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
Three iconic restaurants on Park Street — Mocambo, Trincas and Kwality received a heritage tag from the prestigious INTACH (Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage). The heritage tag is a plaque that will adorn their entrances, and it signifies that these places have existed
Rock culture is not new to India. When the world was listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel in the 1960s, Indian Rock rolled into the picture with the Raga Rock; a style of music which involves the fusion of western
World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals according to Christian belief. First observed in 1925, the annual day was initiated
A scene that was so familiar every year infront of Sealdah station even a few years back --- Dhakis in groups landing in Kolkata from distant villages and congregating in front of Sealdah station, playing their ‘dhak’ in unison and reaching a crescendo now and