American Muslims grew in number over the past decade, outnumbering Jews for the first time in most of the Midwest and part of the South, while most mainline churches lost adherents, according to a census of American religions released on Tuesday. The number of Muslim adherents rose to 2.

Pressing his palms together, Jujubhai Basan Shrestha raises his hands, acknowledging greetings from the cheering crowd of devotees and onlookers. Sporting a white turban, the 31-year-old sits on a chair as a man inserts a 13 inch (33 cm) metal skewer through his tongue in a centuries-old ritual in this poor settlement, 12 km (8 miles) east of Kathmandu.

It’s most unusual to see geography as primarily a construct of the human imagination, but that is precisely what the scholar of Hinduism Diana Eck attempts in her massive new book, “India.

Pradeep Singh is at ease as he lounges on a charpai, smoking a hookah in the courtyard of his ancestral house. His male cousins sit beside him while the womenfolk demonstrate the art of milking cows to guests from the city. For many Indians who live in western-styled, air-conditioned houses in urban areas, this pastoral setting in Haryana is an alien lifestyle, one that Singh packages and exhibits as a tourist attraction.

"Kolaveri Di" Monday crossed 50 million hits on YouTube, revealing that music lovers have yet to get over southern superstar Dhanush's unusual song. Sony Music gives credit to social networking sites for its phenomenal success. Till Monday afternoon, 50,086,633 hits were recorded. "It's amazing to see 'Kolaveri Di' escalate to such a phenomenal success. Our simple attempt of uploading a song has turned it into an historic recall.

Irrfan is probably India's most successful export to Hollywood, having tasted success with experimental roles in several critically acclaimed films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "A Mighty Heart." But the 40-something actor said he has no plans to move to Hollywood.

When the women of Ganeshpura village began their fight for a patch of overgrown wasteland two decades ago, they were mocked by men, scorned by neighbours and ignored by officials in this conservative, patriarchal region of western India.