As the name suggests, the Bishnupur gharana of Hindustani classical music originated in Bishnupur, West Bengal, possibly way back in the 13th and 14th centuries, though it became popular from the 17th century onward. It follows the dhrupad tradition, one of the two forms of
When the chants of Bharat Mata ki jai often floats around these days in political rallies, it is indeed curious to note that the very concept of Bharat Mata was born in this very Bengal during Partition of 1905. That was the year when the
Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity of Bengal called Gauda and is a major figure in Bengal’s history. He reigned in 7th-century AD, though some historians place his rule between circa 600 C.E and 636/7 C.E. Other sources place his reign
The iconic Mahatma Gandhi Gyarah Murti (a collection of 11 statues together) in New Delhi showing the milestone Dandi March that shook the foundation of British India have caught the attention of many down the ages. But what many of us are not aware of
Rural and once upon a time urban Bengal were well conversant with adda sessions, sitting together on a mat spread across the floor. These mats popularly known as madoor in Bengal are prepared from a special kind of reed grass, found in places like Sabang
One speech of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore that will always be etched in memory is the one he had written for All India Library Congress, that was delivered on his behalf in December 1928. He was then sixty-seven years old and explored the theme of libraries