The bitterness rippling out of the Partition of 1947 has remained for ages. The destructive agenda of Partition continued to impact Bengal’s cultural ethos on and off. Many talented and eminent maestros and their disciples were lost in the vast chasm that separated the East
There was a time when, in Bengal, waterways were used far more than roads. Trade flourished along these routes — from food items to daily necessities and even clothing were imported and exported by boat. The rivers of Bengal once bustled with a variety of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZVVfU8jyG4 It’s called the Brighton of the East. At least Warren Hastings and the British gave Digha such a prestigious name. At just 187 km from Calcutta, Digha has always been an extremely popular weekend getaway for tourists in Bengal. But how many of us have
Till very recently, Bengali readers were credited for being bookworms. But what made most Bengalis bookworms? The answer is easy to find. Bengalis really love detectives and adventures and there are many, many detectives and adventure characters in Bengali storytelling. Bengali readers have loved these
In the past, an umbrella was a sign of status
Have you ever seen the Bhistis roaming city streets on a scorching summer noon, with their goat-skin bags full of cool water? Once upon a time, they were a regular on deserted city lanes supplying cool drinking water to shops and households that they carried in their leather bags to keep
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore’s universally relevant and time-immemorial messages on the continuity of life are reassuring. Though many objects may have disappeared from our lives, what ushers in hope is the undying Ashramic philosophy of daily existence. As he said in one of his
Since ancient times, our bonding with nature has been very close. We worship Gods with offerings of ‘shadopachara’ (16 items) and that includes ‘Naivedya’ (edible offerings) of cereals, vegetables and fruits on leaves or utensils made of leaves. After offering the naivedya to the deity,
Afew days ago, we received the news of India becoming the most populous country in the world, beating China. India has also ranked to be the 3rd largest e-waste producer in the world, only behind China and the United States. Maharashtra is the largest e-waste-producing
“Mere marnay pe laakh royenge/ Mere ronay per kaun marta hai?” (Millions of people will cry after my death/ But who dies when I cry?) – (by Urdu poet Jaun Aelia) This aptly surmises Bollywood’s iconic film diva, Meena Kumari’s tragic life. But Meena Kumari was