A few days ago, India was shocked and horrified to learn that nearly 100 unidentified bodies, many of them decomposed and bloated, had been found floating in the river Ganga, causing panic among residents of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh living near the river, because they
You couldn’t make this script up. As we approach the first anniversary of the utter devastation caused by Amphan, which struck West Bengal on May 21, 2020, there is already talk of the next tropical cyclone which could make landfall in these parts, to be
Jadavpur University is one of the premier institutions in India that has been executing prestigious academic and research programmes since its inception in 1955. An alumni from this distinguished seat of learning has made the entire country proud with his brilliant work in this grim
“A pen is the tongue of the mind” Creation of pens has essentially facilitated the basis of our civilization. It is through pens that we could write and communicate information for generations to come. The greatest works of art from authors like Shakespeare or the greatest
The life of a honey collector is not an easy one, particularly for those in the Sundarbans. The reason is easy enough to pinpoint – attacks by man-eating tigers. The Royal Bengal Tiger, pride and joy of the Sundarbans, is also the biggest threat to
The Sherpa community has long been the backbone of mountaineering in the Himalayas. This obvious statement bears repetition, because the Himalayas without Sherpas would be like the top of Mount Everest without snow. Tough, dedicated, gritty, unflinching, adventurous - the adjectives write themselves. And an
When we say ‘family’, what do we usually mean? In our times, the answer is likely to be a unit of four or five people, comprising a married, heterosexual couple and their biological children, with the couple’s parents or in-laws in some cases. That’s a
Taking account of the spiralling Covid-19 situation, and in response to calls for a stricter lockdown from several quarters, the West Bengal government has announced a tightening of the partial lockdown in the state, extending it until May 30. The announcement was made by state
Tucked away in one corner of Uttarpara stands Uttarpara Bengal Photo Studio, the brainchild of 41-year-old Arindam Saha Sardar. A self-taught archivist and restoration artist, Arindam makes biographical documentaries, curates exhibitions of rare artefacts, collects old still and movie cameras, Bengali magazines of yore, and
The great Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay once wrote that Bengalis as a race looked to their rulers for even the history of their own race, and were experts at forgetting their past achievements. Even if we were to set that aside, we can say with certainty