This is our Anniversary issue and what better way to celebrate it than with a nation overwhelmed with the joy of cricket, of matches well played – and won – as sport and not as a battle. Our team has brought home the World Cup – a nation is proud of them. Captain MS Dhoni played, perhaps, the innings of his lifetime. He would have made us all even prouder – had he been just a little more gracious in victory and acknowledged the Sri Lankan team for playing so well and being the runners-up in the tournament. We missed those words – especially after the very gracious speech of Sangakkara at Wankhade.

From one World Cup to another – that’s the cover story this issue – as Team India prepares for the Polo World Cup Qualifiers in Malaysia in June. The top three teams, of the eight in Zone D, will then play some of the best players in the world in Argentina in October this year. We have a feature on Team India’s foursome – for our readers to get to know them. They have just returned from New Zealand where they beat the host country on their turf for the first time ever. Earlier they won their matches against visiting teams from South Africa and England. We wish them luck in Malaysia!

Tiger numbers are catching up in Corbett – this is not fiction – but fact! Three elusive Royal Bengals were spotted over a weekend – on two different days! The forest is looking alive with more than 600 species of birds and any number of elephants, deer, otters, and reptiles. We checked out a few places to stay around the forest – and brought you the best – giving our reasons.

The country is also celebrating 100 years of Aviation in India – we began our series of aviation articles last year. This issue we have the amazing story of how Dalip Singh Majithia landed the first aircraft in Nepal in the year 1949. There was no airstrip, and hence no landing aids. All he had was a set of hand-written instructions from his uncle Surjit Singh Majithia, who was at the time, India’s Ambassador to Nepal.

The Kalasha of Chitral Valley are known as ‘the last pagan tribe in the Hindu Kush mountains’. Deeply rooted in animism and ancestor-worship, there are only 4,000 Kalasha living in the three picturesque valleys of Chitral. One of them, a woman, became a pilot, and then gave up flying to give her community a voice. It’s all here.

Wishing you all a pleasant summer break,

Roopa Bakshi