Kali Puja aka Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja is just round the corner and when the entire country gears up to celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights, in eastern India, the new moon day (Dipannita Amavasya) heralds the arrival of Goddess Kali, a major Hindu
Can a song immortalize an establishment? Definitely. Three decades ago, Gouriprasanna Mazumdar penned the lyrics of Coffee Houser shei addata aaj aar nei (The chat sessions at the Coffee House have faded away). Suparnakanti Ghosh set the tune and then it was Manna Dey’s turn
Eco-friendly decorative terracotta lamps Kali puja or Diwali, the festival of lights, comes as a double whammy for the people of Bengal who grieve after Dashami as Ma Durga leaves for her abode. Among the chants of “Aashche bochor abar hobe” and with tears in their
Craft items made from Water Hyacinth There is a Bengali folk song that goes like this: “Thakile dobakhana, hobe kochuripana/ Baghe horine khana eksathe khabe na/ Swabhab toh kakhono jabe na…” (Wherever there is unguarded water body, water hyacinths will invariably grow and take over. Tigers and deer
Medinipur is still mentioned in the pages of history as a centre of revolutionary activities by the freedom fighters of India, a place that gave birth to India’s freedom movement in Bengal. Three British district magistrates were assassinated in succession by the revolutionaries on this
“The birth of two spiritual leaders within a short span of a few thousand years is remarkable and of immense importance. I had this very strong conviction within me that Buddha was reborn as Christ. Buddha had predicted that he would return after 500 years,
New Market, the grand old marketplace constructed by the British in 1874, stands as one of the last bastion of colonial pride. The British shifted their capital from Kolkata to Delhi in 1911 and left India 70 years ago, but the city has not been
A baul singing to his freedom with an Ektara, through the lush green meadows of Bengal is a common sight in paintings and literature. But Ektara is not an indigenous instrument just confined to Bengal and a baul legacy. Instead, it can be traced to
Kolkata is all set to get India’s first Tyre Park as a unique Art Installation venture. The city is already famous for its world-famous art installations that come up in large numbers every Durga Puja. Now in a sustainable unique venture of turning Waste to
Carlton Kitto, a bebop jazz enthusiast in India Though the world outside Bengal gleefully relates Kolkata only with Rabindrasangeet, music in Bengal has much more to offer. Startling but true, Kolkata became the hotbed of jazz music during the 1970s. The last of the jazz mavericks