Exclusive: THE WEEK tracks down ULFA top gun Drishti Rajkhowa

The guessing game: The second edition of Ran Samwad, a marquee tri-services annual event held in Bengaluru, recently brought together Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan and the top brass of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. While formal discussions delved deep into the changing dynamics of modern warfare—particularly the growing emphasis on multi-domain operations—the real buzz lay elsewhere. In the corridors and dining halls, conversations among officers repeatedly circled back to one question: who will be the next CDS? Adding further spice to the speculation was the fact that most of the probable candidates were present at the event. Chauhan, currently serving a six-month extension, is set to retire on May 30 | Illustrations by Job P.K.

The ‘unanimous’ candidate: In a move that has left local politicians puzzled, Bharat Singh Vakhla filed nominations from not one, but three parties—the BJP, the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party—for the same Pipero seat in panchayat elections in Gujarat’s Dahod district on April 10 and 11. While BJP’s district leaders insist that he is their official candidate, Vakhla—known for switching parties and past election defeats—kept all sides guessing till the very end. Though he will ultimately contest from a single party, he has already achieved a rare distinction: being courted or claimed by parties across the political spectrum.

Partners in music: Tributes poured in for the late singer Asha Bhosle from all parts of the world, including from celebrities like WWE star John Cena and former Australian cricketer Brett Lee. The latter had collaborated with Bhosle for the 2007 single ‘You’re the one for me’, which became immensely popular. “What stayed with me most wasn’t just her extraordinary talent, but how kind and humble she was,” Lee shared. “For someone who had achieved so much in her life, she carried herself with such warmth and generosity.” With more than 12,000 songs to her name, as Lee said, Bhosle’s legacy is guaranteed to live on. The legend who died on April 12 at the age of 92 had started her career at just 10 years with a song in the Marathi film Maze Baal (1943) | Instagram@brettlee_58

Sleep talk: Recently, the country witnessed an interesting exchange between two unlikely characters: Yogi-author Sadhguru and Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt. And guess what their discussion was about? Sleep. One gets too much (8-9 hours for Alia) and one gets too little of it (4.5-5 hours for the spiritual leader). Sadhguru was astonished that Alia loves to sleep. “When will you live?” he asked her. “Nobody loves sleeping... when you’re sleeping you don’t exist, so what is there to love?” He countered the argument that your body needs sleep to repair itself by asking why you should damage your body in the first place. “People ask me, ‘What do you do to unwind?’ I say ‘I don’t wind myself up’,” he said | AFP

DDLJ goes places: The cultural impact of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the 1995 romance starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, continues unabated. Recently, it was included by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which brings out the Oscars, in its list of top romance movies that involve travel. The Academy shared stills from films like The Holiday, Eat Pray Love, You Me and Tuscany and, of course, DDLJ, asking followers to rate their favourite. “I vote for DDLJ,” replied Kajol. On the film’s 30th anniversary last year, Khan and Kajol had unveiled a bronze statue at London’s Leicester Square of their iconic pose in the film, a first for an Indian movie | PTI

Notes from the past: Nostalgia never sounded so good. It soaked every aspect of Justin Bieber’s headline act at Coachella on April 11. The 32-year-old singer, who was reportedly paid $10 million for the gig, spent much of the night singing to YouTube music videos of his older hits like ‘Baby’ and ‘Never Say Never’ in an ode to the platform that launched his career. His Coachella video has become the most-viewed clip from the festival on Instagram, garnering 64.9 million views in just 12 hours. In the crowd were his wife Hailey Bieber and celebrity couple Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. Bieber did face some criticism for an act that many fans termed “pure laziness”. The majority, however, enjoyed the show, inwardly echoing singer Katy Perry’s sentiment: “Thank God he has premium. I don’t want to see no ads.” | Getty Images