A hollowed mango tree log about 2.5 to 3 feet long, covered at both ends with goatskin (now replaced by fibre or other synthetic materials) - that is a ‘dhaak’, the quintessential Bengali percussion instrument, inextricably associated with Durga Puja. One of many indigenous musical instruments
Not every Bengali will be on the streets this year pandal hopping, for there are many of us who love to spend a quiet Pujo, back home in the middle of books. GB recommends this particular book that features the man whose smile has swept
Far from the maddening crowds of Kolkata’s Puja revelers and dazzling pandals, lies Shyamdaspur, a tiny hamlet, tucked in Bankura’s hinterland. The Shali River flows gently by this idyllic village. Unending stretches of green fields sway in the gentle breeze and hurried barren feet of
In 1790 or thereabouts, 12 young men were denied entry to a private Durga Puja in Guptipara in Hooghly district, less than 100 km from Kolkata. Incensed and humiliated, they decided to start their own Puja. Only, it would not be a private event, as
If you happen to find a fair firangi, clad deftly in a saree, making preparations for Maa Durga’s Bodhon this Shashthi, in a 300-year-old mansion of Chandannagar, then do not be surprised. This is the famous Mondal Bari situated in the erstwhile French colony of
HRecently Tarakeshwar-based artist Malay Ghosh’s name appeared in the prestigious ‘India Book of Records 2021’ for drawing a miniature portrait of West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on palm leaf. He took just 25 minutes to execute the entire painting! Not one to sit on his
Hathkhola Dutta family is not just about palatial mansions and luxurious rooms that light up to opulence and splendour during Durga Puja, it is also about patriotism … a household that had in the pre-independence era upheld patriotism even during Durga Puja celebrations. It was
Kolkata is gradually getting into the festive mood and people are agog with excitement to participate in the annual Durga Puja. One of the oldest traditional pandals in Kolkata, Baghbazar Sarbojanin Durgotsav is an inseparable part of history and progress of Bengali culture for over
A large launch aka longboat has been modified into an ambulance with all essential facilities including bed and oxygen available within the boat. The ambulance service was launched recently to transport patients of Gosaba Block to nearby hospitals conveniently. The Sundarban forest lies in the vast
Calcutta Supreme Court from a print by Thomas Daniell, 1786 In the past, we have written about how Calcutta Police was the world’s first police force to set up its own fingerprint bureau in 1897, or how the brutal murder of a young Anglo-Indian woman in