Nobody had really heard of Lamahatta before 2012. That year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, passing through the village, was struck by its scenic beauty and stopped to take photos. Realising its potential as a tourism destination, she also set the government machinery in
Every year during the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February) Kumortuli, the traditional hub of Kolkata’s idol makers and potters wakes up to a flurry of activities putting last-minute finishing touches to innumerable idols of Devi Saraswati. This is the time when Saraswati, the Goddess
Launched this weekend, on 14th February 2021, you get an opportunity to hop and set sail on the European Settlements Boat Ride (ESBR) that starts at 10 am from Millenium Park each weekend. Along with the feel of a Cruise, you get to see the
Modar/Palva, Pallo Machhi, Pulasa, Ulla Meen. Nope, not gibberish. All valid words, all describing that one object that any Bengali could write a poem (or several) about, an object of veneration, an icon, an emotion –the hilsa or, to use its Bengali name, ilish. To all
Annapurna, Anna, Nalini… call her by any name, she would have always remained Rabindranath Tagore’s first love. And it’s always said ‘First Loves’ can never be forgotten, they are like the waft of the first Spring breeze, like the innocence of the first sapling that
Gaurang Jalan keeps a very low-profile, not at all like the hardcore producers we are familiar with in Tollywood. One reason could be that he is otherwise engaged in a flourishing family business running through two generations. However, one other thing that also spans two
Nityananda Janavani Community Radio Station is an initiative by MANT (Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust) and is primarily run by the locals, who are mainly from the Santhal community in Bengal. The Radio station caters to almost 250 villages spread across Puncha and Manbazar-I blocks
Indian one horned rhino For most of its lifetime, Gorumara National Park was actually called Gorumara Wildlife Sanctuary. Properly speaking, it ought to have celebrated 70 years as a wildlife sanctuary, and 25 years as a national park, in 2020. Owing to the Covid pandemic, of
“My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The year was 1995. The authorities at Kolkata’s Taratala-based Marine Engineering Research Institute (MERI) were in a quandary. Eighteen-year-old Sonali Banerjee
“The submarine started from Kiel (capital of the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein), and the crew were not told (the truth about) where the two men were going; all they knew was that they had to take two machinists to northern Scandinavia. On the eve