Firstpost Editor's Picks: Modi's Budget 2019, Qatar's triumph, Jonbeel Mela; today's must-read stories

Budget 2019 example of Modi's governance style, stresses push for neo-middle class striving to realise urban dream If one examines the way Modi ran the Gujarat government, it will be apparent to them that his style of operation remains unchanged even as the Prime Minister of India. He is arguably the only politician who had a long, uninterrupted stint of 18 years as a chief minister and prime minister considered together. The 2019 Interim Budget presented on Friday is a clear example of a Modi who plans for a decade, even when he is set to face an uncertainty three months down the line in the general elections. Firstpost at Sundance: Ritesh Batra’s _Photograph_ fails to replicate _The Lunchbox_’s magic By taking a crowd-pleasing You’ve Got Mail-like setup and giving it a heartwarming Indian twist, Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox took the international film festival circuit by storm in 2013. It struck a chord with audiences around the world, surprising everyone with its simplicity and bowling them over with its charm. However, Batra’s latest film Photograph, fails to replicate The Lunchbox’s magic and lacks the virtues that made the Irrfan Khan-Nimrat Kaur’s epistolary romance palatable to a global audience.Photograph is a slow-paced dramedy that can’t quite transcend its clever setup. So, Batra ends up with a bland and meandering tale that is all foreplay and no climax. AFC Asian Cup 2019: Qatar's swashbuckling triumph an exception, not the norm in continent's football Today, Qatar belong to the Asian elite. They have bridged the gap with the traditional Asian heavyweights since FIFA, on a frosty December afternoon in 2010, awarded the World Cup to Qatar. By beating Japan, they single-handedly upended the long-established hierarchy on the continent, but this tournament very much remained the playground of the great and the good. Alongside Qatar, Vietnam was the only country outside of Asia’s top ten to make the last eight. The Vietnamese enjoyed a stellar 2018 and with investment in youth, discipline under coach Park Hang-seo and frantic counterattacking, they had all the ingredients for a successful run in the UAE. A dal, by any other name: Your ready reckoner to the confounding world of North Indian lentils If clear, open and honest communication is the most important aspect, then the second most important aspect of a happily married life is: That 95 percent of this communication is only for rhetorical value and not at all to be taken seriously. When I say “We should clean out the fridge this weekend” do I actually mean “We should clean out the fridge this weekend”? NO. Mad or what. Jonbeel Mela: Where tradition serves as the only currency, and a king holds a durbar The Jonbeel Mela is an event that has kept the relevance of tribal kings alive and features the Gobha king’s visit on the final day when he holds a durbar and listens to his people’s complaints. This year’s Jonbeel festival — which also featured undertones of the popular opposition to the newly passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that multiple tribes have already voiced their antipathy to — saw all of that, and some more.