It was a warm afternoon in 1982 in Kolkata, when legendary film maker Satyajit Ray received a phone call from none other than legendary science fiction writer, Arthur C Clarke. He called up Ray after a screening of Steven Spielberg’s ET that sent waves across
No more Potato Chips, the battle is now on a new turf --- Potato Biscuits. Yes, you heard it right. And the centre of this battle is linked to Kolkata with city based Indian giant ITC launching Potato All Rounder Biscuits to give PRAN’s Potata,
Hawa lagey gaaner paley / Majhi amaar bosho haaley (The breeze makes the song-sails flutter / O boatman, be on the radar). None other than Rabindranath Tagore felt the charm of being on a boat for days, sailing on a river. His annual boat trips
Metcalf Hall With apologies for the hiatus between our last edition and this, we return to our walkabout of Kolkata’s oldest quarters. As promised last time, our walk this week will take us around the Esplanade area, and will be the last of our short walks.
Dhamrai Rath Yatra, Dhaka In a previous article, we had written about the grand Rath Yatra at Mahesh in Hooghly district’s Serampore area. Now in its 625th year, the festival in Mahesh is India’s second oldest Rath Yatra after Puri. Bengal is home to many more
What’s the most popular street food in Bengal? That's a tricky question, but if there’s a choice, Momos can certainly vie for the top slot. Look around, and you will spot a large number of foodies queuing in front of roadside stalls or crowding around food outlets, relishing
It was 1942, the year that defined the fate of an impoverished Calcutta, with the notorious Bengal Famine of 1943 looming large amidst the ravages of World War II. It was during this time that American soldiers landed in Calcutta. But the Great American Dream
In 1873, Jesse James and his gang pulled off one of the most daring train robberies in the history of the world. But that was an adrenaline rush of a different kind, where money or arms were the prime objective. But what about a train robbery to
They first rolled out on the roads of Kolkata in 1958, the iconic yellow glossy and sturdy Ambassador taxis that became another name for the hustle and bustle of the City of Joy. But after 2014, when Hindustan Motors stopped manufacturing the Ambassador Classic cabs,
If we thought Parallel Cinema movement started in India in 1950s, well, then we are wrong. Much before Bengal and India produced world class directors like Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, there was a filmmaker born in 1900 in Kolkata. He was Modhu Bose, at