India got its first bicycle in the 19th century. According to historian David Arnold, around 35,000 bicycles were imported in India in 1910. Though initially meant for Europeans as a transport vehicle, it quickly gained popularity among Indians. The bicycle became the popular mode of
Patriarchy, adultery are not just terms which have an association with the present times. These are major aspects of our reality which have existed since age old times and have been responsible for shaping the status of women even in modern society. One thing that
Jnanadanandini Devi pioneered the contemporary saree draping technique. Bengali women around the globe are praised whenever they drape the very traditional attire of West Bengal, the saree. Though a number of movies and TV soaps stereotype Bengali women by showing them wearing a red and white cotton-ish
HThis is the inspiring story of a boy who, despite being autistic, gave a new definition to life. Meet Shounak Ghosh, who has explored art forms across multiple media. Shounak was diagnosed with autism at the age of three-and-a-half years. “Both his muteness and confirmation
“Iwas born in one of the most romantic places in the world – Darjeeling – although I have only confused impressions of its beauty, and of the gaiety of life there, for my father, who was a stockbroker, brought the family back to England when
Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt had planned to write an epic poem narrating the heroic victory of Singhal (Sri Lanka) by Bijoy Singha. He had researched on the subject extensively and jotted down notes in English, but his untimely death put an end to his magnum
It was Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, who had an idea. There was a need to get away from everything and just relax. Sutanuti was then an entry point of sorts for merchants. While brisk business was done, Charnock would sit under a neem
Sweets are an integral part of the Bengali way of life – be it the prosaic or the exceptional. No religious, social or daily ritual is complete without that quintessentially Bengali ‘Mishti’ and in this sphere, variety galore. Incidentally, it was in the 19th century,
Veteran Maidan star Gautam Sarkar, nicknamed ‘Indian Beckenbauer’, is a former international footballer who captained both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan During the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Jugantar, then a leading Kolkata daily, sent me to Mexico as a special correspondent to cover the tournament. And
Bengal had produced several ‘Renaissance women’ and one of them was undoubtedly Leela Majumdar --- an author, teacher, playwright, art critic and above all a brilliant mind, much ahead of her times. Born on February 26, 1908 to Surama Devi and Pramada Ranjan Ray, who