June, is particularly amenable, allowing him to walk and rest with her in the forest.
"Everyone warns you never to go near a mother bear with cubs," says Prof Rogers.
Yet he is able to sit alongside June and her cubs as they exit their den and play. He is also able to do the same with another bear, named Juliet.
Before June hibernates for the winter, the bear allows Prof Rogers to monitor her heart rate on a daily basis.
Each day, prior to her entering her den, June's heart rate falls.
BEAR FACTS
Bear cub
Black bears once ranged over most of the forested regions of North America. Their current distribution is restricted to relatively undisturbed forested regions
Their population is estimated at 750,000
Wild males weigh between 125 and 500lbs. Females weigh between 90 and 300lbs
Black bears groom each other for parasites as primates do
This species does not growl. Black bears make loud blowing noises and clack their teeth when frightened
"It is not that she likes me, she trusts me," says Prof Rogers.
"For the first half of my life, I struggled to control my fear of bears. But bears like June have taught me that they are not the ferocious animals we once thought."
A knee jerk fear of bears often leads to people attempting to hunt them, says Prof Rogers, even out of season when it is illegal to do so.
"Walking with bears allows us to see the dangers they face," says Prof Rogers.
"Some people are so afraid of bears, they shoot them on sight, even when they pose no threat."
In the film, Prof Rogers and his field researcher Ms Sue Mansfield can be seen approaching a 400lb male bear that they believe had earlier been shot and wounded by a hunter.
Yet even this wounded bear is not aggressive towards them.
During the six week annual hunting season, Prof Rogers and his team tie pink ribbons around the bears they are researching, so that they are obvious to hunters, which hopefully will spare the animals.
Bears temporarily marked in this way are four times less likely to be shot by hunters.
Suckle and hum...
There is also an assumption that feeding black bears may cause the animals to aggressively seek food out from walkers and campers.
"The funny thing is, there is no scientific evidence to support this," says Prof Rogers. "It is not what we see."
Other revelations gleaned by Prof Rogers during his research include the fact that black bears are susceptible to a parasite of deer.
Young bears can die after being infected by the pathogen, and Prof Rogers and his colleagues are now studying its impact on the black bear population.
Along with colleagues Dr Gustav Peters and Dr Megan Owen, Prof Rogers has also studied in detail a particular behaviour of bears, known as "humming".
While humming, bears will exhale producing a series of between nine and 15 loud sounds a second.
When they reach the end of each breath, they quickly and silently inhale, before exhaling loudly again, continuing the humming sound.
As yet, it is unclear why bears do this.
All bear species hum in this way, apart from giant pandas.
Natural World: 'Bearwalker of the Northwoods', Wednesday 28 October, 2000GMT, BBC Two
Indian royal splendour on display
When it comes to majestic grandeur, few monarchies in the world matched the opulence of India's royal courts in their heyday.
The Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum in London has brought some of that splendour to life in a new exhibition featuring more than 250 rarely seen objects, including thrones, gem-encrusted weapons and even a life-sized and bejewelled maharaja's model elephant.
Organisers say that Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts is the first display that comprehensively explores the world of these exotic rulers and their rich culture.
The exhibition centres on the golden period of maharaja power: from the beginning of the 18th century to the mid-20th century. Many of the magnificent objects on display have been loaned by India's royal families.
The aim is to illuminate the plush and sometimes ostentatious lifestyles of maharajas that existed right up until the end of British rule in 1947.
'Fascinating story'
"There has never been an exhibition like this before, showing the spectacular treasures of the courts of the maharajas," said V&A director Mark Jones.
Howdah, 19th century
Exhibition in pictures
"Many of the objects have left India for the first time to come to the V&A.
"This exhibition shows that India's rulers were significant patrons of the arts, in India and the West, and tells the fascinating story of the changing role of the maharaja from the early 18th century to the final days of the Raj."
One of the most fascinating items on display is the Patiala Necklace - one of jeweller Cartier's largest single commissions. Completed in 1928, it originally contained 2,930 diamonds.
Divided into sections, the exhibition starts with a recreation of an Indian royal procession, before examining the political, religious and military leadership roles a maharaja had to assume.
A brilliant and no doubt priceless display of oils, watercolours and sketches show how the secular and sacred power of an Indian king was expressed most spectacularly in the grand public processions that celebrated royal events and religious festivals.
Lavishly dressed maharajas can be seen riding richly caparisoned elephants or horses, surrounded by attendants bearing the symbolic attributes of kingship: a royal parasol, fans and staffs of authority.
Justice and punishment
"The vision of a king in all his splendour was believed to be auspicious. It was central to the concept of darshan, the propitious act of seeing and being seen by a superior being, whether a god or a king," exhibition co-organiser Anna Watson told the BBC.
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Late 19th century
Maharajas have worn some of the world's most splendid jewellery
"Although originally a Hindu notion, the idea of darshan became an integral aspect of kingship throughout the subcontinent."
The exhibition also examines changes in the balance of power and changes in taste in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the disintegration of the Mughal empire and the impact of expanding British influence.
It explains how even under the British, Indian rulers were expected to exercise rajadharma - the duties and behaviour appropriate to a king.
These duties include the protection of their subjects, the adjudication of disputes, and the ministering of justice and punishment.
"Martial skills were as important as administrative and diplomatic ones; as well as being wise and benevolent, kings were expected to be fierce warriors and skilled hunters. Rajadharma was also exercised through the patronage of poets, musicians, architects, artists, craftsmen and religious foundations," Ms Watson is quoted as saying in exhibition publicity material.
When Mughal power collapsed completely in 1739, a new breed of maharajas popped up all over India to replace them.
'Modern maharajas'
The exhibition explains that they were seldom known as "maharajas" - a word meaning "great king".
Instead, they enjoyed a multiplicity of titles - Raja, Rana, Maharana, Nawab and Nizam.
Detail showing Maharana Ari Singh at the Jagmandir , 1767
Maharajas were renowned for their patronage of the arts
The final section explores the role of "modern" maharajas and the increasing European influence on their lives and possessions.
The exhibition explains the Raj essentially operated as a two-tier system - the British had direct control over three-fifths of the subcontinent, known as "British India", and indirect control over the remaining territory.
Although Indian rulers were guaranteed their borders and rights, the British continued to interfere in the day-to-day running of their states and to limit royal authority - most dramatically in deposing rulers they viewed as unsuitable.
Around this time the number of Indian princes - as rulers were now termed - grew enormously as the British bestowed titles on landowners and chieftains.
A system of imperial orders was introduced to integrate Indian rulers into a western-style feudal hierarchy.
The most important states were ranked within a system of gun salutes; Queen Victoria was entitled to 101 guns, the viceroy and members of the royal family to 31, while the princes had between 21 and nine depending on their status.
But just as Indian rulers began to become fully adapted to the new imperial regime - as they did with the Mughals centuries earlier - they had to change again when India became a republic after independence in 1947.
The Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum in London has brought some of that splendour to life in a new exhibition featuring more than 250 rarely seen objects, including thrones, gem-encrusted weapons and even a life-sized and bejewelled maharaja's model elephant.
Organisers say that Maharaja: The Splendour of India's Royal Courts is the first display that comprehensively explores the world of these exotic rulers and their rich culture.
The exhibition centres on the golden period of maharaja power: from the beginning of the 18th century to the mid-20th century. Many of the magnificent objects on display have been loaned by India's royal families.
The aim is to illuminate the plush and sometimes ostentatious lifestyles of maharajas that existed right up until the end of British rule in 1947.
'Fascinating story'
"There has never been an exhibition like this before, showing the spectacular treasures of the courts of the maharajas," said V&A director Mark Jones.
Howdah, 19th century
Exhibition in pictures
"Many of the objects have left India for the first time to come to the V&A.
"This exhibition shows that India's rulers were significant patrons of the arts, in India and the West, and tells the fascinating story of the changing role of the maharaja from the early 18th century to the final days of the Raj."
One of the most fascinating items on display is the Patiala Necklace - one of jeweller Cartier's largest single commissions. Completed in 1928, it originally contained 2,930 diamonds.
Divided into sections, the exhibition starts with a recreation of an Indian royal procession, before examining the political, religious and military leadership roles a maharaja had to assume.
A brilliant and no doubt priceless display of oils, watercolours and sketches show how the secular and sacred power of an Indian king was expressed most spectacularly in the grand public processions that celebrated royal events and religious festivals.
Lavishly dressed maharajas can be seen riding richly caparisoned elephants or horses, surrounded by attendants bearing the symbolic attributes of kingship: a royal parasol, fans and staffs of authority.
Justice and punishment
"The vision of a king in all his splendour was believed to be auspicious. It was central to the concept of darshan, the propitious act of seeing and being seen by a superior being, whether a god or a king," exhibition co-organiser Anna Watson told the BBC.
Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Late 19th century
Maharajas have worn some of the world's most splendid jewellery
"Although originally a Hindu notion, the idea of darshan became an integral aspect of kingship throughout the subcontinent."
The exhibition also examines changes in the balance of power and changes in taste in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the disintegration of the Mughal empire and the impact of expanding British influence.
It explains how even under the British, Indian rulers were expected to exercise rajadharma - the duties and behaviour appropriate to a king.
These duties include the protection of their subjects, the adjudication of disputes, and the ministering of justice and punishment.
"Martial skills were as important as administrative and diplomatic ones; as well as being wise and benevolent, kings were expected to be fierce warriors and skilled hunters. Rajadharma was also exercised through the patronage of poets, musicians, architects, artists, craftsmen and religious foundations," Ms Watson is quoted as saying in exhibition publicity material.
When Mughal power collapsed completely in 1739, a new breed of maharajas popped up all over India to replace them.
'Modern maharajas'
The exhibition explains that they were seldom known as "maharajas" - a word meaning "great king".
Instead, they enjoyed a multiplicity of titles - Raja, Rana, Maharana, Nawab and Nizam.
Detail showing Maharana Ari Singh at the Jagmandir , 1767
Maharajas were renowned for their patronage of the arts
The final section explores the role of "modern" maharajas and the increasing European influence on their lives and possessions.
The exhibition explains the Raj essentially operated as a two-tier system - the British had direct control over three-fifths of the subcontinent, known as "British India", and indirect control over the remaining territory.
Although Indian rulers were guaranteed their borders and rights, the British continued to interfere in the day-to-day running of their states and to limit royal authority - most dramatically in deposing rulers they viewed as unsuitable.
Around this time the number of Indian princes - as rulers were now termed - grew enormously as the British bestowed titles on landowners and chieftains.
A system of imperial orders was introduced to integrate Indian rulers into a western-style feudal hierarchy.
The most important states were ranked within a system of gun salutes; Queen Victoria was entitled to 101 guns, the viceroy and members of the royal family to 31, while the princes had between 21 and nine depending on their status.
But just as Indian rulers began to become fully adapted to the new imperial regime - as they did with the Mughals centuries earlier - they had to change again when India became a republic after independence in 1947.
Particle beams injected into LHC
Engineers working on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have successfully injected beams of particles into two sections of the vast machine.
An LHC spokesperson said this was the first time particle beams had been inside the LHC since it was shut down late in September 2008.
Scientists working on the giant particle accelerator described the success as "a milestone".
They plan to circulate a beam around the 27km-long tunnel in November.
The LHC was closed down shortly after its switch-on last year, when a magnet problem called a "quench" caused a tonne of liquid helium to leak into its tunnel.
This is a work of synchronisation
Gianluigi Arduini, Cern
Since then, engineers have been working to repair the damage. Recently, all eight sectors of the LHC were cooled to their operating temperature of 1.9 kelvin (-271C; -456F) - colder than deep space.
On 23 and 25 October, beams of protons and of lead ions were injected into the LHC ring, and successfully guided both clockwise and anti-clockwise through two of the eight sectors. Each sector is approximately 3.5km long.
The extreme cold allows the magnets inside the LHC, which align and accelerate the beam, to become "superconducting". This means they channel electric current with zero resistance and very little power loss.
Gianluigi Arduini, deputy head of hardware commissioning for the LHC, told BBC News the beam test showed that the collider's machinery was operating properly.
LHC tunnel (Cern/M.Brice)
The LHC's tunnel runs for 27km under the Franco-Swiss border
"This is a work of synchronisation," he said.
"The fast magnets must be synchronised to accelerate the beam and transfer it from one accelerator to the next and eventually to the LHC, which must be synchronised to accept it.
"This whole process happens within a few hundred picoseconds - one picosecond is a millionth of a millionth of a second."
The beams were injected at 450 billion electron volts, only a fraction of the energy that scientists will aim for when they attempt to collide two particle beams.
Two beams of particles will be fired down pipes running through the magnets - travelling in opposite directions at close to the speed of light.
Mr Arduini said: "The aim once the beam is circulating is to accelerate [it] up to 3.5 [trillion electron volts].
"But that will be in stages. We will first go to one, then 3.5... then from 2011 we're going to try to go to seven."
At allotted points around the tunnel, the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another.
Scientists hope to see new particles in the debris of these collisions that could reveal insights into the "Big Bang" and the nature of the Universe.
An LHC spokesperson said this was the first time particle beams had been inside the LHC since it was shut down late in September 2008.
Scientists working on the giant particle accelerator described the success as "a milestone".
They plan to circulate a beam around the 27km-long tunnel in November.
The LHC was closed down shortly after its switch-on last year, when a magnet problem called a "quench" caused a tonne of liquid helium to leak into its tunnel.
This is a work of synchronisation
Gianluigi Arduini, Cern
Since then, engineers have been working to repair the damage. Recently, all eight sectors of the LHC were cooled to their operating temperature of 1.9 kelvin (-271C; -456F) - colder than deep space.
On 23 and 25 October, beams of protons and of lead ions were injected into the LHC ring, and successfully guided both clockwise and anti-clockwise through two of the eight sectors. Each sector is approximately 3.5km long.
The extreme cold allows the magnets inside the LHC, which align and accelerate the beam, to become "superconducting". This means they channel electric current with zero resistance and very little power loss.
Gianluigi Arduini, deputy head of hardware commissioning for the LHC, told BBC News the beam test showed that the collider's machinery was operating properly.
LHC tunnel (Cern/M.Brice)
The LHC's tunnel runs for 27km under the Franco-Swiss border
"This is a work of synchronisation," he said.
"The fast magnets must be synchronised to accelerate the beam and transfer it from one accelerator to the next and eventually to the LHC, which must be synchronised to accept it.
"This whole process happens within a few hundred picoseconds - one picosecond is a millionth of a millionth of a second."
The beams were injected at 450 billion electron volts, only a fraction of the energy that scientists will aim for when they attempt to collide two particle beams.
Two beams of particles will be fired down pipes running through the magnets - travelling in opposite directions at close to the speed of light.
Mr Arduini said: "The aim once the beam is circulating is to accelerate [it] up to 3.5 [trillion electron volts].
"But that will be in stages. We will first go to one, then 3.5... then from 2011 we're going to try to go to seven."
At allotted points around the tunnel, the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another.
Scientists hope to see new particles in the debris of these collisions that could reveal insights into the "Big Bang" and the nature of the Universe.
Net set for 'language shake-up'
The internet is on the brink of the "biggest change" to its working "since it was invented 40 years ago", the net regulator Icann has said.
The body said it that it was finalising plans to introduce web addresses using non-Latin characters.
The proposal - initially approved in 2008 - would allow domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts.
The body said if the final plans were approved on 30 October, it would accept the first applications by 16 November.
The first Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) could be up and running by "mid 2010" said the president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).
"Of the 1.6 billion internet users today worldwide, more than half use languages that have scripts that are not Latin-based," said Rod Beckstrom at the opening of Icann's conference in Seoul, South Korea.
"So this change is very much necessary for not only half the world's internet users today but more than half, probably, of the future users as the internet continues to spread."
Relaxed rules
Plans for IDNs were approved at a meeting in June 2008. However, testing of the system has been going on for much longer, said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the board in charge of reviewing the change.
"You have to appreciate what a fantastically complicated technical feature this is," he said.
"What we have created is a different translation system."
The changes will be applied to the net's Domain Name System. This acts like a phone book, translating easily understood domain names such as bbc.co.uk into strings of computer readable numbers known as IP addresses.
The tweaks will allow this system to recognise and translate the non-Latin characters.
"We are confident that it works because we have been testing it for a couple of years," said Mr Dengate Thrush. "We're really ready to start rolling it out."
Some countries, such as China and Thailand, have already introduced workarounds that allow computer users to enter web addresses in their own language. However, these were not internationally approved and do not necessarily work on all computers.
The meeting in South Korea will also discuss its plans to introduce generic Top Level Domains (TLDs), such as .uk or .com.
Last year, the body voted to relax rules on TLDs meaning companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.
Icann, set up by the US government, was founded in 1998 to oversee the development of the net.
Last month, after years of criticism, the US government eased its control over the non-profit body.
It signed a new agreement that gave Icann autonomy for the first time. The agreement came into effect on 1 October and puts it under the scrutiny of the global "internet community".
The body said it that it was finalising plans to introduce web addresses using non-Latin characters.
The proposal - initially approved in 2008 - would allow domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts.
The body said if the final plans were approved on 30 October, it would accept the first applications by 16 November.
The first Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) could be up and running by "mid 2010" said the president of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).
"Of the 1.6 billion internet users today worldwide, more than half use languages that have scripts that are not Latin-based," said Rod Beckstrom at the opening of Icann's conference in Seoul, South Korea.
"So this change is very much necessary for not only half the world's internet users today but more than half, probably, of the future users as the internet continues to spread."
Relaxed rules
Plans for IDNs were approved at a meeting in June 2008. However, testing of the system has been going on for much longer, said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the board in charge of reviewing the change.
"You have to appreciate what a fantastically complicated technical feature this is," he said.
"What we have created is a different translation system."
The changes will be applied to the net's Domain Name System. This acts like a phone book, translating easily understood domain names such as bbc.co.uk into strings of computer readable numbers known as IP addresses.
The tweaks will allow this system to recognise and translate the non-Latin characters.
"We are confident that it works because we have been testing it for a couple of years," said Mr Dengate Thrush. "We're really ready to start rolling it out."
Some countries, such as China and Thailand, have already introduced workarounds that allow computer users to enter web addresses in their own language. However, these were not internationally approved and do not necessarily work on all computers.
The meeting in South Korea will also discuss its plans to introduce generic Top Level Domains (TLDs), such as .uk or .com.
Last year, the body voted to relax rules on TLDs meaning companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.
Icann, set up by the US government, was founded in 1998 to oversee the development of the net.
Last month, after years of criticism, the US government eased its control over the non-profit body.
It signed a new agreement that gave Icann autonomy for the first time. The agreement came into effect on 1 October and puts it under the scrutiny of the global "internet community".
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