When Rabindranath Tagore visited Russia, he was accompanied by a few from his family. One of them was Saumyendranath, the grandson of his elder brother Dwijendranath Tagore. Saumyendranath Tagore is considered to be one of the pioneers of the communist movement in India and was
Piyali Basak is a gritty young lady, a brave woman with determination writ large on her counte-nance. This mountaineer from Chandernagore has several exploits under her belt. In moun-taineering parlance, those who climb peaks above 8,000m are accorded special stature and are called ‘eight-thousander’. Basak
Subhas Chandra Bose and Emilie Schenkl in Karlsbad in 1935 For almost a year after his disappearance and alleged death on August 18, 1945, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family, not to mention the world at large, had no idea that he had left behind a wife
“WThe Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu had once said, “It (Islam) was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the Mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a
“What happens if you take a rich magistrate’s son and make him learn in a village school sitting beside sons of servants and fishermen? He’ll hear tales of birds and animals that make him curious about Nature. And that will make him one of India’s
Special Guest of Honor, Tarun Kundu felicitated by the participants World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), 21 March, is a global awareness day that has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month was selected
He’ aaoa Iswar Jagat tangam noung Jagat rajya hasanichang Toa nangmoun jaonyanlaoa Uyon pelem ninga Pap kamang soun Taliyan agyenni soun Ta sayan jambo boko soun These words will undoubtedly be unfamiliar to most of us. But they are relevant to the International Day of Forests, observed every year on this day since
Letters from Russia by Rabindranath Tagore written in 1930 is not just a treasure trove of memories but a detailed explanation of a country’s psyche, a nation that blended socialism with violence and radical ideologies that Tagore felt might not bear fruit in future. The
Bengali cinema has recently come up with films that bridge the time-gap and space-gap with what may be termed “reunion” films. These films are characterised by a group of youngsters who were once bound by close friendship, in college, or, through a theatre group, coming
OIt was a sweaty, sultry morning in Kolkata, a little over a decade ago. Really early morning, almost the crack of dawn. I was sitting in a car in a small bylane in Dhakuria, waiting for Purnadas Baul. Some friends of mine were working on